Going on month 10.......

19 years ago

Hello people,

Haven't wrote for a while, just been lurking. Our pool dreams have been so depressing and stressful, it's been hard to write about. Just to refresh your memory, my pool is the big pool 24x74 with a island/patio in the middle. We started early in Jan. and have had one problem after another. Pretty much everything has been done 2 or 3 times over at our pool. I think due to lack of good supervision and the fact that we don't live at the house, (it is our getaway home in Arizona). So I think the 2 together is cause for disaster, since no one is there to monitor, everything had been done half a$$. Anyways, the biggest slap to the face was when, we had pebble plaster done (stonescapes), what a nightmare, it was horrible job, the had to do it over a 2 day period and on the second day, the pump broke so the slapped on the mix with buckets and did the best they could, but the end result was horrific, wobbly walls, bald spots, gunite exposed in some areas.......sigh. They demolished the pebble and we were told that due to the size and shape of the walls, pebble was not a good option (keep in mind he was the one who recommended it to us). He then suggested diamond brite, eventhough we now had our hearts set on pebble, we compromised and went for diamond brite. After 9 monthes, we finally had our diamond brite, we went up to the house that weekend, to find several small cracks on the steps, not to mention the tile looked like crap from the demo of the pebble product. It was disappointing, but at this point we just wanted everything to be done, so they would be out of our sight, before someone got shot, lol. We woke up the fallowing morning to see that the water level had gone down quite a bit, we have a huge leak somewhere. We had a meeting with out PB and spoke legaleze with him. He assured us that everything will be taken care of. We have compromised time, money, quality, now what? The pool is now drained....approx 80,000 gallons, and they will be testing everything for the leak. This process has been such a nightmare for us, and it totally feels like this dream getaway house of ours is jinxed. Anyways, just wanted to give a little update, I will post pictures as soon as everything is complete and we take our first swim.....I am not holding my breath, I figure it might be a while. Best wishes to all!!!

Tina

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Comments (7)

meowracer
19 years ago
Tina, We have a much, much smaller pool (just under 7000 gallons but all we could possibly fit in due to a very large easement on our yard). Our problems, however, have been very similar to yours. Our pebble was done 4 times before being right (and still has a few needed fixes but it won't require another draining.) On the 4th time, our glass tile was scratched around the whole perimeter of the pool. Our deck needs to be fixed still too. Ours was dug the first week of April. I had to stay on top of the PB nonstop, and was the only supervisor on the job! It is pathetic, but I can say worth it even though we are not yet finished. About the pebble - we switched installers on the 4th time and everything turned out right because they knew what they were doing. Maybe that will work for you if it must be redone again. Good luck to you. It is such an incredibly stressful experience to go through. Keep your heads up and try to be positive (and not shoot anybody!:) I was ready to pull heads off and watch them roll too.
gk5040
19 years ago
First thing of thought of was MEOWRACER....then saw your posted next. What a nightmare....feel sorry for you both. Hope everything gets fixed and back to normal so you can enjoy your pool.
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meowracer
19 years ago
gk5040 - I feel like I know you by now! You are so sweet - I think that this person may just have me beat on horror stories -starting with the 80,000 gallons of problems. Ours is looking pretty good - if only they would just finish up already. How is your pool life??
gk5040
19 years ago
Fortunately....Tina has you beat! I cant imagine dumping 80,000 gallons of water!!!! Pool life is going good, we finally got bar stools today!!! I had ordered them 2 months ago so that they matched our patio table. Its looking better and better. We do need to re-enhance/seal the stone. It was so porous the sunny areas soaked it right up. Its just finding the time. It has to not rain for a couple of days so the stone is completely dry. I wanted to do it next week because we are hosting a cocktail party and I want it to look fabulous. Right now I am killing myself to finish the inside. It is funny how you feel like you know some of the posters...we all kind of went thru the same stuff around the same time. There was another lady....Beachdiva....who I shared similar stories with...we both had recently moved, bought high, market is now low, both our homes needed interior renovations..only she put in a pool, ours was a remodel. Hope your project is all back to normal...is the yard back together? Cant wait to see your whole finished project.
donnaw
19 years ago
Oh this sounds familiar. But, I'll tell you it's like childbirth. After you've had the pool for a week and enjoyed a few swims you'll hardly remember it.

We just finished up our pool in July and the majority of the landscaping this past week. We started last September. I don't want to even go into all the delays. For 6 months we had a gunite whole in the backyard, then for 3 months we had a pool surrounded by mud. Now I love our pool now and we enjoy it almost every day.

Hang in there and hopefully things will get better and soon this part will be a memory.
tinabinabobina
Original Author
19 years ago
Meowracer..... I remember reading your posts and seeing your pictures, and knowing exactly how you felt. Not only had they screwed up your pool but your established home and garden. We spent a fortune on our front yard, did some cool rock art with river rocks and lava rock, to resemble a dried out stream. Everything is ruined, and will have to be done over again. I am just glad we don't live there, because it would drive me nuts to see that day in and day out.... Out of sight out of mind, for the most part.

gk5040....Glad you are enjoying your pool and yard, I envy you :P The cocktail party sounds like fun, you are going to feel so proud. I can't wait to entertain my friends and family.

donnaw..... Thank you for the kind words, I really like you analogy, comparing it to childbirth, I hope that will stand true for us, I am optimistic it will.

You guys are the best!
Tina
padrefan
19 years ago
But pregnancy only lasts 9 months!

donnaw's right, though. You'll get through this and have a great pool to enjoy. And unlike a kid, your pool will never talk back or ask you for the car keys.

Good luck!!