Jenn, can you tell me how you posted your pics. I have started posting Subject: New pool build in Jacksonville, FL however I cannot get the pics to the website like yours. Everytime I try to post a pic it directs you to a link. I would like people to see pic without having them go to a link. I hope that I have properly explained.
Thank you for your direction

wow, day 14? we are having concrete poured on wednesday, and we started 5/27! the only good thing about this slow pace is that i've had time to make some changes before they moved on to the next step. your beach entry turned out very nice! and the tile also looks good. it must be day 60 or something for us. yikes!

brentr, I am uploading my pics to photobucket and then copy/pasting the HTML code from there into my posts. Hope that helps! Took me awhile to figure it out.....I'm sure there is an easier way but that's how I'm doing it. :)

airborne, thanks for the info. OMG, he did a pool for her while she was out of town?!?! That's crazy! :) Very sweet, but wow...........my husband would never dream pick out hardly anything, I'm too picky...... Hey, I'd still LOVE to see the Majestic Plum pics, what is your website?

Day 22 update:

Had some weather delays the last week (with more of that looming) and we left town for a few days. Deck and final dirt work were completed last Friday (day 17). We left town that day and just got back last night. Due to my apparently over picky nature they didn't want to do any work without me here to watch....(pretty embarassing......). They were here fist thing this morning and changed out a few pieces of the flagstone coping that I wasn't happy with. Also had a stair added in the spa, done when they poured the deck and they put stone on top of that. Clean up crew came and cleaned out the pool in preparation for plaster tomorrow! (.....weather permitting.......). Mauve stonescapes will hopefully be applied tomorrow. I have a bottle of wine ready to go for when I freak out about this step.........I've been thoroughly warned that this will be shocking. The final water color is the wish & a prayer I'm going to float this drama out on. :) Fingers crossed!!!!!

Some pics of recent progress:

I love the texture/feel of the deck, not so sure about color but at this point I can't tell what is dirty and what isn't and PB says give it a few more days for final look. The tones/color doesn't look like the sample we saw, hopefully it will change some more. These pics were taken today, it's very overcast today. Some day would love to seal it, but for now won't due to how slippery it would become. :)

Jenn---was just checking in on your build. It looks really great! The deck is very unique. I like that idea and had no clue of what it was when you told me skins patterns. It will lighten up, trust me. Just like regular concrete, it won't stay that dark.

Hope you had a great vacation!
Post some more pictures of the plaster.....
Oh, I think the step in the spa was a neat idea. Your little man will love it. He will think he has his own lil' seat.

janet-thanks for the compliments! I sprayed off the deck today and a lot of the color was dirt... :) But it's not a ton different from the pics. 2 colors were added to the stamped concrete, tumbleweed and autumn brown---so it's not ever going to be regular concrete color. I'm not in love with the overall tone/color but I'm pretty confident that once we lay sod and finish the existing patio in flagstone it will all compliment one another well. And if I just really don't care for the color we'll go ahead and install our ice rink via sealant. :) We knew that we wanted to go stick to our non-normal theme and so we skipped kool deck and I was originally planning for colored salt deck but saw a couple of these stamped concrete "skin" decks and went with this. As for the stair in the spa, I originally wanted a large portion of the bench in the spa to be raised but our PB talked me out of that. I regret letting him so after gunite we decided to definitely add a stair and fortunately the PB suggested the stone be added even before we told him we'd like it to be capped in flagstone. I'm sure my PB would HATE to know that I'm sharing info on the the "freebies" we've received, but I sure have loved the give-me's he's thrown in. :) I'll definitely share pics tomorrow after Barney explodes in my pool (i.e. mauve Stonescapes). :)

Looking great. All your colors and patterns have blended perfectly.

paradigmdawg, you're too kind. Wish I felt the same, but it is what it is now. :) Kinda funny to sit and wonder what it would look like had it turned out how I *thought* it would. Maybe this is better? :) ha!

Plaster was cancelled today due to rain. :( :( :( Hopefully Barney will make his appearance/explosion in my pool tomorrow...........

Barney---too funny!
Hope you get plastered tomorrow.....in the pool sense!
But remember your true water color will not be there until the pumps and filter is running and you have added chemicals. So don't be worried if the color looks a bit odd at first.
I like your color deck, it's very natural with a flair....the pattern is way cool. Something I haven't seen before---very original!
We did pea gravel/exposed aggregate since it was low in cost and we needed so much decking and patio. I would love to upgrade to the stamped concrete or patterned concrete, but we were way over budget already!

