still not quite full
Friday, June 29, 2007
We have Water!!!!!!!
Only took about 16 hours so far to fill half way - and we can't go in it for 10 days but we have water!!!!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Water tomorrow
we are scheduled for plaster in the morning and water in the afternoon!!!! All I can say is I will believe it when I see it.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Concrete Complete
Now you can really see how the whole thing comes together. We are just a week away from plaster and landscape. Our own little paradise.
Concrete Day
Wed, June 20th
The crew arrived here at 5:45am with about 30 people and a big concrete mixer. It was all very exciting. The whole process is so organized and very fast. A big tube connected to the truck out front pumps liquid concrete to a section and about 20 people standing ankle deep in it start smoothing and raking and leveling. The whole gang just keeps moving in this fashion. They had most of the space done by 9am.
The crew arrived here at 5:45am with about 30 people and a big concrete mixer. It was all very exciting. The whole process is so organized and very fast. A big tube connected to the truck out front pumps liquid concrete to a section and about 20 people standing ankle deep in it start smoothing and raking and leveling. The whole gang just keeps moving in this fashion. They had most of the space done by 9am.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Forms
Jorge and his crew get to work on the forms for the concrete and now you can really start to see what the backyard is going to look like.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Tile & Flagstone
Friday, June 8th
Tile & flagstone guys started today on the rock work. We saw the pallet of flagstone on the truck and it is truly beautiful. We ended up with untumbled flagstone instead of the tumbled we had originally picked because they did not have enough of one lot to do the job. This means that the colors are much more vibrant and varied, but also means they have to really sand down the edges to make them smooth.
It is amazing to watch them work. This is a true art. There are 3 younger men who mix the cement and fetch stones for an older gentlemen who seems to be doing all the actual placing of the stones. He picks several up, turns them over, looks at them in the sun, fits them in place and then cuts to a perfect fit. It's like a puzzle of natural rock.
Tile & flagstone guys started today on the rock work. We saw the pallet of flagstone on the truck and it is truly beautiful. We ended up with untumbled flagstone instead of the tumbled we had originally picked because they did not have enough of one lot to do the job. This means that the colors are much more vibrant and varied, but also means they have to really sand down the edges to make them smooth.
It is amazing to watch them work. This is a true art. There are 3 younger men who mix the cement and fetch stones for an older gentlemen who seems to be doing all the actual placing of the stones. He picks several up, turns them over, looks at them in the sun, fits them in place and then cuts to a perfect fit. It's like a puzzle of natural rock.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Gunite
again they did all of this in just one day - amazing
the process (there would be more of these pics, but Troy was home sick this day and it made it hard to take too many pictures.)
after it is all done
the process (there would be more of these pics, but Troy was home sick this day and it made it hard to take too many pictures.)
after it is all done
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Day Four - Steel
May 30
I am amazed on a daily basis on how fast this all goes
after this day we had a follow up plumbing day and an inspection that went wihtout a hitch. Now we are set for Gunnite next Monday.
I am amazed on a daily basis on how fast this all goes
after this day we had a follow up plumbing day and an inspection that went wihtout a hitch. Now we are set for Gunnite next Monday.
Day Three - Plumbing
May 29
after two days of no work (sunday and memorial day monday) they are back to work.
after two days of no work (sunday and memorial day monday) they are back to work.
End of Day Two
May 26
really only a day and a half and one of the construction guys said it would have taken one day if the dump was closer and they didn't have to wait so song for the two cycling dump trucks.
After their hard work we tipped them with a case of ice cold Corona
really only a day and a half and one of the construction guys said it would have taken one day if the dump was closer and they didn't have to wait so song for the two cycling dump trucks.
After their hard work we tipped them with a case of ice cold Corona
First Day Dig
May 25 - 7am
Best Babysitter ever - Troy is enthralled with the process
The process
after the day is over
Best Babysitter ever - Troy is enthralled with the process
The process
after the day is over
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Night before dig
May 25
The plans are in with the city and all permits have been approved.
the crew is scheduled to show up tommorow morning and we need to take one more look at what it looked like Before.
The plans are in with the city and all permits have been approved.
the crew is scheduled to show up tommorow morning and we need to take one more look at what it looked like Before.
Signing the papers
May 18
we signed the contracts today.
OK, so that wasn't a very exciting blog post - but it was exciting to sign and get this thing rolling.
we signed the contracts today.
OK, so that wasn't a very exciting blog post - but it was exciting to sign and get this thing rolling.
