Jim and I have been staring at an empty shell of a pool for months now. The process of selecting a plaster finish has been a nightmare. So many colors. So many different types of plaster. So many different opinions from pool installers. After wading through the options (sorry for the pun), we finally picked a finish of small aggregate pebbles in a soft beige color. Supposedly this will yield a long lasting finish with a pale aqua water color. Really?
Let the plastering begin!
The crew began work on a Thursday afternoon. They grouted the tile and waterproofed the entire pool surface. The next day was plaster day. The stuff goes on like cake frosting. Thick and runny.
After a bit of hand troweling, they let the stuff sit for awhile. Lunch! Then it was time for the acid wash. Yuck. Muratic acid fumes and smell. Scary stuff! Can you believe they pour that junk on the walls with a garden watering can? Whatever.
After poring on acid, they power wash it off the walls. This is the process of removing excess plaster and revealing the small pebble finish.
Well, it didn't all go according to plan. They let the finish sit too long and it hardened up and the power washer couldn't take it off. Maybe that lunch was too long? Anyway, off they go to get more acid and a stronger power washer. Scruba-dub-dub and washy-washy and the pebbles emerge. All is saved.
So here we have the completed plaster job. Lovely. But something is missing. Oh yes, water?
Bring on the water trucks. Two of them carrying 4300 gallons of liquid each. Hummm, that be a ton of agua. Back the suckers up our driveway? Not an easy feat. But, ya mon, we do dis all de time.
No problem, mon.
I'm wondering exactly how much water it will take to fill this pool. The delivery guys tell me that two truckloads may not do the job. Three" Are you kidding? Oh well, we're about to find out.
It doesn't take very long to go through the first truckload. On to the second. The goal is to fill the pool up to mid skimmer door level. When the second truck is finished we are shy about 4 inches. So out comes our hose and we top off the job from water in our cisterns. Voila! A pool!
Hey just look at this. It's a cloudy afternoon but the shimmering water is amazing. Just the color we imagined. It matches the shoreline down below. But you can't see that here. Trust me.
And it looks just as inviting from the far-end looking back at the house. Nice color.
Hey, how did we get this picture?
Well somebody had to try the pool out.
'Hello' to all our friends up north. It's 88 degrees here today. We've heard it's a tad cooler elsewhere. He, he, he!
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