Don't feel bad about all the freebies....we got a lot of them.....If it makes you happy, I'm sure it makes your PB happy too.!!!!
OK, ready to see some pictures tomorrow! Good luck with the weather up there!!!!!

Yep, our deck design got cancelled today too. They rescheduled for tomorrow. Looks like all next week will be sunny and no rain.

We just changed how we want our retaining wall to look. I hope it all turns out like we have invisioned.

They are finishing up my Mauve Stonescapes mini pebble as we speak! I'm loving it. Can't believe how PURPLE it looked at first----and I'm not personally a purple gal, at all----but having seen the water color on a few of these in person I just had to do it. :) I'll post some pics soon, this has been a fun process to watch. It's certainly not for everyone, but I'm really glad we went out on a limb and picked this color. For ONCE, I'm not sad about the results----that's rare!

Give us some pictures.

The spray painted our deck design today and are supposed to stake it out tomorrow. PB said it is likely that deck will be poured on Tuesday and PT at the end of the week!

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS, FOLKS! Barny made an appearance at my house today. I'm shocked to admit I'm very happy with the end result. I've had a very hard time with almost every step of my build, disliking the outcome of things...well, I'm here to say for once that I'm HAPPY! Sure, I have my doubts.....I'm NOT a purple girl. Did I lose my mind to pick such an uncommon color? (probably. then again, I lost my mind a long time ago...) But I'm confident that this will produce a beautiful water color and can't wait to see it!!!! Pool fill begins tomorrow. Woohoo!

My little guy supervising:

I told you it looks PURPLE:

Call it purple, call it mauve, this is just CRAZY!

This is when I realized---there's no turning back now! And when my husband thought he was hilarious to tell the guys "this is Tahoe Blue, right?"

Ahhhhhhhh, finally, we can see the stones. Toned down dramatically when they washed it off

Ok, I guess now it's PINK. This IS crazy. It's a pool, not a little girl's closet. I still say, even indecisive doubtful me, that the water is gonna be gorgeous:

Will keep you posted! I wish I could fast forward to next week and see this baby with come chemicals and somewhat balanced.

Jenno, thank you for your help in posting pics. You can see our new SPOOL ( Social Pool, LOL )being built on the posting" Our New Pool Build in Jacksonville, FL" We should have had water in it yesterday but the Screen Person got backed up due to rain and cannot start till Monday. Our PB says he should be able to put water in by Wednesday, of course the Wife has a party planned for next weekend, LOL. That's okay with me because I have lots of projects like running extra conduit for lighting and outlets and planning for a summer kitchen and Tiki Bar, and all this has to be done before the screen is installed. I love how you pool is turning out. How Exciting...........

Can't wait to see it with water. I assume you got a ton of rain last night like we did, is that ok on new PT?

It looks AWESOME! I can't wait to see the "final" color. We are getting our PS right now and, if it wasn't so early, I might have to have something a little stronger than my morning coffee! :-) Keep us posted on the fill-up!

"This is Tahoe Blue, right?" I LOL'd on that one. Good thing your husband it there to keep everyone on their toes!

I was a little shocked to see the color before it was washed, but after the wash it is gorgeous! Goes so well with all of your choices. I can't wait to see the water color it produces.

Anxiously awaiting pics!
Sherry

That purple is wierd :). I wanted Tahoe but switch to caribbean at the last minute and love it. Mine actually looked very BLUE before the wash LOL
I can't wait to see it with water

I love the purple----it will look so great once water is in. I do give you Kudos for going out on a limb and doing something different! A good different!
When are they filling it? Should be today, right?

Yahtzee!!!!!! The guys showed up bright and early to acid wash, finished just before we got more rain. Started filling, spa is full, pool is filling and I have to tell ya, I LOVE the water color! I got a few pics that I think are an AWESOME example of the amazing effects of plaster + water + light = WATER COLOR! (note: we don't have the abalone/sparkles, the stuff you see is just junk floating on top of the water.)

My son calls the spa his. He told me this morning "Mommy, mommy, come see! You can get in my spa!"

Hard to believe this was a concrete hole this time yesterday morning!

Parker splashing in HIS spa:

Shot of the spa when the sun peaked out:

And here is an AWESOME "before & after" of the plaster vs. water. Spa on the right, full of water, pool on the left. Now you nay-sayers tell me you don't agree, this purple plaster gig does produce a pretty water color, huh! :)

Other angle, spa full on the left, pool empty on the right:

Now waiting on the pool to fill......

