Friday Before Christmas Gets Here

Man! Thursday and Friday were hub-bubs of activity. Again, we had Carlos the welder, working on ramp railings, pump house door, and circular stairs; We had the carpenters finishing up the screen doors with moulding and touch-up; Mario's crew worked on everything else - acid washing the pool, finishing Diamond Briteing the bull-nose alongside the waterfall, cleaning the deck and ramps, fixing a floor drain on the patio, installing doggie doors in the screen doors, cool color-changing light for the waterfall, cleaning debris, filling the filter with sand, getting ready for the roof fabric, etc., etc.

Rumor has it that water gets in the pool today! So, on that note, on with the day's activities.

Just A Bit More to Go

Nearing the end with the Diamond Brite application. It's gone fairly quickly, and just looks super.

Acid Washing

Acid-washing the Diamond Brite. Helps remove the white cement film from Diamond Brite's crystals.

Adding Sand to the Filter

Bani adding six-and-a-half bags (325 lbs) of sand to the filter.

Mario Working On Hinges

Mario working on the doggie doors for the screen doors. He wanted to fancy up the hinges, but the tried and true barn-type hinges worked best in the end.

Three-Way Valve

All the piping is hooked up now. Bani had been waiting for the large three-way valve in the center of the photo. That also serves as the incoming shut-off for the main pump.

Roof Arrives

Our roof has arrived. Well, almost. It still needs to go to whoever Mario has doing the sewing for it, to be sized right and to also get the grommets set.

Roof Being Test Fit

It will look good once it's installed. Then, essentially, no more bugs in the pool area.

Acid Wash In Progress

Mario manning the sprayer for the muriatic acid, and Rene on the rinse hose. The acid wash simply removes the haze film and lets more of the blue from the Diamond Brite crystals (whatever they're made from) shine through.

New Addition

Bani cast another bit of concrete to square up the raised area where the pump motors sit. Just cleans it up a bit.

Doggie Doors

We now have doggie doors installed on both screen doors. They've done a very nice job on both, and they work very well.

The dogs are still getting used to them. Not that they don't have any familiarity with doggie doors, we already have two elsewhere in the house. But even something familiar, in a new location, presents a challenge to dogs that has to be dealt with. Deeohgee was the first of the girls to go through one of these new doors. I don't think either Secret or Bella has done it yet.

Cleaning Lids

Cleaning up the skimmer and the floor drain covers. They both got spattered with concrete and Diamond Brite and just a few months of grunge. The guys also spiffed up the skimmer itself. Everything looks brand new.

New Hinges

The pump house door is now sporting three of the new 'Welder's' hinges. Thanks to the hole in the top, it's easy to lube them. Just that alone should make these hinges outlast the old style by many years.

Landing Opening

Carlos, the welder is knocking a hole in the roof edging to facilitate a landing for the circular stairs.

Cutting Door Trim

The carpenters did an outstanding job on the two screen doors. They came back today to finish their part of the project, adding on some edge moulding and touching up some nicks.

Venturi Control

They've even put Diamond Brite around the edge of the holes for the spa jet venturi controls.

Getting Rid of Waste Water

Final cleanup underway in the pool prior to beginning the filling.

Man the Pump

Somebody still has to make sure the small pump is sucking up the waste water from the cleaning process. A necessary, but not very exciting, part of the job.

Moving Stairs-1

- Courtesy Denis Patterson

Thanks to Denis, he captured bringing the circular stairs from under Elsie's palapa to its final position.

Moving Stairs-2

- Courtesy Denis Patterson

Moving the circular stairs involved most of the crew. Of course, there's lots of supervisors too. It's up, but there's still a ways to go. Finally. Looks like it's going to fit.

Looks very tropical

And here we are with it in place. It's looking good too. Kind of a graceful curve to the sky.

Just Got To Cut This Bit Out

Working on the mounting bracket to hold it steady. Need just a bit more block edging taken out.

Nice and Sturdy

Looking quite nice. Like we really intended for it to be there all along.

The Rumor Was Right!

Hey, there's actually water going into the pool. I started filling at 8:00 PM. It's now 5:30 AM and there's probably another hour or so to go. It takes a long time to fill nine-thousand gallons.

