How to built a pool - Shotcrete

They start with putting up shields around the pool because the concrete is actually shot on the walls and it splashes a lot. I asked if they should do a thicker shell because of the expanding soil here and they thought that was a good idea. Especially since this area has been farmland before.

The steel bar are a little more than 3 inch up so we decide to just add that extra inch. So the bottom will be around 7 inch instead of 6. They start with the steps so they can dry a little till they need to walk on them. Then they take the benches and the walls. The last thing they do is the bottom of the pool.

3, 5 hour after they arrived they are done and now it is only cleaning up to do.

When the shotcrete dries it cracks. There will always be surface cracks but you have to look out for bigger cracks. If you can fit a quarter in the crack it is too big.

You can test if it is a surface crack or a deeper crack. Pour some water in the crack and if no water is coming out from the crack even if you add more, it is probably not a surface crack. Call your subcontractor and they send someone out to check it up for you.

The shotcrete company will give you some instructions how to keep your pool from drying too fast, follow the instructions. Keep watering the pool for at least 5 days. 

My steps. I'm satisfied with the shape of the stair but the first step is very small and the second step should probably been a little bigger. One more thing with the steps is that the shape is making a corner, and that's never good in a pool. If there is a corner then there is a place for sand to get stuck.

The pool has finally got a shape and with all the four steps. Now I can go down in it and feel how deep it is.

Jasmine

Jasmine is a lovely plant. It has a fantastic fragrance that is especially strong in the evening. I have two different jasmines. They are both vines but you can find jasmine in bush form too. In the beginning I was just winding the branches back into the plant but like most plants it gets bushier if you cut it. The gardener takes the bush saw and just sweeps it over the bush and since the plant is a complete mess with vines going in and out it gives probably not the best result but in a couple of weeks the plant has regrown and it looks great.

My yellow Jasmine blooms first and when it is all over it is time for the white one to bloom. The yellow jasmine is also called Carolina jessamine because it is South Carolina’s state flower.

My jasmine is easy to care for and they can take both heat and cold good. I have mine in full sun and they have never burned. They have never been covered and they haven’t taken any damage so far from those few cold nights we get here in Gilbert, AZ.

Read more about jasmine:

How to Care for a Jasmine Bush Plant

Outdoor Jasmine Plant Guide

The Fragrant Jasmine

How to built a pool - Inspection

You can schedule an inspection by telephone or online in Gilbert. Use your Permit ID NO. when scheduling inspections. Call: 480-503-6700 or go online

How fast you can get your inspection depends on their workload. I built my pool off season so I got the inspection next day. The inspection took only about 10 minutes. He checked: how deep the gas pipes was buried, the pressure on the gas pipe,  pressure on the water pipes, that a wire was place by the gas pipe and the water pipes, so the pipes is easy to find after they been covered since they are made of plastic.

Now maybe the ground finally can be leveled out. So it doesn't have to look like Moon Base Alpha in the backyard. I'm so scared someone is going to trip on all this holes.

Regrowing Salad

I am done with this salad, only the bottom is left, but instead of throwing it away I put it in a glass of water and it is regrowing. It is going to be interesting to see how big it can grow on only water. Maybe I should put it in some soil. 

How to built a pool - Gas Heater

If you are going to have a gas heater to your pool or spa you need to include special information for the permit and you also need a special inspection.

I wasn't home when they dug the hole, I wonder how the machine looked like that made that kind of hole. The gas line have to be buried deeper than the electric lines and the plumbing. Make sure before you get your permit where you going to have the heater and where the gas lines is going to be. If you like to change some gas lines it counts as a change of plan and you have to fill in more papers, get an additional permit and it will cost you some extra dollars.

Avocado

The avocado plant is growing big it is time to cut it off. Sad but if I don't cut it off the plant will continue to grow only in one direction, up. After cutting off the top the plant should grow in two direction. We'll see.

I put the cut off top in a glass of water. If the top gets roots I have two plants.