Please excuse the hideous view behind the pool......we have some serious work to do.....I know that one day when the fence is replace (WITH A TALLER ONE OF COARSE) and landscaping is in, it'll be great. :)

it will look even better when its full and balanced

congrats

Looks great. I can't wait for the next week or two to get here so I can start filling.

How long does it take to fill a 18000 gallaon pool? My PB said about a day but my neighbor said it took him almost 3 days (he is on well water and we are on city water).

Has anyone tried getting a special "pool rate" from their water company?

We've been filling since about 8 this morning and it's up to the returns now. Just shut it off to go to bed and not worry with it overnight. In all ours will come to about 18-20 hours total. That's using 2 hoses. I thought it would take much longer, but my pool isn't large either. about 14k gallons.

Jenno, I replied back to you on my blog but I was not sure that you would get back my rely. jenno tx, thank you. We are putting in Beach series St Tropez by Marbletite ,Pebble finish, lifetime warranty. The marcite is light blue and the pebbles are light and dark blues with sand and charcoal colors. We went to see another pool with the exact finish which the PB had completed a month ago. The water line tile is 6 x6 tile, Hawaii, blue color.

Almost full, woohoo!!!!!

That's looking great.

Well, the pool is as full as it's going to be for now. PB wanted us to stop water at bottom of tile line so that when they seal they can go down into the beach entry some. Here are a few shots I just took, the sun is setting on my west facing house. We're really pleased with the water color and so happy that it finally feels pretty complete. This process proved more trying for my nerves than I ever imagined.......

View from back door. Existing patio will be capped in flagstone soon.

Beach entry.

Full view of pool:

How did they get the PUPRPLE out :) ?

fletch58, that made me laugh. :) I'm loving the water color. So happy I went with Barney Plaster! :)

EWE the water is so nasty now from sitting a couple days. They are coming back tomorrow or Thursday to turn the equipment on and get this water pretty. I can't wait! Brushing it is a job, especially in the lovely 100 degree TX weather. I'll post more pics when the equipment is on, I am so looking forward to seeing the bubblers, deck jets and spa spillway!

Congratulations on your new pool! I love the earthy color scheme and your plaster color is so unique. I am always amazed as to how different pools look when they are full of water. Enjoy!

The pool looks awesome, I saw all your threads where you were so unsure about it, but its turned out great. Im in the same boat right now (installing my "Irish Mist mini pebble" right now) What Ive gained from reading all these forums is that I dont think there are any ugly colors, only bad installers.... Your pool looks FANTASTIC, congrats!

mwrede, thanks for the kind words!

haleye, thank you so much! Oooooh, I can't wait to see your irish mist!!!! I'm loving these less common colors myself. :) :)

Pool was FINALLY open as of yesterday. Still finishing up in the yard and PB still working on items, but thankfully it's finally time to SWIM! :) Pool school will be in a couple more days, we don't know what we're doing yet really. Looking forward to getting the water chemistry righ....and the fence, sprinklers, sod, landscaping......LOTS left to do. For now we'll focus on enjoying the pool though. :)

View from inside the house:

Made the kids pose before taking the plunge. They are LOVING life:

Let our biggest fish have the honor of taking the first plunge!

Our smaller fish having fun with the deck jets:

Lounging in the beach entry:

I said before I wasn't a spa person. I think I've change my mind, it's really relaxing and I'm glad we have it now!

I'll post more pics when we get things balanced property.

Awesome Jenn! It looks so good and everything came together perfectly, you should be proud.

A couple of my buddies, my wife and me pulled the old fence yesterday and spent 12 hours installing the new metal poles (had a lot of issues with the old post breaking and had to dig them out). We will hang the panels today and finally have some privacy again. The clean up crew also came yesterday and leveled the back yard and cleaned the deck, coping, tiles and all the trash.

Tomorrow is PT!

Wait til you get to use your SPA in the winter. There is nothing like a dip when it is 40 degrees out. We were in our SPA with the snow falling. In Houston that was a miracle.

Looks Amazing Jenn! All your hard work and worries paid off! The kids are adorable and look to be lovin' the pool. You will have so many memories with them growing up with a pool!
I love your spa, great placement!
Plz post more pics when you can!
For now, enjoy your pool!!!!

Thanks so much, janetlong. You and so many here have been such a wonderful support through this. It means a lot when you guys tell me that it looks ok. We are enjoying it---just have some issues with the equipment and water chemistry. Haven't done pool school yet, but we know that it's more than just that......SO, waiting now for them to get their rears back out here to sort this out. My husband is working hard on finishing the sprinklers so we can sod and move on with getting this place looking pretty again! The kids have slept better the last few nights than they have in a LONG time, the pool is really wearing them out, but in a good way. :)

Don't sweat the little things. Take a look at the kids faces and tell me how perfect is your pool to them :) ?