Thankfully, we don't have to do this very often.

Applying the Eyeball Fittings

One of the last things done in the pool is applying the five 'eyeball' fittings to the pipes entering the pool.

The only one left to do is the vacuum door that screws on. That'll happen in the morning.

Mid-Week Wednesday

Here it is, the last of the 2016 hurricane season (20 November 2016), although, I wouldn't relax my guard till at least half way through December and even better through the end of December. Late breaking storms are not unheard of.

I forgot to cover some things yesterday, so before we zoom into the future, let's take a look at the immediate past.

Another Deep Dig

 I took this photo shortly before the guys knocked off for the day. The hole is getting progressively deeper. They have to remove the old footing and dig deep enough to place a bunch of rocks for the water to deep exiting without eroding everything in its path. Just like under and around the swimming pool.

Near Perfect Loaf

 I have a new bread maker, which I think I love, now that I've tried using Bebe Agua flour. Compared to the stock flour that I was using, this stuff is a dream. It not only behaved during the mixing stage, but baked up exceptionally well.

Small, fine grains in the flour turned out a very nice looking and tasting loaf of bread.

Two Thumbs Up

Here's another view of the loaf. Very nice. Using the bread machine is very hard work. Put the ingredients in in the proper order. Press a couple of buttons, and relax for two or three hours, then take the loaf out of the machine and admire your handiwork. It just don't git no better!

Got to Channel That Watah

I mentioned channeling the water. Here it is. It won't take long now to get that rocked in and begin forming up to cast the column again.






Alright. That took care of my forgetfulness from yesterday. On with today's activities.

More Pipes

This is that little step area on the south side of the patio to the right of the gate. It soon will be a small ramp so Dianna can get up to her fairy garden-to-be area. The long PVC pipe you see will become a floor drain for the hose and will empty out right beside the gate. The other big PVC pipe you see bending away, is one of the drain field pipes for the septic system under the utility room.

White Paint Makes A Difference

The pump house is becoming very bright. White paint makes all the difference. You can actually see everything in there.

So Clean Looking

Here's looking the other direction in the pump house. Clean and professional.

Water Level Is the Water Level

fill for the hole has already been underway. The far end is ready to begin concreting. The water you see in the hole is at the same level as the canal beyond. A few more rocks and it too will be ready for concrete.

Endher Troweling the Mud

Endher troweling concrete to form the garden ramp. It leads to and from the patio.

Better View of Him Working

This is a little better view. The part to the right will remain undone until Bani hooks up the water supply to the house. Then it can be finished along with the small drain for the hose hanger.

I Forgot, Pipes Haven't Been Glued Yet

Just a couple of shots to remind myself that there needs to be another valve or two placed on either side of the pump. Otherwise if you open the union, the pool will attempt to drain and pour huge amounts of water inside in a hurry.

Good View of the Filter Piping

Conversely, if you loosen the filter side of the pump fittings, the system will try to empty the filter the same way. With valves in place, the pump can be removed for maintenance with little worry about flooding.

Pouring the Ramp

Adding a bit more concrete to the pour. Dianna is most appreciative of them putting in this ramp. Otherwise, that area would have been unusable for her.

Bucket of Tablets and Bags of Sand

New supplies for the pool. Yesterday, I got a new big bucket of chlorine tablets for the chlorine tower in the pump house and for our floatie in the pool itself.

This morning, I had to take Noel to Dr. Charles (very nice man. I enjoyed talking with him), for some more flea meds. unfortunately what he had had dried up. He recommended I go to Prossers and get a spray bottle of flea killer.

Since I had to go there anyway, that's what Noel and I did. I got the spray, and picked up six bags of filter sand for the pool.

Colored, Stained, and Stamped

 Progress on the ramp. It's been colored, with the base color and the highlight, the purple highlight gives a burnished gold look, and stamped. Very nice.

Almost Done With Column Footing

Pouring more concrete into the hole for the column footing. They will probably form the column tomorrow.

Rene Working On the Footing

Rene is stuffing a few more rocks into the crannies of the hole.

Dock Hole Patched and Done

The hole in the dock has been filled with rock and capped with concrete. The rebar framework is for the column footing.