How to built a pool - Electric

With electric I would say the most important is the equipment. We were told to take two, 2 hp pumps but we bought one pump with 4 different power levels instead. It was a lot more expensive but we saved some money on the installation fee and there is a lot of money to save when we use the pump.

Since the pump has 4 different speeds we don't have to run the pump on maximum all day and night, we can decide on how much power the pump should run on.

We run the pump on a low speed for a couple of hours during the day for the circulation and during the night when the electricity is cheaper we run the cleaning on a higher speed. When the pump is running on a low speed it is very quiet, the higher speed makes a lot more noise but that we don’t have to worry about because we are asleep at that time.

Here is one of the lights installed. The wires are grounded in the house. Everything is grounded even the sleeve for the basketball hoop is grounded.

The wires that goes to the pool is not in copper but the one around the pool are, and it is expensive. To save some dollars try to make the distance between the control panel and the lights short.

Agave-marginata

Agave

I have an agave plant that I don't know what kind it is, I think it is an Agave Marginata. The gardeners keep cutting it so it looks more like a small palm tree now. They dig up all suckers so I can't get more plants but one day I succeeded do save one small plant before they arrived. I put it in a glass of water and waited for roots to grow. 










It is time to plant it outside in the soil. Good luck little plant.

How to built a pool - Steel

Steel

The guys arrived early and worked quickly. Here you can see how they just lay the steel bars on the ground after they cut them to the right length and then they wind them together with some kind of steel thread.








The stairs is still only 2,5 step.

They put blocks under the steel bars, so they stay about 3 inch above ground. It is important that the steel will be in the middle of the shotcrete. This is probably the most important part. Since if the steel is too high off the ground you will end up paying for more shortcrete but if it is too close to the ground the shell will be too thin. If you live in an area with expending soil you maybe should talk to the shotcrete company about how thick your pool shell should be.

Grapes

Spring time. The winter was so mild this year, so the leaves on the grape vines are early. I am a little bit worried every year if I cut too much or too little. As I said before I don't like cutting down my grape but if I want some grapes I have to. The question is; did I cut the right vines? 

WOW. During the winter it looks like it is all dead but now it is growing so fast I have to tie up new outgrowths every week. Maybe I didn't cut down enough.

The grape is soon going to bloom and it looks like a lot this year too. Yeah.

How to built a pool - Plumbing

Plumbing

They company had calculated how many pop up heads we needed and where to put them. But when they saw the pool they got a little frustrated. It didn't look exactly as my drawing. One of the benches where too long, it didn't match with their plan for the heads. To make the water and the dirt in the water move toward the drain the pop up heads need to be in the exact right place.

The steps and benches did not have the exact shapes as on the drawing that they got from me. When you fax a paper some of the measurement changes and if you hand draw it even makes it worse. (That's a good reason for using some computer program to draw the pool.) Then comes the layout guy and he makes the benches and steps on freehand and when the excavation guys digs the hole the benches and steps gets a little different shape again.

Here they are marking out where the heads are going to be and how the pipes are going. Then it is time to start digging. Again. You can tell that digging in Arizona soil is nothing you do easily.

Now all the plumbing is done. The pop up heads are sticking up right now but will be cut off later. There are pop up heads on each step and on all benches. And since we didn't have a step for our feet on the drawing they had to add another head. Now there is a lot of soil everywhere but they leaving the ground open for the electrician and also for the inspection later on.

 It is a lot of pipes. In the far left corner is the pump and the heater. The tall pipes on the left is the pipe for the water to the slide. You can see the two skimmers and  a lot of pop up heads actually 25 of them. There are also looped returns. You can see one on each side of the deep side of the pool.

Dwarf bottlebrush

Dwarf bottlebrush, or Little John bottlebrush

This plant has such funny flowers. We bought them because the hummingbirds like to eat nectar from them. This how it looks right now. 

