If you build it...they will come!

I know you've heard this saying a dozen times at least, and it's true! 

I am very excited that my oldest son came home yesterday to spend a few nights with us and his girlfriend is driving up tonight too.  Woohoo!  It seems there's quite a bit of interest in our little old pool.   Yesterday, my youngest son and his girlfriend were also enjoying our pool again, even though she has a perfectly beautiful one at her house.  Neighbors have stopped by to check it out and friends have already called for references on our contractor.   I'm guessing these 100 degree temperatures are also contributing to all the excitement as well!  Because, Shewww, is it HOT!  

We have been enjoying swimming in our pool since last Thursday evening a week ago.

We went with a darker blue liner which adds to the allure of a more refreshing pool.

Isn't it pretty? Sorry, I am just so in love!  Teehee!

As exciting and refreshing as all of this is, I really wanted to share something more about the construction of our pool.  I wanted to share this for those of you who are considering building one either now or in the future.  Since all pools are subject to each individuals preferences and property this may not necessarily apply to your situation. But...if it does, you may be happy I mentioned it.    

As you can see, we do not yet have concrete decking around our pool.  We are waiting about 6 weeks for the ground to settle before pouring the concrete.  This is the amount of time our contractor prefers to help keep the concrete from possibly cracking if your ground settles underneath after you have poured concrete.

Most pool builders in our area wait about 2 weeks, a few maybe wait four.  Two weeks is certainly not enough as I have seen so far.

I first thought our contractor was being a bit extreme on his time frame.  But being that we have waited this long to build a pool the last thing we want is to end up with a cracked patio or walkway because we tried to rush the process, so we are obliging.  We were advised to put out soaker hoses all round the pool where we have backfilled the dirt along the walls.

Keeping this area wet helps to compact the dirt down faster.  As you can see in the following photos, it is amazing how much the dirt begins to drop and settle down.

Our concrete will but up and under the white coping on the pool edge over the top of the metal wall seen here.

The two previous photos show how much it has dropped even after two previous soakings and adding more dirt.  Can you imagine what your concrete may look like if it dropped this much after pouring it?

This is why we have a big pile of sand out in our yard.  It is there so we can continuously add more dirt around the outside of the pool as it settles.

After seeing large cracks in the dirt as it dries and compacts, I am a firm believer in waiting for the ground to settle before adding the concrete decking.  I would much rather see these cracks now and help them to settle now before they showed up in our pavement.  Wouldn't you?

So for now, we are just enjoying the pool and the sandy beach.

I've been spreading sand everywhere we walk because it sure does help to keep the mud down.

Along with that, a tarp and buckets for dipping your feet in before getting into the pool are helping as well.

It's a little muddy and dirty and tacky looking around here right now, but we will get there soon enough.

  Meanwhile, I am busy thinking of landscaping and retaining walls and the layout of our concrete to pass the time while waiting.  For those of you who may be considering building a pool where you will need to back fill around the outside please heed my advice.  I am a firm believer in waiting now since I've seen it first hand. Hopefully, you will be now too!

Thanks for stopping by today,

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Mary