Wow, truly a small world! Yes, it's been gorgeous here for weeks! We went up to Disneyland this weekend and swam in their 85 degree pool for hours! I can't wait for our PebbleTec. Our decking is done and unless it rains (hard to believe because I was laying out in the sun at 6pm) we are on for the install next Tue! YIPEEE.

Katherine

sdkath and arielitas, we should do a del mar pool tour! My place is still a mess because of all the other work; I'm doing a complete exterior remodel. Many stressful nightmare stories....you guys can e-mail me at about2140@mypacks.net. I don't know how to contact you.

Ncounty,

I'm game if you are. Happy to say my remodeling/pool building days are behind me...I know how stressful it can be.

To send a message, I think that you can click on the person's username or Mypage on the posting tag and that lets you send someone an email.

It worked for sending that email....I just sent you one, arielita. I'll try to coordinate a del mar pool tour with you and sdkath.

so are you swiming in your pool Kath

Not yet but almost! It's in the 80's here in San Diego this week so I WISH we were done. But according to our super, we will have PT by mid-week and water by late this coming week. The decking just got done as well as lots of landscaping (reconnecting gas to our fireplace, BBQ, sprinklers, lights, etc). Still cooking is the solar and the artificial turf. We also decided to surface the steps and benches inside the pool with the quartzite because when we swam at our neighbor's house last week, we noticed that you can hardly make out steps with darker PT surface. We wanted to make sure the steps were visible.... Here are a few pix with just about everything done but the pebble. More to come later this week I am sure! Katherine

Hi Katherine, I'm not new here but haven't posted in a while so haven't seen your pool until now, it's beautiful!!! I love the way you located the rock waterfall next to the beach entry, it looks great plus it'll be a neat play area for kids. We've got a large rock waterfall and we're constantly having to tell the kids not to climb on it, but that's the only way they can get to it to play in it. If I had it to do over again I'd make it more accessible like you did!

I can't wait to see it all finished, you're going to have a real backyard showcase!

We got Pebble'd today!!! Yipeeeee. I saw the "formula" for midnight blue too. It is 2 bags "midnight blue" and 8 bags "black pearl"!!! I thought they were making a mistake when I saw all those bags on the truck so I started to whine and complain -- until they showed me the mix. I hope it turns out nice! We get our acid wash tomorrow and then water!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Katherine

it looks gorgeous, sdkath! is the water filling right now? You know to let it fill continuously, I'm sure. I can do the pool tour this Saturday morning after 10 am if you're free. If not, we'll pick another weekend.

Thanks! We are so excited not to see grey concrete anymore!!! No water yet though -- they have to come back and acid wash the surface to get the pebbles exposed. I believe they are doing that today and then water overnight. I heard that I can't heat the pool for 2-3 weeks because sudden temp changes are bad?? Is that right?

Katherine

Well, we have good news. After a rocky start to the pool filling (see the thread here: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pools/msg0413435531323.html?13), we are finally filling with water today. Also, the Endless Pools swim machine is in! It's not the blue one we asked for but it is going to be covered with a special top that will allow us to put the quartzite above it, which I have a feeling will cover it up enough to look inconspicuous. I can't wait to try it!

Here are a few pix early on and after about 6 hours of filling. Unfortunately, the fog has rolled in from the coast so these are not sunny pix, but I will take some more tomorrow....

looks gorgeous, Katherine!

Thanks! Sorry I can't do the pool tour this weekend. We have a whole bunch of stuff to do. Next weekend??

Katherine

And we are full!!! YIPEEEEEEE. Waiting for pool guy to come to help us start up. The PT looks incredible! I am so glad we went with Midnight Blue. The water seems just slightly green to me so far but there are no chemicals or anything in it yet. Even the way it is though, I LOVE it! It's also not too dark, which I feared after seeing all the Black Pearl pebbles mixed into it.... So here we are today after about 22 hours of filling with 3 hoses:

PT at beach entry:

Forgot my favorite. Our Berner Bailey bemoaning the loss of all that grass she could destroy before the pool went in:

Wow! It looks really nice!

Looks like by the time you get the landscaping and solar done, and the SWG and pool cleaner up and running, the swimming season will have just begun. Perfect timing!

Absolutely STUNNING!!!!!!! Congrats! There's nothing more I can say except I wish it was mine!
Joanne

very nice
very nice, indeed...

looks fabulous,kath! a gorgeous blue color already....it took mine a month to get to that color but I did plaster, not PT. I don't see any green in yours but mine after filling had quite a bit of green initially, which I really liked actually, but it went away.