It doesn't need a lot of water and can handle the sun pretty good. Since we only had them for a couple of month and "the winter" was very mild this year I don't have so much experience with them, I will come back later if I find out something interesting.

More about Dwarf Bottlebrush;

Velvety Dwarf Bottlebrush Beckons a Touch

Dwarf Bottlebrush

How to built a pool - Excavation

Excavation

The first thing they asked was if the line was the excavation line or the waterline. Since many home owner that layout their pools themselves don't add the 6 extra inches, that the pool itself is going to take up, even if it is only 6 inch it is going to make the pool, 1 feet shorter and 1 feet narrow so that is not something the excavation company want to be accused of.


This is the deepest end, 6 feet, and it is the small circle, 14 feet diameter. You can see that they already dug out for the skimmer and one of the lights.

The guy who dug the pool wanted to be nice and added a shelf to have the feet on. The problem was he made it way too big. It was about two and a half feet so it would probably stick out under the cliff that the kids were going to jump from so I asked him to make it smaller. 1,5 feet, it still looked big. We decided to make it only 1 foot and if it was to small the rock guys could make it bigger.  

You can now see where the grotto is going to be and the bench beside the grotto.

The crew is almost done digging. But it is still a lot of dirt left. For a while I was little worried that the trampoline was going to be buried. If you want to save some dirt for later just tell them and they leave you some. Just remember there are going to be more digging. The plumber, the electrician and the gas company are going to leave you dirt after they been digging and if you are going to plant some plants there are a lot of dirt that you need to get ride of later on.

Today they just have to finish up the big circle ,18 feet diameter, 4 feet deep with the four steps. When I went outside to look at the work there were only two steps. The first two one. They told me that the other two will the steel guy built. I called my pool supervisor, yes, it was correct.

The pool looks so big and so deep, and it is. Right now it is 6 feet and 9 inch at the deepest. The 9 inch is for the pipes, steel, shotcrete and the interior.

The tile is going to be where the board are. The plank is to check that the elevation is correct. You can see the two steps to the right and the other hole of the light, also to the right. And in the far right corner you can see the other bench.

My pool supervisor came and checked the depth on the pool, made sure the hole for the skimmer and lights was big enough. He also checked the elevation. The elevation of the pool is important because since you want the water to drain away from the pool down in the deck drain. The elevation is the height of the bond beam minus 2 but in our case we had put pavers on the patio so the decking are going to be a little bit higher so our elevation was - 2,5 inch. If you are going to do a thicker decking you have to take that in the calculations too. The deck is usually 4 inch thick but if you have expending soil in your area you can put an extra inch on the decking to prevent cracking.

I think this "elevation-stuff" is hard so I asked the guy that did the pool layout to spray the elevation on the ground. So the excavation company didn't have to ask me about it.

Prickly Pear

Prickly Peat is a fascinating cactus. It looks intriguing, need very little water, you can plant it around your yard like a living barbwire and you can even eat it. 

Like all plants they are small in the beginning but it will after a couple of years spread all over. It grows fast for a cactus. When we planted our prickly pear we planted it next to one of the dripping system controller head. That was not so wisely done. 

The prickly pear has two different kind of thorns. Big thick white ones and thin almost-impossible-to-see once. The big thorns are soft on the new outgrowth but not the thin once.

I try to keep the plant small by taking off some of its new outgrowth every year. I don't use a thong or saw. I just wear heavy work gloves. These gloves can only be used to this because they will be filled with thorns. Using a folded newspaper in between the glove and the cactus is something I am going to try next time to save the gloves and my fingers.

The thorns has small hooks that makes it hard to pull them out when they get stuck in your skin.

I have heard that you can cut off a pad, let it dry for a week and then plant it in a shallow depression cut side down to get a new plant. Water every 2 weeks to get the roots started. Have to try that one. My neighbor have a prickly pear without thorns, I would like that one. 

