The Rock Wall

Lonnie, our tile guy came back last week and used either 12"x12" sheets or 1/2 sheets, filling in as much space as possible around the stream.

Now, Susan is removing rocks from the backing material and placing the rocks in the best position based on size and color.  Once all the rocks are in place, Lonnie will grout all around the rocks.

We will then remove the cardboard outline of the stream and begin building the stream with crystal blue fire rocks.

Blinds

The blinds on these two windows are hand operated. No remotes or cords were required because the blinds are easy to reach.

Ben installed the TV this week. The TV can be tipped, turned and extended out from the wall. We will have Dish connect this TV to our current coverage and we will add an external DVD player for exercise videos. The blind on the window next to the TV requires a cord to operate. Unfortunately, the blind for the final window did not arrive with the rest of them. This blind requires a remote to operate so we won't have to climb up on the decking every time we want to change the blind setting.

I'm not sure why, but I think this blind is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

New Liner and Decking

The new liner went in just fine. We left the pool alone for five days, figuring that if there was going to be a problem it should show up in that amount of time. No leaks - YEA!

Once the contractors have left for the day Susan can use the pool. I hope to get medical clearance to get in the water within three weeks.

Lonnie is installing the river rock along the side of the pool.

We should be able to start adding the crystal blue fire rock for our stream.

Empty Pool

After the torn seam was discovered, Ben and Bob took the pool apart and disconnected all the hydraulic lines.

After the torn seam was discovered, Ben drained the remaining water and removed all of the pool components.

The benches, treadmill,step, etc. all had to be removed to get the liner out. Additionally, all the hydraulic lines had to be cut and capped so we would not waste all the hydraulic fluid that was in the lines.

It took about two weeks for the new liner to arrive. Then it had to sit in the bottom of the pool for three days to warm up, which makes it much more pliable to work with.

Seam Separation

We let the water drain out of the pool and by the time it stopped there was only about 1.5 inches of water left in the bottom. Three different times while the water was draining I put drops of food coloring in the water and watched where the dye went. By the third time, I was pretty sure that the leak was located under the bench with the step on top of it, at the back of the pool. When Ben came over on Friday, I told him where I suspected the leak was located and so he dismantled the benches in the back of the pool and we found a 3-inch separation at the seam of the liner.

After talking to Rob at Endless Pools and discussing our options, we have decided to wait for a new liner to be manufactured rather than attempt to fix the separation. We will not find out how long our project will be delayed until January 5, when the company opens for business. We suspect that it will take at least three weeks to receive the new liner.

Needless to say, everyone associated with this project is very disappointed. The last electrical inspection should happen next week and Ben and Bob will begin removing the benches, treadmill and propulsion unit so we can remover the liner. After that we will be in a waiting period until the new liner arrives.

Decking Continued and a Setback

Ben and Bob continued to work on the decking on Monday.  The top of the decking is covered with Trex, which was shown in the last post. This picture shows the top deck frame at the back of the pool.

Bob is measuring the back wall for the decking. Putting decking back here will allow us to stand on the coping to clean the windows.

We noticed that the water level was a little lower than it was on Friday so we put the hose back in and brought the water level up to the correct level. 

The frame on the front is ready for the Trex decking on the top. Unfortunately there is a leak in the liner. It took three full days for all the water to drain out of the pool. When Ben can get back out here, we will begin looking to identify where the leak is located.

Water and Siding

We have been putting water in the pool for a little over one week now. The pool holds 3800 gallons but we can only add the amount of water in our soft water reserves. When that level is reached, the system needs to replenish before we can add more water to the pool. The black cables in the picture below are all hydraulic lines for the propulsion, circulation pump and the treadmill.

This week Ben connected the water lines to the pool. You can see the white water pipes going down the side of the pool.

Ben has also begun working on the decking for the front of the pool. We need access to the front of the pool so this section of decking will be removable if repairs are required in that location.

The pool is completely full now and today we began adding chemicals to balance the water.

This is what the decking will look like around the top of the pool. Eventually, the side of the pool will be decorated with river rock and fire glass.

Wanda and the Rear Bench

Mom made a beautiful whale last year named Wanda. Even though she spent hours and hours working on Wanda, when she was all done she gave Wanda to us. Today, Wanda took her place on the wall right next door to the pump room.

Ben continued to work on the propulsion system. He installed the back bench component and is getting ready to install the corner step.

Moving the Hot Tub

Yesterday the hot tub was moved into the pool room and today the electricians got the hot tub reconnected to the electricity.

The hot tub is not very big and it still took three men and a dolly to get the tub into the pool room.

It will be nice not having to deal with the sun damaging the side panels or the cover anymore. The cover will also last longer when not exposed to the extreme heat and cold we can have here.

When the hot tub was outside we had to be very careful to not trip over the electrical conduit that ran from the power box to the hot tub. This time we avoided that problem by having the wires run under the floor from the electrical box to the connection under the tub. We also had a drain installed right next to the hot tub in the floor so we only have to use a few feet of tubing connected to the sump pump when it is time to change the water.

Installing the treadmill and the propulsion unit.

Today, Ben and Bob finished straightening the liner and began installing the treadmill.

Lining everything up on the edge of the pool. The treadmill is in the foreground and the propulsion unit is closest to the window.  

All of the parts ready to go

Getting ready to enter the pool. Brrrrrr

While Ben was standing in the pool water, I was draining and cleaning the hot tub and believe me when I say that water is freezing.

Tomorrow Susan is going to test out the treadmill to make sure it is working correctly. Hopefully it will be a very short test. The electricians will also be here tomorrow to disconnect the hot tub where it sits now and move the electrical box inside. There are also people coming to move the hot tub indoors tomorrow, which is why I had to drain and clean it today.