Construction

In 2001, "construction" meant swimming pool. The project began in March, and we were swimming in mid-August. Sure is nice to have a pool!

Here's how a pool is built

	First, they dig a big hole, using an excavator. The hole is about a foot longer and wider than the interior pool dimensions.
	Then they place rebar inside the pool, to hold the gunite (concrete) in place.
	Next, they spray concrete. A machine mixes water, sand and concrete mix, and pumps it through a big firehose into the pool. The person doing the spraying has to be pretty skilled to get the right shape inside the pool.
	Using a big spatula, someone smooths out the gunite (and does some final shaping) before it dries.
	The gunite is dry enough to walk on within 24 hours.
	They then do the concrete prep-work for the patio surrounding the pool. (The concrete is the foundation on which the flagstone gets laid.) The concrete is poured.
	Next, you battle with the contractor about the height of the patio surrounding the pool. This battle only ends when you force them to sign a contract accepting liability for any height differences.
	Stones are cut and laid out. They're not mortared yet, though. A team of about five people can do between 100 and 200 square feet in a day.
	Then you battle with the contractor over the lack of randomness in the stone shapes and sizes. This battle is ongoing, and is only resolved when you identify the questionable stones and make the contractor replace them.
	After that, you battle with the contractor over the unnatural nature of the cuts being used on the stones. This battle only ends when you force them to redo 80% of the work they've done over the last two weeks.
	After cutting all the stone, it's time to mortar (cement) them into place. This takes about a week. At the end of the week, you force the contractor to redo the various pieces that weren't set properly and replace the stones that were broken in the process of mortaring. The words "incompetent" and "shoddy" are used frequently in conversations these days.
	We're not there yet, but based on past experience the next step is being horrified at the contractor's invoice. You battle with him over the excessive costs.
	The waterline tile is glued into place.
	Finally, they plaster the pool and fill it with water. To get the water, they run a hose from the nearest fire hydrant through the neighbor's yard, and into our pool. We need somewhere between 40,000 and 45,000 gallons of water.
	Next is the most painful part of the process...waiting until you can actually enter the pool. It takes almost a week until the water is clean enough and the chemicals are in balance enough and the plaster is cured enough for people to enter. Dogs, however, aren't aware of the dangers, so they seem to enter at will.
	The pool cover isn't installed until almost a week after the pool is filled. Amber only fell in once. But that was enough for us to appreciate the importance of a pool cover.
	Just when you think things are just about finished, you realize that the water isn't draining into the drainage pipes, as it's supposed to. You make the contractor tear up the parts that aren't draining properly, and redo them. The contractor complains that he's not making any money on this project, but you don't seem to care too much. While you're at it, you make him re-mortar some of the stones that still weren't done correctly (even after the second attempt), re-grout the messy parts and re-clean the grout stains.
	Eventually, after about five months of workers in your yard, everything is finished. Or so you think. You very quickly realize that the retaining walls, steps and grass that you were hoping to put off until you can afford them, really must be done immediately. So you begin the process of searching for a contractor again. You wonder why the current contractor won't take the job.

We had a digging party. This is the mothers working

The excavator

Spraying gunite

The deep end, with rebar going in

An intermediate stage

Overhead view after the gunite was completed, but before the patio concrete was poured

Overhead view after the patio concrete was poured but before stonework was completed

Until recently, there was a pile of sand in our back yard from when they sprayed gunite (concrete). Sammy loved playing in the sandpile, but we're sure glad it's gone. Do you have any idea what sand can do to wood floors?

When they brought the flagstone for the deck around the pool, they stacked it up by the driveway. It sat there for a couple of months until they finally got around to laying it on the deck. Here are some pictures of the stonework.

For perspective, here's what an 8½ foot deep pool looks like without water:

Finally, on August 9, they plastered and filled our pool. The water was pretty green for the first few days, before it was purified by the pool chemicals. But when it comes out of our taps, we can't tell that it's green, so we drink it anyway. Yes, that murky green stuff is the same stuff that we drink!

Finally, the completed project in use!