Day 7 Pool Project

Today started out early, the fellows were here to start work at 7:30. I was ready for them but I don't know about my neighbors. They cancelled yesterday because it was too hot, not too hot for the workers but for the curing process of the plaster and pebble. I got a huge laugh out of this truck that they backed up my driveway to my gate, the name for the large tank is called the "Ditch Witch". If you even look closely, you can see a witch on a broom flying by the moon.

The first part of the job was the prep work. They wrapped all the new tile, copping, and concrete work. Then they strung belay rope across the pool and tied them down to anything secure in my yard: a pillar to the patio overhang, the orange tree, the potato bush, a block from the retaining wall. This was a suspension system that they could hang some of their water air lines, the suction line and the line that sprayed the finish onto the surface of the pool.

As they were prepping the area, they brought out a 10lb. bag of sugar. I did not see where the sugar was put into the process but it was there for some reason. Maybe it helps to give the stones a shine.

Finally, some plaster and pebble is being applied. It was a dark goop.

All the fellows (4 of them) in the pool wore these funky four pronged platform shoes to protect the plaster they were working with. The shoe was connected at the toe like a cross country skiing. Another fellow was working along the edge of the pool and another fellow was outside at the big mixing truck. A pebble finish is mixed on site and each job is different depending on the color. I think there was a slight breeze outside and the fellow mixing must have been standing in the direction the wind was traveling because he was completely blue and looked like a big smurf. He was blue from head to toe.

After the goop was sprayed all over the pool the men quickly started to trowel the whole pool, starting with the sides and the bottom last. There was two thick layers applied to the sides of the pool and one thick layer on the bottom and they troweled each section separately.

After the sides of the pool had been troweled the sides were sprayed down to reveal the pebble finish. They continued to trowel to get make a perfectly smooth surface.

These are the "ditch witch" and the "mixing truck" out front of my house. Notice, I still have not quite finished the front yard, the Bermuda grass needs to be killed and sod put in. The grass has to be completely dead before I can move on. Continuing to kill the grass will give me time to get some funds under my belt to then finish the project.

At this stage you can sort of see the color of the pebble finish. It is cloudy now, tomorrow the acid wash will help with the luster of the stones. Actually, from what I have read online, it will take a couple of weeks to have the pebbles really shine. Over the next couple of weeks, I will need to brush the pool a few times a day. Some of the pebbles and plaster will fluff off, leaving a nice pebble finish.

My new steps.

Nice clean lines and curves. There is something about that.

Here are all 3 of the steps.

The website for Stonescapes has a picture of what the stones will look like after they are all polished. The water color of my pool will look something like the sample to the right. There are many factors that help the color become what it will be: shade, light, sun, clouds, and blue sky. I will have to take a dip in my pool on Thursday and imagine I am at a beach with a black sand beach. The pool is almost finished!

Way and Steps

"The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps" Proverbs 16:9.

Today is a classic example of this verse being worked out in my life. I had my "way" planned out as to how today and the next days played out. But the sovereign God of the universe planned my "steps". My "way" today included having my pool plastered with the pebble finish and then to travel down to Fresno for my sister's birthday and my niece's first ballet recital. This morning the pool company called and said that they would not be out today due to the heat and they would be out tomorrow. The LORD knows why my "way" has been changed, I may never know why but I can completely rest assured that my "steps" will be the way He wants my steps to go. Maybe the heat has an affect on how the plaster adheres or holds up, maybe I have missed a horrific car crash by not driving to Fresno. . . the possibilities are endless.

Some New Worship Songs

At church recently, we have sung some rich worship songs that have moved my heart. I want to share some of the lyrics with you. What an awesome God who has bought us and we are able to serve Him.

The first is by Tommy Walker called He Knows my Name by 1996 Doulos Publishing
with Jeremiah 1:5"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee" in mind.

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

Chorus
He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
and He hears me when I call

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

Chorus
He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
and He hears me when I call


The next is He Is Ever Over Me by Bob Stomberg, 1994 Stream Mountain Music

I will lift my eyes
To the hills and their Creator
Who made all heaven and earth
For He watches me
Will not sleep, no never slumbers
He's ever over me

Chorus
As I come and I go
I am safe, for I know
That His care is sufficient for me

Winter warmth and light
And a shady place in summer
He's ever over me


The last one is very powerful and displays some of the attibutes of my God and Savior. You Are God Alone by Billy and Cindy Foote, 2004 Billy Foote Music.