Final Plan
May 15
we sat with Mark and Jorge on Tuesday night to go over the final plan.
we made a few tweaks to the benches and shelves in the pool and we looked into expanding it a couple feet. we even looked at moving it over to being more centered.
as they left I felt a little apprehensive that much of the plan still seemed kind of up in the air. But they assured me this was normal and we would have ample opportunity to make suggestions and changes as the pool came together.
which reminds me of something that we failed to mention back in the decision phase. One of the things Premier did that was very wise on the original call was they brought about 100 questionnaires that were filled out by previous customers. Now most of the comments and grades were positive, but it was not all 100% great (which we would have found suspicious anyway) So Karen did here due diligence and made quite a few phone calls to these customers and got some good responses. she also called the BBB. When it was all said and done thier reputation was a big reason we went with Premier.
we sat with Mark and Jorge on Tuesday night to go over the final plan.
we made a few tweaks to the benches and shelves in the pool and we looked into expanding it a couple feet. we even looked at moving it over to being more centered.
as they left I felt a little apprehensive that much of the plan still seemed kind of up in the air. But they assured me this was normal and we would have ample opportunity to make suggestions and changes as the pool came together.
which reminds me of something that we failed to mention back in the decision phase. One of the things Premier did that was very wise on the original call was they brought about 100 questionnaires that were filled out by previous customers. Now most of the comments and grades were positive, but it was not all 100% great (which we would have found suspicious anyway) So Karen did here due diligence and made quite a few phone calls to these customers and got some good responses. she also called the BBB. When it was all said and done thier reputation was a big reason we went with Premier.
How the hell are we going to pay for this thing?
May 14-16
We have been in this house almost 5 years and it has appreciated quite a bit - the problem is we have also spent a good portion of our equity on other projects and in the past year the market took a major downturn and with it a large potion on our equity, possibly all of it depending upon which market appraisal you believe.
So I set out on my first day of how to pay for his my calling Premiers "suggested" lender MPG Mortgage. They specialize in "pool" loans and with a first and a second we already like I wasn't looking at re-doing everything.
Early on in the conversation with Carol from MPG I got some very good news that they would be able to use the Appraisal we had done last year.
this of course was good because 1-no delay waiting for a new appraisal, and even better we appraised at 740 which is considerably higher then we would see now. having this much equity plus with the added value of the pool, our excellent credit scores (which I manage constantly) meant that we would have no problem getting a loan to cover most of the project at 8%
all of this was very good news, I knew our income level and extra credit scores would be attractive and allow us to get a loan, but I was worried that our overall debt and a reduction in the market might make it a hard loan that took weeks and required a higher then I was happy with interest rate.
In my mind from the beginning I had planned on April for planning and bidding, May for figuring out how to pay for it and construction in June and July.
Now in just 3 days instead of a whole month I was able to put together a loan that worked.
We have been in this house almost 5 years and it has appreciated quite a bit - the problem is we have also spent a good portion of our equity on other projects and in the past year the market took a major downturn and with it a large potion on our equity, possibly all of it depending upon which market appraisal you believe.
So I set out on my first day of how to pay for his my calling Premiers "suggested" lender MPG Mortgage. They specialize in "pool" loans and with a first and a second we already like I wasn't looking at re-doing everything.
Early on in the conversation with Carol from MPG I got some very good news that they would be able to use the Appraisal we had done last year.
this of course was good because 1-no delay waiting for a new appraisal, and even better we appraised at 740 which is considerably higher then we would see now. having this much equity plus with the added value of the pool, our excellent credit scores (which I manage constantly) meant that we would have no problem getting a loan to cover most of the project at 8%
all of this was very good news, I knew our income level and extra credit scores would be attractive and allow us to get a loan, but I was worried that our overall debt and a reduction in the market might make it a hard loan that took weeks and required a higher then I was happy with interest rate.
In my mind from the beginning I had planned on April for planning and bidding, May for figuring out how to pay for it and construction in June and July.
Now in just 3 days instead of a whole month I was able to put together a loan that worked.
I thought last Friday was busy
May 11th
So the previous Friday we had 2 bids appointments
Today we have 3.
First up Premier - Premier has come back with a second design and a new bid. This design is in blueprint form and is a much nicer free form with raised spa and waterfalls. This is all much closer to our original plan, just without the auto cover. The pool bid is roughly 67k. Also we have a bid from Jorge at 20 and we already know from the Patio cover guy they sent over that will be around 7. So all told we are looking at 104. Still pretty high, much more then we were imaging in the begging - but a number we were starting to understand was going to be in the neighborhood. we were not going to get this project done for 85 without making a lot of cutbacks. We do like the design and from the begging have liked Mark and Jorge - in a smaller investment we would probably have signed up right then and there. However with a project of this see, I felt it wouldn't be prudent at this juncture to make that decision and we wait for our next appointment.