Read more about prickly pears;

Eat Prickly Pear 

Prickly Pear Cactus

How to built a pool - Utility marking

Utility marking

Before they start to dig you have to call all utilities/facility in your area to make sure that you don't have any lines or pipes in your backyard. Utility companies have two working days to respond. They must dig by hand if you need to dig within 2 feet either side of a marked line.

Instead of you trying to guess which company you need to call, call Arizona Blue Stake. Arizona Blue Stake was established as a one-call notification system by underground facility owners to assist excavators. This damage prevention service is provided free of charge to any individual or company planning to excavate.

Markings are valid for only 15 working days. Call Arizona Blue Stake two full working days before expiration date if you need to continue to dig or if the markings are not visible anymore, during the digging.

When you call the  Arizona Blue Stakes they are going to ask for the name and telephone number on the company that are going to do the excavation.

What the color means:

Purple    Reclaimed Water

Red	Electric Power
Yellow	Gas and Oil Product
Orange	Telephone, Cable Television, Fiber Optics
Blue	Water System
Green	Sanitary Sewer System

Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise

This is a plant that likes heat but don't like too strong direct sun. Now when our palm trees is bigger they give just enough shade for the bushes under them and the bird of paradise just loves it. To make it bloom this lovely you have to water it pretty much and give it extra nutrients a couple of times a year. 

If you have a young plant that doesn't blooms don't worry, it doesn't bloom until its around 4 years.

I have seen this plant in California thriving and growing so many plants together that it looked like a Bird of Paradise hedge.

I have never cover up these plants during winter time and so far they haven't taken any damage from the cold. So far only the strong direct sun seams to be the problem.

Read more about Birds of Paradise;

How to Keep a Bird of Paradise Plant Alive

Bird-of-Paradise

Rosemary bushes

Most winters I buy a rosemary bush cut like a Christmas tree. I put tiny lights and decorations in it and put it outside our front door. In spring time I plant it somewhere in my yard.

I don't now if this rosemary can be used for cooking but they smell lovely when they are touched. They are easy and doesn't need a lot of water.

You need to cut them a couple of times a year to keep them in shape. Trimming them makes them thicker and they can be cut into a hedge.

You can trim them into many different shapes. I like my round one, it's so cute.

Last year one of my plants suddenly looked like is was going to die. 2/3 of the plant just dried up. We cut of the dead part and now it is back on track again growing as ever. 

Read more about rosemary here;

Bonnie plants

The old farmer's almanac

How to built a pool - Layout

Layout your pool is rather easy but I didn't take any chances for just 100 dollars. At last it starts to feel real, it is going to be a pool here. The layout on the ground will give you a hunch how it's going to look.

Blue stake told me that the pool should be marked in white color but the guy that lay out the pool said nobody uses that. If you are going to layout your pool yourself remember to add 6 inch for the pool shell. The blue markings are the light, skimmer and the grotto.

More Baja Fairy Duster

Baja Fairy Duster

See how funny the flowers looks but I love the strong red color they have. Some of the pods have released their seeds.

Inside I have covered my pot with plastic to keep the soil moist and maybe a little bit warmer and see it's working. 

My first grown Baja Fairy Duster plant. I hope it will survive and grow into a big plant I can move outside.

How to built a pool - permits

The Permit

After the drawings it is time for the permit. I live in Gilbert so I took my drawing to the Development Service at 90 E Civic Center Dr. I was so nervous, think if I forgot anything.

To get a permit in Gilbert, go to town of Gilbert's website, they have checklists and you can print the application and fill it out at home. Then you are all prepared when you get there. I was there one early Wednesday and it was only me there. If you are going to have a gas heater you also need some information from the company that are going to install the gas heater. My subcontractor faxed me a drawing of my yard with all information I needed.