Let's try for next weekend.

my place will be a workzone next weekend. They are installing my outdoor kitchen cabinets (redwood) plus other work like windows etc. Can we try our pool tour for the weekend after, ladies?

ttt re pool tour

Sure! Let's plan on May 9th then? We can set up via email if that's ok.

On another note, looks like we HAVE A LEAK!!!! AAAAAH. Pool and spa levels are both dropping. We refilled 3x so far since last Friday and consistently The water level drops below the tile into the pebble tec. City inspector due to come today -- I wonder if we will pass despite the leak! My PB is aware but so far not much activity. Me -- I am freaking out. Katherine

OH NO, Katherine! Yikes, I am so sorry to hear about the possible leak. Get the PB out tomorrow!!! this is crazy, he should be more concerned. What did he say?

May 9th should be fine with me for our local pool tour. I lost both your email addresses; you can email me at about2140@mypacks.net.

OKAAAAAAY. So let this be a lesson to all: yes we passed our final city inspection despite having a leak in the pool with the water level below the level of the tiles and into the pebble tec. Boy, my fate in government oversight just plummetted.

Anywhooo, the leak supposedly came from the waterfall area and the rocks, which they supposedly sealed today. So we were told to keep pumps off and not refill till the sealant is dried. So we shall see how the water level is tomorrow.

The pool overall looks beautiful and everything otherwise is working fine. Solar is almost complete and the artificial turf has been laid around the edges. It has added much needed "green" to our otherwise heavy on the concrete backyard. We will get plants in a few days also. I will take more pix this weekend but overall things look great.

Fingers crossed for the water level to remain constant tonight. It is times like these that I am glad we chose a professional company to oversee the poolbuild (rather than doing a DIY rig where no doubt people would be pointing fingers at eachother right abought now). Katherine

Glad to hear it was an easy fix, we hope. The artificial turf is a very interesting idea....I have a lot of hardscape around my area as well.

Hi Kath,

The pool looks absolutely beautiful.

Have you had a chance to turn the Fastlane on yet?

Hi!

Thanks, we are thrilled with the way things turned out. I will take pix again this weekend now that our landscaping is being finished.

We got our solar up today and turned the swim machine on briefly tonight but have not been able to get into the pool yet to test it out. I can't wait till we can swim and try out the machine. I am excited to see that it came with 2 wireless remote controls. I thought the controls were only on the machine.

I am itching to get in!

Katherine

Hi Kath..we are in the process of choosing our coping and ledger stone too and we love the Red Sockeye at KRC that you chose for the coping. What stone did you use for the ledger stone around the spa? I thought you said it was also Red Sockeye, but I havent seen it over there.

Thanks!

Lew

Hi there!

It's the same stone. They just cut it down to size. :) I loooove the way it looks wet. It gets a bit more deep and rich in color, which I adore.

We are still waiting for plants to come. I'll take more pix when we have things complete. Should be any day now...

Katherine

Are we still on for the pool tour tomorrow, ladies?

Hi livingood!

We LOVE the midnight blue!!! It is even prettier now than 2 weeks ago. The greenish tint is gone and has settled into a beautiful, rich, midnight blue. I was VERY concerned that it would be too dark (and possibly dangerous for my kids since people say you can't see the bottom, etc). Turns out that the color IS a deep blue but not black and by no means too dark. DH and I absolutely love it! It is perfect with our quartzite as well.

I will post pix again on the weekend. I am working late these days and don't get home till around sunset...

Katherine

Hi Kath,
Hope you're enjoying the pool, we did decide on Midnight so thanks again for all your posts. Looking forward to more of your pictures as we are working through our pool build...deck soon to come, then electric, equipment...well, you know the drill.

Conrats on the decision! You won't be sorry. I have not forgotten about my promise to post more pix but believe it or not, we have been fogged in for 2 weeks now. We are in coastal San Diego and this is the time of year when we don't see sun for weeks! "May Grey and June Gloom" as they say. So I didn't want to post pix of the pool looking grey because I didn't think that would help. As soon as we get a sunny day, I will put some new ones up.

We LOOOOVE the Midnight Blue Pebble Tec! It's perfect for us. You will love it too! Katherine

Hi Kath!

So how is the Fastlane working?

Hello,
Your pool looks fantastic!!! my family and I are in the market for a pool contractor, and was wondering who you used and if you would recommend them, we live in Carmel Vally right next to ya.

Eric

Hi Eric,

We used Mission Valley Pools. Feel free to call them and ask them to set up a viewing. :) Our landscaping is done and as soon as the darn fog lifts (yes, it's been foggy for almost 2 months now), I will post final pix including our waterfalls, artificial turf and swim machine, etc.