Mike from Diablo Pools - this was one of my least favorite appointments. Like we said before we felt as though Mike would build a good pool and was very qualified he just didn't communicate very well and we felt like he only wanted to build the pool and have us handle the rest. He went over his numbers which I don't even remember because this was obviously not going to work. As he left we both felt bad - but we just knew this would never work
Diablo Disney - as we were preparing for Jeremy from Diablo Disney we realized we had pretty much decided on Premier - we liked their design, their bid installing everything was doable and we really like the people. The one thing Jeremy had going for him was we had really liked him the first time.
When Jeremy got here we remembered why we liked him so much. Jeremy is an old ranch hand, team roper, good all around guy. He had a lot of great suggestions and was open to anything we wanted to do. When he first pulled up his design - I had all but forget he was showing us a design with an auto cover because he had come before we had changed our plan. Well he started going over his design and it was gorgeous (I can't post it here because unlike Diablo he didn't email me a copy of it) For starters it was Enormous - easily the biggest pool of the ones we had seen so far - also the way the cover was done, the back wall, the waterfalls - all of it was very very nice. I was starting to wonder if we might not end up with an auto cover after all and then... the bid. 122K including the patio cover but not the full landscaping - this total project was going to be in the 130's
after he left - we talked about how much we liked his design, but by far the most expensive so far. we did consider for a minute having him submit another design but in discussing it we decided we don't want him to go to all the effort if in the end we still went with Premier. Plus he was the one guy that was going to use his own guys and not Jorge and were sold on Jorge at this point.
with that on May 11th, 5 weeks after our first appointment we called Premier.
So the previous Friday we had 2 bids appointments
Today we have 3.
First up Premier - Premier has come back with a second design and a new bid. This design is in blueprint form and is a much nicer free form with raised spa and waterfalls. This is all much closer to our original plan, just without the auto cover. The pool bid is roughly 67k. Also we have a bid from Jorge at 20 and we already know from the Patio cover guy they sent over that will be around 7. So all told we are looking at 104. Still pretty high, much more then we were imaging in the begging - but a number we were starting to understand was going to be in the neighborhood. we were not going to get this project done for 85 without making a lot of cutbacks. We do like the design and from the begging have liked Mark and Jorge - in a smaller investment we would probably have signed up right then and there. However with a project of this see, I felt it wouldn't be prudent at this juncture to make that decision and we wait for our next appointment.
Mike from Diablo Pools - this was one of my least favorite appointments. Like we said before we felt as though Mike would build a good pool and was very qualified he just didn't communicate very well and we felt like he only wanted to build the pool and have us handle the rest. He went over his numbers which I don't even remember because this was obviously not going to work. As he left we both felt bad - but we just knew this would never work
Diablo Disney - as we were preparing for Jeremy from Diablo Disney we realized we had pretty much decided on Premier - we liked their design, their bid installing everything was doable and we really like the people. The one thing Jeremy had going for him was we had really liked him the first time.
When Jeremy got here we remembered why we liked him so much. Jeremy is an old ranch hand, team roper, good all around guy. He had a lot of great suggestions and was open to anything we wanted to do. When he first pulled up his design - I had all but forget he was showing us a design with an auto cover because he had come before we had changed our plan. Well he started going over his design and it was gorgeous (I can't post it here because unlike Diablo he didn't email me a copy of it) For starters it was Enormous - easily the biggest pool of the ones we had seen so far - also the way the cover was done, the back wall, the waterfalls - all of it was very very nice. I was starting to wonder if we might not end up with an auto cover after all and then... the bid. 122K including the patio cover but not the full landscaping - this total project was going to be in the 130's
after he left - we talked about how much we liked his design, but by far the most expensive so far. we did consider for a minute having him submit another design but in discussing it we decided we don't want him to go to all the effort if in the end we still went with Premier. Plus he was the one guy that was going to use his own guys and not Jorge and were sold on Jorge at this point.
with that on May 11th, 5 weeks after our first appointment we called Premier.
Our couple bids
May 4
Today is going to be a busy day.
We have two bids coming in, we have Mike from Diablo Pools and Eric from Absolute.
First up Diablo Pools
a picture is worth a thousand words
so we got this from Mike
One thing we really liked was the way he lined the grass with the coping stones. we thought that looked very nice. He also had very nice landscaping.
