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.

Finishing the Tile

The tile guys finished grouting the tile and installing the trim late last week.

It is amazing how ugly the floor looks when they are applying the grout compared to what it looks like when it is finished.  

The pictures above show the actual coloring of the tile better than these two pictures.

The name of the tile is 'sandy beach' and that is exactly what the tile looks like. The tile was finished last Thursday but then it needs to set for one week before any significant weight could be placed on the floor.  Our contractor deserved a little break anyway.  

Floor Tile

Work continued yesterday on the floor tile.  The tiles are cut and then placed on the floor, using spacers, seen here, to keep them in the proper position.

I am standing in the corner where the hot tub will sit.

This is the area of the room where the exercise equipment will sit. Tomorrow, the tile guys will be back to grout the floor tile. Once completed, we cannot walk on it for 24 hours and the hot tub cannot be moved in for one week.

Coping, Pool Liner and Floor Tile

There has been a lot of activity on the pool project from the latter part of last week through today. The following two photos show that the coping all around the top of the pool is installed.

Now it is time to installed the pool liner. Two layers of padding have been placed between the floor and the liner for comfort.

These next couple of images show the liner being unfolded then tucked into the rails under the coping.

Now for the hard part. The liner is quite heavy but it still needs to be gently pushed and pulled until it lies flat on all surfaces. This image shows the guys still have some work to do until the liner is in the correct position.  

This is the water propulsion unit. It creates a current so you can swim in place.

The first picture of the underwater treadmill.

The floor is also being installed this week.  Tillie gets away from us every now and again and runs into the pool room to see if she can help.

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Cutting the tile squares.

The conclusion of the first days work on installing tile.  

The Pool Frame, Cover and Coping

Putting together the side wall panels.  

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The back wall is built first and insulation installed on the back before that wall is place against the room wall.

Installing the frame for the under deck security cover. 

It is difficult to see the coping in the images. It is off-white in color with tiny specks of blues and browns mixed-in.

When we visited Sue and Bob Rockwell to test out the pool, I tried to close the cover manually and it hardly budged so we decided we had better get the motorized security cover. The drum holds the security cover when not extended.  The drum is used to open the cover and a series of pulls and ropes are used to close the cover. 

The cover is a solid sapphire blue.

In this picture you can see the actual blue security cover on the drum.  The end rail with the pulleys and ropes is also installed.

Progress During Vacation

Ben took these pictures for me while we were traveling.  Bless his heart! I don't know many contractors would take the time. One of the painters is finishing the pump room door. .

Installing the ceiling fan.

The fan looks a lot smaller than I thought it would.

The rain gutters and downspouts are made on site. The white roll of aluminum seen in this box is formed to the length required for each piece.

The aluminum on the roll is formed as it passes through the machine and extends outside the truck.

The entire process only takes a couple of hours to complete the gutter and downspout job.

Platte Heating and Air Conditioning delivering the heating and dehumidifier system. The next several pictures show parts of the pool heater, the air-conditioner, dehumidifier and room heating system.

The sweeps for the hydraulic lines passing through the wall between the pump room and the pool. The treadmill uses one of the sweeps and the water propulsion unit uses the other two; one for pressure and one for return.

This is a pipe threader used to thread the iron gas pipe.

Working on wiring for the hydraulic pumps.

The blue device on the side of the wall is a water quality system. This unit is an electric heater and it controls the propulsion for the hydraulic pump.

The propane line extending into the pump room.

The slightly yellow unit closest to the house is the cooling and dehumidifier system for the room. The white unit closer to the front is the condenser for the cooling unit.

Beginning to install the draft hood for the pool heater.

The draft hood installed on the pool heater. The draft hood draws air into the vent.  

The completed pump room. Between the water quality system and the window you can see the cooper ion generator, which will allow us to use very little chlorine in the pool.

What the desert air system looks like fully installed. The gray unit is the modine gas furnace.