Katherine

I think your pool looks awesome as well

was wondering if you were worried that the stone you used on your steps would start to flake off and decompose being submersed in water 24/7 -- aren't those fairly rough compared to regular pool interiors?

and if your leak which PB said was in waterfall/spa area was taken care of successfully?

enjoy your summer...

Hi there,

The leak was fixed just fine. It was behind the light in the spa. We have not had a problem since, thank goodness.

As for the stone that is submerged, we found an extremely hard quartzite that the PB assured me would stand up to the test of time. We have not had any problems so far but our pool is only a few months old. Ask me again in 10 years. :) However, my parents have had a similar stone in their pool in Los Angeles for the last 7 years without problems. Just make sure you don't use the usual flagstone, which is soft and flakes easily....

Katherine

Katherine,

Do you have any more pics of the Midnight Blue after the color has settled. I think I've heard that the green tones go away over time and settle into a deep blue, but I still see some deep green in your photos above? Does it not look that green in person? Any chance you have photos that show it as blue? Does it change a great deal depending upon the weather/sky conditions?

Thank you,

Erik

Hi there,

I will take some more pix and post them in the next day or so. There is still definitely a green tone to it even after 2 months of balanced chemicals. THe pool we saw before ours with the MN Blue also had the green tint to it. By no means is it truly green water, but it's also not completely blue either. I'll try to capture the color tomorrow morning (if the fog lifts) before work so you can see it in full sun.

Katherine

Hi Katherine....I am late coming to this thread but if you check back...we are just starting with MVP (Mike too!) and I am glad to hear you are so happy. It is an amazing looking pool! Is there anything in retrospect you would tell me to watch out for? We have the pool dug and two guys are here putting in these long metal rods all over the bottom in grid fashion today. Don't know what that is? I am really a layman but trying to learn. I recognize all the terms you used as Mike threw them at us in the beginning. If possible, could you contact me at thequotegal@yahoo.com so that I might ask you a few other things?

Thanks!
Stephanie
(La Costa resident)

You have the most incredible pool! It's stunning!

Sorry to be so late on the replies. We've been busy swimming in our new pool EVERY DAY! LOL. The kids are splashing around outside as I type this. The pool is 88 and I actually had to turn off the solar at 10am today to keep it from getting warmer. :)

Stephanie, I sent you email just now. Jenno thanks for the sweet complement. And Erik, here is a long overdue pix of the pool now that the color has settled. We LOVE the Midnight Blue PT!

Happy swimming! Katherine

True Color:

Thanks so much, Katherine. That color looks beautiful - and doesn't seem to have any of the green that I had seen in other photos (yours and elsewhere). I really like the shade of blue.

Again, thank you for the follow-up.

Pool looks great Katherine!! Were at the stage of waiting for HOA to approve plans here in Carmel Valley and I was wondering the cost of your solar system? Our PB quoted us $6700 for about the same size pool as yours.

I hope we can break ground by the end of August.

Eric

It's about the same as yours. I got 100% coverage, which is just right. I would not settle for less given the coastal fog we often get. I also got an "outside" solar quote from a neighbor's solar installer and it came out to $7000 so we are all in the same ballpark. If you can, do it with your PB so you can point finger only at 1 person in case something goes wrong...

Which pool company are you using? Katherine

Sundancer. I understand Mission Valley uses the same Solar contractor.

Eric

We were very happy with our solar guys. They came and installed in 1 long day (and we have some steep roofs due to a 3rd floor play room). The owner came back the next day and spoke to us at length about what is the best way to use solar for the pool, how to save energy, pump speeds, noise, etc. He then instructed the guys to install a wind shield around the thermostat on the roof because of the coastal breeze. It's been working perfectly since then. I actually turned it off last week because the pool was getting too warm (high 80s).

My neighbor has 115% coverage and his pool is in the 90s all the time. He likes it toasty with 3 kids under 5. I find it actually unrefreshing after a point so I am glad we didn't do the overkill and oversize.

Katherine

Hi Katherine,

Your pool is gorgeous! I have no idea if you're still monitoring this, but I came across your post while searching for information about installing a fastlane in a niche for our pool installation. Our PB has never installed a fastlane before and they are unsure about how to cover it inside the niche. Do you have any information about how this was done with yours, and what the cost of the cover might have been? The niche and supports have been built in our pool, and the PB says they can have a stainless steel person create a cover for the niche, but they will charge us $1000 just for the cover. Seems a little high to us! Any information you can provide would be very helpful! We're REALLY far away though - in North Carolina! Hope you're still enjoying your beautiful pool.