However as we expected Diablo was really only looking at the pool part and did not bid any of the landscaping or side work. He did talk a lot about the various pool equipment and although we recognize that it is important - that was a little cart ahead of the horse for us.
When he left, we knew we were very unlikely to go with Diablo - at the end of the day we do think he would have built us a very nice pool and it would have been very well done - however of all of the people we talked too he was the least interested in the rest of the project and this is not a project that we wanted to have to deal with multiple contractors on.
Up next Eric from Absolute.
Eric's design was still one with the cover and any hopes of a cheap bid with the cover were out the window. His bid came in over 92k for just the pool and cover, no landscaping, no patio cover which meant more contractors and a total cost over 120. Plus he wore a Dodger hat again.
As the day comes to a close Absolute and Diablo are pretty much no longer in the running.
a word about Jorge
So way back when all of this started we met Jorge Villasenor when he came with Premier basically as their partner in the project. Jorge does not work for Premier, but rather is the owner of Professional Landscape and Construction.
From the first day we met Jorge we were very impressed with his great suggestions and a very easy going manner. He was off the charts good on the Blink test. Karen and I both loved Jorge.
as we have gone through this process we were amazed at how many people knew Jorge and had great things to say about them. Almost all of the other contractors were willing and even urging us to work with Jorge and have him take the lead on the landscaping portion of the project.
a few things had become abundantly clear to us since all this started. Once when we looked at pictures of pools (and we looked at a lot of them) it was always the landscaping that really made the project looks nice. Their were some pools that were OK, but looked much better with nice landscaping and then their were others that the pool was above average but poor or no landscaping at all killed the whole backyard.
the other thing we had clearly decided was that no matter who we chose - we wanted Jorge to head up the landscaping. his manner, his suggestions, his reputation all added up to Karen and both really wanting to work with Jorge.
From the first day we met Jorge we were very impressed with his great suggestions and a very easy going manner. He was off the charts good on the Blink test. Karen and I both loved Jorge.
as we have gone through this process we were amazed at how many people knew Jorge and had great things to say about them. Almost all of the other contractors were willing and even urging us to work with Jorge and have him take the lead on the landscaping portion of the project.
a few things had become abundantly clear to us since all this started. Once when we looked at pictures of pools (and we looked at a lot of them) it was always the landscaping that really made the project looks nice. Their were some pools that were OK, but looked much better with nice landscaping and then their were others that the pool was above average but poor or no landscaping at all killed the whole backyard.
the other thing we had clearly decided was that no matter who we chose - we wanted Jorge to head up the landscaping. his manner, his suggestions, his reputation all added up to Karen and both really wanting to work with Jorge.
Diablo pools
April 27
So our next appointment is with Diablo Pools (not to be confused with Diablo Disney)
Mike shows up and this guy looks like a contractor. He has the hardened hands of a contractor and he talks like a contractor.
We really enjoyed Mike and he clearly knows what he is talking about - but the problem initially is that he is really into the Pool design, but seems less interested in our full design including landscaping and patio cover.
We have said from day one we were looking for a turn key operation dealing primarily with one person (although we backed off a little on that when we met Jorge who came with Premier)
So our next appointment is with Diablo Pools (not to be confused with Diablo Disney)
Mike shows up and this guy looks like a contractor. He has the hardened hands of a contractor and he talks like a contractor.
We really enjoyed Mike and he clearly knows what he is talking about - but the problem initially is that he is really into the Pool design, but seems less interested in our full design including landscaping and patio cover.
We have said from day one we were looking for a turn key operation dealing primarily with one person (although we backed off a little on that when we met Jorge who came with Premier)
looking at the options
after all our conversations about the pool and the various options, most speficially the auto cover once again we walked into our backyard and looked around.
we still had two plans coming back that were going to accommodate the pool cover (besides the one we already got from premier)
so we decided to call Premier back and have them make us a new plan without the cover.
we also decided that in our upcoming appointments we would also go free form without the cover.
of course this was not my first choice, but clearly the auto cover and free form "pool in a pool" was going to be just too expensive.
so we could go straight rectangle with no raised spa and the cover
or we could move to the free form and lose the cover and go with a fence.
two things really got me to consider moving on without the cover.
the first was looking at the fencing web site and talking about the best way for us to do the fence. My biggest issue with the fence was it always feels so obtrusive to me. we are creating this backyard paradise and then it all gets blocked out by a fence. I still didn't feel like we solved this problem, but with placement and the fact that the whole thing can come out while entertaining made it less of an issue.
