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.

Three Days in One

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That would be 27-30 October, 2016. Ok. So I lied. Four days. Here's what's been happening around Casa Winjama.

Crack Ready For Patch

First off, this is a crack in the concrete patio that we've had virtually since the problems with the pool began. Endher has just finished pressure washing it. A little later on, you'll see the results of the patch job.

Concrete and Beam About Done

The scaffolding extends the whole length of the pool. The guys are almost done plastering the columns and the beam.

One thing that's happened, is that the metal beams spanning the pool were, unfortunately, not properly prepared no painted. We have flecks of blue paint all over the ground. The metal guy is supposed to be coming back Monday to refinish them. What that is going to entail is removing all the old paint from the beams, probably with a pressure washer, then it's a three-step process to finish them. Each beam has to be painted with Ospho.

Ospho is a product, that when applied to rusted surfaces resists and retards rust. Ospho drys to a tough, hard surface that gives 'tooth' which makes it ready for priming. Common knowledge incorrectly says that you can't paint over galvanized metal surfaces. Ospho allows you to do exactly that. I did it with the previous galvanized framework that held our awning. It held up very well, even in our light salt environment, for the seven or eight years that we had the framework and awning up. I used two coats of Ospho, two of metal primer, and two of metal enamel

With proper application of Ospho, primer, and top coat, a paint job will last much longer because subsequent paint coatings securely attach so that moisture and oxygen do not attack the painted metal. Ospho is water-thin, covers a larger area than paint, and goes on easily. It is equally effective for exterior and interior work alike.

Overhead View Smoothing Pool Walls

Here's a strange view. I shot this looking straight down as Erwin was chipping at a concrete patch to smooth it down for finishing inside the pool. The wall of the pool is at the bottom of the photo.

Plumbing Almost Finished

The plumbing is almost done. About all that remains is to hook up the ½ Hp pump for the waterfall. This is a very clean and professional looking installation.

The Rest of the Valving

Here's the additional valving to complete the connection. I think the valves control the spa jets, waterfall, and inlet eyes for the pool itself, but don't quote me on that. I'll have to work with Bani to make sure everything is labeled as to its function.

½ Hp Waterfall Pump

I rode with Bruce and Colleen Saturday to Belize City. Bruce had an appointment with Dr. Hoy to check up on his cataract surgery, so I tagged along to keep Colleen company as she drove. I also wanted to stop at Pumps and Motors on the Northern Highway for a ½ Hp pump to use for our waterfall.

Turns out they were too expensive and they didn't have exactly what I wanted anyway. I was all set to kick back and relax while Bruce did the eye doctor thing. Colleen asked if I wanted to stop at Bennie's for a pump. Good idea. So that's where we went, and surprise, surprise, they had exactly what I wanted for just a hair more than I had planned to spend. I brought this one home. Hopefully, it will get installed in the next day or two.

Bela Showing the New Patch

I mentioned the patch job on the patio earlier. Well, here it is, with Bela showing how much she likes it. Very nice job, even matched up the 'mortar' lines in the concrete. After a month or two, it will fade enough that you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and the surrounding red of the patio.

Pump House Porch Light

This is our new small porch light for the pump house. Complete with a separate electric eye to control it. Both work like a charm.

Pump House Motion Detector

We also have up in the roof overhang a motion detector light. I didn't know that spot was there when I told Bani that I wanted a porch light installed. If he had said that there was already an overhead light, I probably wouldn't have asked for the porch light. But they both seem to work well with each other, so no problem.

Pump House Interior Light

The last bit of lighting for the pool house is the inside light way up in the ceiling. I opted for an industrial safety-look fixture. Works well.

Floor Drain Under Tape

Before the floor for the pump house was cast, Endher said he was going to install a floor drain for the pump house, just in case. And after it was cast, you couldn't see any sign of it, till he flexed the tape covering and popped of some of the concrete poured over it. This will be cleaned up and it's going to look and work great.

Bruce's Appt. With Dr. Hoy

I mentioned riding with Bruce and Colleen to Dr. Hoy's. Here's a shot of them both going over calendars with Dr. Hoy. He's a very nice, caring man and an excellent eye doctor and surgeon as well. He did my cataract surgery too. You can read all about that on the blog at (http://www.winjama.net/search/label/Dr.%20David%20Hoy%20MD).

The Hour Bar and Grill

After we finished at Dr. Hoy's, it was time for lunch. We stopped at the Bowen family's newest restaurant, the Hour. Lunch was good, the draft Belikin was good too, but I think I still prefer the Riverside Tavern. Something about the ambiance of a pub, or at least an American idea of a pub, at any rate.

Pig on the Hour

The Hour has at least three or four gigantic BBQ pits, made from some sort of industrial tanks. Along with the BBQ pits, they have two or three large smokers as well.

The pig you see here, came just a short time ago from one of their BBQ pits.