You are not a god created by human hands
You are not a god dependent on any mortal man
You are not a god in need of anything we can give
By Your plan that’s just the way it is

You are God alone from before time began
You are on Your throne You are God alone
And right now in the good times and bad
You are on Your throne You are God alone

You’re the only God whose power none can contend
You’re the only God whose name and praise will never end
You’re the only God whose worthy of everything we can give
You are God that’s just the way it is

Unchangeable, unshakable, unstoppable that’s what You are

Wishing For My Pool Today

102 reads the thermometer outside, it's cooler inside, slightly. Wishing the pool was filled today so I could jump on in and splash around in the cool water. The thought of taking a plunge in the pool was on my mind when I worked outside this morning. There have been many of times that I have been baking inside or perspiring profusely outside that I have used my pool to cool off. Not today but maybe on Wednesday!

Joey is 1

Happy Birthday Baby Joey!!!


My baby Joey love or as I call him, Joe Joe, turned 1 year old two weeks ago. I was so excited to spring out of my last day of work that I headed the very next morning down to Fresno to celebrate my nephew's 1st birthday. He is so cute and becoming such a big boy. He loves pointing at things and saying something in baby talk, he loves having books read to him, snuggling and playing with his toys. He is such a boy. What a joy he is.

My Trinity love is 3.7 years old. She is growing up to be a wonderful little girl. She is so sweet and eager to learn anything out in front of her. The question Why bounds out of her mouth several times a minute. Tag, exploring and reading stories are some of her favorite activities.

Jen has season passes to the Fresno Zoo. I have heard stories of the visits to the zoo for over 3 years now. On the actual day of Joey's birthday I finally was able to go to the zoo with the kids. The Fresno Zoo is a nice zoo, not too big but just right for the little ones. The zoo has a string ray exhibit and we were able to feel them.

Joey is starting to really feel comfortable with me. Wednesday night and yesterday, Thursday, I was down visiting with them and we played and played. Yesterday we pretended to take a trip on Joey's new airplane to Hawaii. We played in the sand, went surfing, snorkeled, ate luau pig, sun bathed and explored. Trinity has an incredible imagination and she enjoyed her trip to Hawaii with Auntie. Jen took us to a water park in Clovis. We played in the water for a few hours. Another good fun time with my loves.

The day we went to the zoo, we were able to feed the giraffes. Very incredible to be that close with nature and God's creation. Joey fed the giraffe for the first time. He is a little reserved with his emotions but he enjoyed himself. He kept pointing up to the giraffe and making a baby grunt (I know he was saying something, we just can't understand it yet).

Once Trin Trin and I got this down we were both feeding the giraffes at the same time. I think these fellows were enjoying a leaf at the same time instead of waiting their turn.

Trin and I had our arms out like the big condor. She was giggling the whole time. You have got to love the heart of a child, so precious.

Here is papa with his two grand children. Dad had not been feeling well and had some stuff going on but I honestly and really believe the turning point for him was going down to the birthday party, being with his grand children and his family.

Joey had no problem dipping into his cake and trying to eat it. Cake and frosting was everywhere. Trinity was just the opposite for her 1st birthday, once she got a little bit of frosting on her hands she started crying. Jen told me the day after Joey's party that his dirty diaper was filled with green and blue.

The party ended with a few memorable stories that will always be part of Joey's 1st birthday celebration but we keep that between family.

My family and my loves are a huge blessing from the LORD to me.

Day 6 Pool Project

Yeah, I know have a real step to walk out my slider down onto. Very exciting. It's still quite a step down but better than down on the ground. Somehow, my by cat, Lassen has been in all of the photos that I have taken of the step.



The concrete is all back in place now. It makes all the other pieces look like then need to be redone, but that is NOT going to happen any time soon.


The pool company has to come out and saw into the new concrete to make the distance between the pool copping and the concrete exactly the same as the rest of the pool. I wonder why they did not leave the space in the first place. I am not a concrete pro though so their reasons are the best reasons.