The second thing was something one of the contractors said (and I don't even remember which one it was.) He said the biggest problem with the cover is that you lose a lot of the ambiance of the waterfalls since they can only run when the cover is open. I like the sound of the waterfalls and I know Karen LOVES the sound of the waterfalls and it is true on a cold fall day when no one is swimming without the cover you can still enjoy the walls.
So with that we decided on no cover (unless of course one of the bids that hadn't come back yet was great and much lower then premier)
we still had two plans coming back that were going to accommodate the pool cover (besides the one we already got from premier)
so we decided to call Premier back and have them make us a new plan without the cover.
we also decided that in our upcoming appointments we would also go free form without the cover.
of course this was not my first choice, but clearly the auto cover and free form "pool in a pool" was going to be just too expensive.
so we could go straight rectangle with no raised spa and the cover
or we could move to the free form and lose the cover and go with a fence.
two things really got me to consider moving on without the cover.
the first was looking at the fencing web site and talking about the best way for us to do the fence. My biggest issue with the fence was it always feels so obtrusive to me. we are creating this backyard paradise and then it all gets blocked out by a fence. I still didn't feel like we solved this problem, but with placement and the fact that the whole thing can come out while entertaining made it less of an issue.
The second thing was something one of the contractors said (and I don't even remember which one it was.) He said the biggest problem with the cover is that you lose a lot of the ambiance of the waterfalls since they can only run when the cover is open. I like the sound of the waterfalls and I know Karen LOVES the sound of the waterfalls and it is true on a cold fall day when no one is swimming without the cover you can still enjoy the walls.
So with that we decided on no cover (unless of course one of the bids that hadn't come back yet was great and much lower then premier)
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Seascape & a new attitude
Saturday, April 21stYea, my birthday and a fabulous romantic escape to Seascape - courtesy of Janice & Chuck and also Auntie Crystal for babysitting Troy overnight. We really needed this time away together and it came at a great time to discuss and plan our project. During this weekend we basically decided that Premier was likely going to be our choice of companies. We also had some great discussions about what this was going to add to our lives and also the budget. It was a good time to reflect on our goals and getting committed to reducing debt in the long run and how we were going to pay for this big project. We drove back feeling like we had a plan and recharged batteries.
Interview Day : Logan Pools
Friday, April 20th
Our second meeting was with Logan. This company had been voted best pool builder in Brentwood 4 years in a row and the quality of their work was obvious (just ask them). The owner lives in our neighborhood so we felt good about that. What was so odd about this meeting was the 1 hour we spent being told that every other pool company focuses on the sales pitch and that they were all just salesmen and they just try to sell you stuff. Well, I can honestly say our experience with Logan was nothing but a hard sales pitch, complete with graphs and slides. It was not fun. They definitely have a reputation for building beautiful, expensive pools and I am certain they would have done a great job - but the fit was not there. That was our last meeting with Logan.
Our second meeting was with Logan. This company had been voted best pool builder in Brentwood 4 years in a row and the quality of their work was obvious (just ask them). The owner lives in our neighborhood so we felt good about that. What was so odd about this meeting was the 1 hour we spent being told that every other pool company focuses on the sales pitch and that they were all just salesmen and they just try to sell you stuff. Well, I can honestly say our experience with Logan was nothing but a hard sales pitch, complete with graphs and slides. It was not fun. They definitely have a reputation for building beautiful, expensive pools and I am certain they would have done a great job - but the fit was not there. That was our last meeting with Logan.
Interview Day : Absolute
Friday, April 20th
Today we met with Absolute Pools which is a small family run company. I was a bit worried when I answered the door and Eric had a Dodgers hat on (for those that don't know - life long, die hard Giants fans are not fond of the Dodgers or their fans). We took Eric through the same conversation, the scope of the project, our questions, he measured, etc. Eventually, as most of the meetings went, Alan & he started talking about sports. Turns out Eric's son plays pinto jr. ball on the Dodgers (hence the hat) so we decided to give him a chance.
Today we met with Absolute Pools which is a small family run company. I was a bit worried when I answered the door and Eric had a Dodgers hat on (for those that don't know - life long, die hard Giants fans are not fond of the Dodgers or their fans). We took Eric through the same conversation, the scope of the project, our questions, he measured, etc. Eventually, as most of the meetings went, Alan & he started talking about sports. Turns out Eric's son plays pinto jr. ball on the Dodgers (hence the hat) so we decided to give him a chance.
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