Here is what I needed, read your checklist to make sure you have all information you need, if you miss some information and have to add it there could be an additional fee:

• Two copies of the plot plan showing location of pool/spa
• Setbacks from property line and structures
• Location of pool/spa equipment
• Two copies of pool structure engineering drawing
• Gas lines associated with pool heater requires two copies of site plan with lengths of gas piping line, type of piping, size pf segments, BTU's ratings of appliances served and burial depth

I copied all my paper so I had a copy myself but when I got my permit I got one of the copies back. It cost 285 dollars, spring 2008. You have 180 days till the first inspection then you get another 180 days.

The application looks a little different now, for example, you have to tell the names of your subcontractor and their license numbers. 

Palm Trees - Queen Palm

The most common palm tree in an Arizona yard is probably the queen palm. It grows with a good speed and don’t get too big. It can though get as high as 30 to 40 feet tall. 

The palm tree comes original from Brazil and likes a lot of water and nutrients. The queen palms roots grows more outwards then downwards so it is best to move the dripping system emitters farther away from the trunk as it grows.

These three palm trees were planted at the same time but the one to the right did not get enough water during a long period. 

More pictures that show how different palm trees grow. All 4 of them planted at same time. 

When to cut branches. 
Some gardener loves to cut down branches, no brown branches can be left on the tree. That is not a good philosophy for the tree, it needs it branches. Only cut down branches that are hanging down. If a tip of a branch is brown and looks dead you can cut of just the brown part. 

How to plant a tree.

When you plant a palm tree make sure the hole is wide enough specially if you live on hard soil. The hole should be 10 to 20 % larger than the container the plant comes in. When you put the plant in the hole it should be at same level as the ground. Dig the hole a little deeper and put in some new soil. Mix 50 % mulch and 50 % soil. After you put in the plant put the mixing around the plant. After you done, water a lot, and you can also add some root stimulator.

More about Queen Palms;

How to Care for a Queen Palm

Queen Palm
Palm tree care
How to plant a tree video

How to built a pool - Drawings

More about drawings

Slides

This was the hardest part of the drawing. I had no clue how to draw the slide. And I had no clue how big it was going to be. I talked to my neighbors, and measured theirs. But it wasn't before I talked to the company that builds the slides and caves I really understood how big the water feature was. If a slide/grotto/waterfall is higher then 8 feet it has to have special engineering. The best way to draw it is to contact a couple of companies that builds water features and explain what you want and they will send you drawings and measurements on the features.

If you go with a regular pool building company it seems that you can choose between 40 or 50 square feet grotto/slide/waterfall but if you talk to a rockwork company their standard work seems to be 50 or 60 square feet. The 60 square feet grotto has a bench with a shape of a half circle and the smaller 50 square feet grotto has a rectangular bench. A small grotto/slide is about 13 to 15 feet wide, 6,5 feet deep and about 5,5 feet high.  A bigger grotto/slide can be about 15 to 16 feet wide, 8 to 9 feet deep and 5,5 to 7 feet high. Make sure your HOA don't have any regulations about heights of the slide and how close to the neighbor wall it can be. Gilbert town has a 3 feet limit for all kind of building.

Decking

How narrow you can do the decking differ between the decking company. Some say they can do between 12 and 18 inch other say 18.

Sleeves and Aerator

Mark out the aerator and what kind of sleeves you want. If you wonder where you need to put the umbrella sleeves, you can hold an umbrella at different places at different times during the day to figure out how to get shade on the area you want. Just remember that the sun is also moving throughout the year.

Engineering drawings
This is the second step and if this will go quick and cheap or take a couple of days and be a lot more expensive is up to what kind of pool you want. We built a standard pool, just a lot longer than usually, with a standard slide/grotto.

I found a company that sold me a standard engineering drawings for 40 dollars. And it was ready to pick up as soon the engineer had a look at my drawings and decide it was a standard pool. For the price you get two of all your drawings. When you apply for a permit to build the pool you have to bring two of everything but you will get one of them back when you get your permit.

To be able to use a standard engineering drawing the slide have to be lower then 8 feet and the pool have to be 5 feet from not only the house, but from about everything, like patio columns.