I am getting pretty excited for this project to be over. Even though we are day 6 of the project, in actuality from start to now it has been 10 working days or 2 weeks. Monday is the plaster with the pebble, Tuesday acid wash and start filling the pool. Almost there.

What a praise it was that my sister Amy was able to come over and be here while the work was being done yesterday so that I could be in Fresno to babysit my niece and nephew. Makes me break out in my favorite song at both of my sister's weddings, "We are family, all of my sisters and me". Thanks again Amy, you were a life saver (a minty wintergreen or a fruity orange).

Day 5 Pool Project

The two super hard workers were out again to finish the tile work that was not finished the other day due to running out of tiles and they put the grey deck-o-seal in between the concrete and the coping. This finishes everything off nicely. The only problem is there is a section of concrete that has not been laid yet and now that area does not have the deck-o-seal in it. Seems like the company is not doing this all in the correct order but what do I know. I am really hoping all of this will be done for a party I am having on the 4th of July. Actually, not only done but done in time to heat the water up to a good temperature so people can swim if they want. If the Lord wills that not happen, I am good too with having water balloons or other water fun.



I love the way my skimmer looks. Everything is all centered up and even. There is something to the clean lines and symmetry.

These are the plans as I see them, but the Lord might have other plans. Tomorrow is concrete and the new light. Monday is plaster day. Tuesday cure day and maybe deck-o-seal guys come back out. Wednesday is acid wash and brush day. Thursday is fill day. That leaves Friday and Saturday before the party to heat the pool.

Pool Project Day 4

Today the coping, tile and grout was put in. I like the coping and the tile combo. The fellows finished the coping, then they grouted the coping, then they laid the tile and finished up grouting the tile.

I love the colors. They blend in so well with the house and my yard.

Good thing I took this photo because I see a small area that did not get grout in it. I will have to show this to them when they come out next. Looks like a day when I will be in Fresno so I will call the company and ask them to tell the guys to fill it in.

Ohh oh! Somehow the correct amount of tiles were not ordered so the guys today were just short. About 12 short. The company had to reorder another box and they think it will be in later on this week. Tomorrow no work will be done, which is a good thing because I can go to the farmer's market and get my needed fruits and veggies. If all goes well, Wednesday will be concrete, Thursday tile work and I don't know what happens after that. I'll keep you posted.

Slip and Slide

I spent most of the weekend over at my mom and dad's because it was Father's Day and because Jen, Joe and the kids were up. We had a great time celebrating the two wonderful dad's that were amongst us. Mom cooked up some of the best food that I have had in a long time. One of my highlights of the weekend was doing a Slip and Slide with my niece. The plastic strip was not very long but I tell you, I sure was brought back to my childhood by running and diving onto the wet plastic and sliding down the grass. My niece and I laughed and laughed. Seriously, I have not done a slip and slide for almost 20 years. Wish I had a picture to show all of you the fun we had.

Day 3 Pool Project

A new crew of workmen were over to do their labor intensive part of the job for day 3 of the project. So far there have been 5 different crews of workmen over to do their speciality: the salesman, the pool drainer (who later will be the acid washer), the crew for the demo, the coping and tile guys and the fellow who I had to pay. Here you can see that they laid the coping out all around the pool and put up some bender board as guide to edge the coping bricks. The coping I chose is called light iron spot with safety grip.

This is the first section that the guys finished, well not completely, the coping bricks still need to get the grey grout placed in between the bricks. My pool is slightly starting to look like a pool again.

I am really starting to like what the edge of the pool is going to look like when it is all finished. This is quiet the contrast of the old white rough coping that was in there before. The color of this coping will pull off of the color of the roof from the house and will pull some from the tile. You will see the tile in a few days.

The above and below photos show how exactly each brick needs to be cut to fit the curves of my pool. One of the workmen spent his time cutting the bricks with a wet saw and the other placing the bricks with mortar. These fellows are true craftsmen because they have to have an exacting eye for detail.

In the tile work I have done, I love using the wet saw to cut tiles. All the cuts look so neat and clean.