Tell your husband I feel for him. I started digging the ditches for my sprinkler this morning and it is not fun. I had to take a break because some people came over and got in my way. They said they had to acid wash some PT and start filling a pool!

Wow, I'm just starting the research for a pool build here in DFW, and I have to say, your pool is AWESOME! Love your beach entry, deck jets...love how that purple pebble tec turned out. Nicely done! I'm excited to start this process!

Perfect! I like your pool, kids safety is necessary. It seems that they are enjoying their first plunge. Thanks for sharing.

paradigmdawg, did you finish your sprinklers yet? My poor husband is STILL working on ours......I think it turned out to be a much bigger job than he had anticipated in his mind.....HOPING to have it wrapped up by this weekend so we can finally lay sod.

jencjudd, thank you so much! I'm still very conflicted by our hideous brown mortar, I think once that's re-done I'll be much happier.....when is the big question on that....I am happy with the plaster, it's Mauve Stonescapes. I'm excited to watch your build, I'm going to go look for it now! :) Hang on to your seat.......it's quite a ride but will be worth it in the end. :)

gardenlover25, I know, it's a whole new level of safety concerns around here, but they are loving it.

A few more pics since the chemicals have been regulated. We're really having a good time with the pool, just still VERY overwhelmed with the long project list still in the works.....ahhhhhh! :)

Hi Jenn O! Great looking pool. I bet you're glad to be able to at enjoy swimming even though the other projects continue. We just started our build and I'm hoping to squeeze in a little bit of summer with a pool. We did a similar beach entry to a tanning ledge. We were warned by a few builders that it just becomes a bird bath and we'd have to always be cleaning up bird poop. Have you had any such experiences with your beach entry? And did you have birds in your yard pre-pool? We in the DFW area too.

Thanks for sharing your build.

Here is a link that might be useful: Where we are in our pool build.

Jenn,

I took all last week off and logged 117 hours finishing the yard. I got the new fence installed, ran the sprinkler system, moved in 6 yards of topsoil, one yard of pea gravel, 1300 sq/ft of sod, landscape lighting and 15 bushes and 4 small trees (well the trees are not in the ground yet)The sprinkler was a nightmare. The new part, in the back yard, was easy but they broke several main lines and feeder lines in my front and side yard with all the heavy machinary. I didn't expect to have to fix all that.

I will be burning all my shovels and pick axes as soon as I get the trees in. I will NEVER dig another hole as long as I live!

texascanuck, you're pool is going to be AWESOME. Love the designs, is the final plan the PB's plan or a combo of the 2? Either way, AWESOME. We've had no issues with birds yet. Didn't have birds before, either. We shall see! I'm really glad we did the beach entry/tanning ledge combo. Several people tried to talk me out of it, a lot of the reason was how much room it would take to do a beach entry---but our tanning ledge is only 6-8 inches, so all in all from the beginning edge of the beach entry to the edge of the steps is about 11'X11' with about 1' out of the water.

Thank you so much Jenn. My wife gets all the credit for the pool design. I just had few ideas and she pulled it all together. We started with a couple of designs from PBs but then we kept wanting to change this and that to see what it would look like. So we got our own software and my wife created at least 50 different versions of our pool. The final PB plan started from our plan and they made some recommendations based on their expertise of designing pools.

Our tanning ledge will only have partial flagstone around the area that will be out of the water. We wanted the beach entry for our babies - 2 tiny toy poodles. There's no way they'd be jumping into a foot of water. Let's just hope they learn to use the beach entry. I'm looking most forward to the tanning ledge. It just seems like the best area to lounge around in.

Glad to hear no birds have paid you a visit. We used to have a koi pond by our patio and birds would come. But then again, we used to have 4 trees in our backyard that have since been cleared. So yes, time will tell. Otherwise I'll have to find creative ways to scare away the birds.

I know it has been a long time since you started this post, but we are considering Pebble Tec majestic plum or Pebble sheen bordeaux ( seems very similar to your mauve). I like your idea of flagstone on the tanning ledge because I am concerned about seeing a giant pink/mauve step. Does the mauve actually look mauve in the shallow end, or does it take on a differant hue when water covers it? And if so, what color does it look like?I love the overall color of the water, but I don't think I could live with seeing anything mauve up close. Thanks for all the pictures- I would have NEVER considered this color if not for the few of you who posted your pics of this rarely used color.