Backyard Transformation

Back over a year ago when we were looking for a house in Katy, we had high hopes of finding something similar to our Sunset Lake home. With the amazing lake views and pool in that yard, it was an impossible task. But when we first toured our eventual Katy home and saw the backyard, I had a vision of it turning into something as close as we could get to Sunset Lake. That vision, of course, included a swimming pool. But with the move and new house and all of those related expenses, a pool was just not something we could do right away. Then in the fall, I was given such an amazing opportunity to return to work part-time. One of my first thoughts was that I would hopefully have the ability to help pay for the backyard transformation that I had been envisioning since moving here.

When springtime rolled around, we began meeting with pool builders. We came up with a pool design that was very similar to our last pool but with some minor improvements and changes to fit our new backyard. Jeff took a little convincing, but the kids and I were bursting with excitement! We finally agreed to the cost and design with our selected pool builder, and then it was GAME ON!!

The process of building a pool is quite fascinating. There are periods where progress is happening so fast and the transformation is amazing, and then there are times where it seems like nothing is happening and it'll never be finished. I did my best to document our process along the way.

The first step of construction: staking out the pool area.

Here comes the Bobcat! It was so fun to watch the digging.

But man, what a huge, muddy MESS!

When I picked Kaitlynn up from school after the digging was completed, I showed her a picture of the finished hole which now actually resembled the shape of our new pool. She was so surprised and excited!

The big hole! All finished digging and boarded up.

Connor and Kaitlynn were giddy with excitement over the big hole that would soon be a new pool.

The next step: steel frame of the pool along with plumbing for the water features.

The next step was the Gunite, which is a special concrete that is sprayed in to form the shape of the pool. Now THAT is fascinating to watch. It is a time-consuming, labor intensive, and LOUD process.

All of these trucks and more showed up at 6:00 am to start the Gunite. The Gunite is moved from one truck to a special mixer where it is mixed and then pumped to the pool. The mixing process is so LOUD!! It was definitely a rude early awakening for our neighbors.

Gunite completed! It looks like an actual pool now!

Next up was the tile and materials for the pool. Now this is where I was SO NERVOUS!! I have done my fair share of remodeling homes and I'm usually happy with the end result, but lately something has happened and I seem to make all the wrong choices. Our Katy home, bless it's heart, has gone through more re-dos than I care to admit. Whether it is paint colors, tile or flooring choices, or fabrics, I just can't seem to get it right lately. Not sure what has gone wrong with my decision making?? My poor husband is at his wit's end with me!

So imagine my stress when it was time to pick materials for the pool. I was so terrified of picking wrong. I poured over pictures and surfed Pinterest and Google images for weeks, hoping to prevent a disaster of choices. The day finally arrived and Jeff and I went to the pool office to choose materials. Here is what we had to decide: a stone for the pool coping (the edging of the pool), a tile for the pool wall/ledge, and a tile for the waterline. 3 choices to make. I was quite panicked.

Based on a picture that Jeff and I both liked, our pool designer picked out samples for 2 of the 3 choices for us and laid them down. Then Jeff pointed to a blue mosaic tile he saw and said he liked that one for the 3rd choice. After over 2 hours of debating and deciding, we went with those initial 3 choices. And guess what? It turned out GREAT! Probably because I picked none of them. :-)

Tile and coping mostly finished.

Here's a close-up of the back pool wall with the tile.

Another close-up. When the sun hits those blue mosaic tiles, it's sparkles so beautifully! Great job, Jeff!! :-)

OK, so now was the part of the process where progress seemed to stop. There were multiple inspections, electrical work, and a ton of plumbing to take care of. Jeff even got involved to try and repair the extensive sprinkler system damage that was caused by the heavy equipment and digging.

A muddy mess with all of the plumbing work.

The kids stand in the empty pool cavity. How much longer will it take to complete??

Finally, things seemed to move again a few weeks later when it was time for the concrete deck. We wanting lots of deck space for patio furniture and chairs for lounging, so there was a big area that needed to be steeled and framed for new concrete.

Here's the pool deck all framed for concrete.

 

Concrete poured and dried.

Cool deck material sprayed on top of concrete.

And finally, the cool deck was painted and the inside of the pool was plastered and tiled!

Wow, we are almost there now! The water hose was connected and dropped into the deep end, and we waited for the pool to fill with water. It took about 3 days for it to completely fill up with water!

Pool filling -- almost there!

The pool finished filling with water on a Friday, and then the pool company was back to hook up the water features, including the fountains and bubblers. By Friday afternoon, it looked and sounded like a completely finished pool! When I opened the back door to walk outside and take a look, I walked outside to the most wonderful sound of rushing water and water fountains. I was immediately transported back in time to when we had our last house and those water noises greeted me every time I walked outside. I realized right then how much I had missed those soothing, relaxing sounds in our yard. So excited to have them again at our new house!!

On the very same Friday that the pool was turned on, the kids wasted no time in suiting up and jumping in. And the water was COLD, but that didn't stop them! They were SO excited to have the new pool and couldn't wait to use it.

Before the inaugural swim. So excited!

A little dance for joy.

Oh yeah, they were happy!

Since then, we have been in the pool every. single. day that we've been home! Yes, we are a Pool Family and that will probably never change. Bring on the summer weather, we're ready!!!