The reality of the enormity of the project set in when I needed to write the first half of the cost of the project with the completion of the prep work (the final payment will be at the end). I have to keep telling myself that it will be all worth it and my home will benefit greatly from improving the pool.

My mind was reminded that the local water district started water restrictions and usage cutbacks a few months ago. What must be drained must be then re-filled. I called the water company, and thank the Lord that I did, and explained my situation. The fellow that I talked with was very helpful and if all goes as planned, I will just have to pay the normal cost to refill the pool with no penalty. If not, this fellow will come to bat for me and give a report to the city council, fighting on my behalf. I praise the Lord that He moves our hearts on what we need to do.

One of the most favorable aspects of all of this work being done, is that most of the fellows who have come out speak Spanish and English. I don't have many opportunities to speak much in Spanish so I like to take opportunities when they arise. Each day I have lunch for the fellows and speak with them a little in their native tongues. Right from the first words that come out of my mouth I tell them that I don't speak Spanish that well, because I really don't, but I try really hard and I am open to correction. Mainly, I like to give them lunch because I know my job will be done to the very best of their ability and if I have an issue they will be quick to fix it for me. A little food goes a long way. Yesterday though, the Lord opened up a huge ministry opportunity to share of His grace and saving power. As we talked in Spanish, they wanted to know I learned Spanish and this gave me the opportunity to explain my time in Mexico studying and the many other times of visiting Mexico with churches that I have been involved with. One fellow asked what the difference was between the Catholic faith and the Christian faith. God was gracious for the opportunity and for the words in Spanish to explain the differences. They will be back on Monday and I pray that I might have more of an open door to share with them.

Pool Project Day 2

The men drilled holes every 6" to reveal if there were other craters. They broke through those bubbled areas and cleaned them out. The coping and tile came off too. There was a huge hole punched into the bottom of the pool to prevent the pool from "popping". "Popping" occurs when a pool is drained and is not as heavy and the water table is higher than the lowest point of the pool. The water table pressure pops a pool right out of the ground.


The two pads of concrete are being removed here. There were 2 or 3 jack hammers working at a time. My house was shaking like a low grade earthquake. My girl kitty was not into the work at all. She was a nervous wreck under the bed the whole time.



This fellow is sand blasting away the paint and the top layer of plaster. Note to pool owners: Do not ever paint your plaster on your pool, it is the worst thing you can do to your pool. The weekend I first saw the house, the homeowner was down in the drained pool painting it. I have been fighting that paint ever sense.



The truck bed was filled with all the debris that was taken out of my back yard. There also is the paper wrapping for at least 5 bags of 100 lbs of sand, used for the sand blasting.


When they were finished sand blasting they put on some base coast of plaster primer or something that looked like dry wall mud.


The step below gave one of the fellows a huge work out. In fact they could not chip the concrete down any lower than this. He was using the small jack hammer. My sister thought he was using the small jack hammer because the big one would have shattered the slider glass.

This morning the company called and said the next part of the project will start on Friday. The tiles I ordered will be in on Thursday so my project is on hold for a few days, or I should say that I have a few days of rest before it all starts up again. I don't know why but I am exhausted today.

Pool Project Day 1

Day 1 was pretty uneventful. The pool got drained and you can see the crater with no water. I walked around the bottom of my empty pool and I felt about 7 more areas that would turn into the same type of crater as this one. One felt much bigger than this one (this one was about 16" long and 12" wide). I was able to work outside all day long pulling weeds and cleaning up my garden.

Pre-Project

Here is the crater that I talked about, the reason why I needed to do this whole project.

This is the pool before the project started.

These two concrete pads need to be replaced. They have sunk down by about 1-2" and the new coping would not level off. It only made sense to me to re-due these concrete pads too. For those of you considering putting in new concrete, concrete work is very expensive.


Here is my skimmer and my tile work. As you can see the left side of the tile is distressed and the tile is out of date.

When I bought the house the slider opened the wrong direction and in replacing all the doors I bought this slider to open in the correct direction. Because the slider opened opposite of what it does now, the step down was on the other side. These bricks have been my step for as long as the house has been mine. So, I figured since there would be concrete work done, I might as well get the step done at the same time.