04
Aug
Chicken coop
Our chicken coop is done! We picked up our three little chicks last weekend. They will be 6-8 weeks in the brooder in the house, and then they can move to the coop.
04
Aug
Oops, or how we learned an important lesson
Managing a lot of a big job like this, we were bound to make some mistakes. Other than hiring the wrong plumber, most of the mistakes we made were not substantial. One mistake we made had to do with our exterior stairs. They are wood framed, covered in stone, and go from the 2nd floor,Read more about Oops, or how we learned an important lesson[…]
04
Aug
Outdoor BBQ
In June and July we added an outdoor BBQ counter which pretty well completes our pool area hardscape. Here it is complete. Note the railings on the left side of the counter. Those are made to look like the other railings in our house, but they are hollow and carry the utilities to the counter,Read more about Outdoor BBQ[…]
04
Aug
Outdoor shower pan
We weren’t particular happy with how are outdoor shower off of the garage looked so in May we added a concrete drainage pan, tiled with a flat pebble look, and used flat pebbles around the flagstone pathway nearby. We love how it turned out!
04
Aug
The Pool
It’s been about 4 months since I last updated this site and a bunch of stuff has happened. Most notably, our pool was finished about a month ago. We started the pool in early March and were originally quoted 2-3 months for completion; it ended up taking about 4 1/2 months until everything was done. Read more about The Pool[…]
31
Mar
Pool plumbing
Well that was quick. A crew of four plumbers arrived yesterday and knocked out all the pool plumbing in a day. Admittedly, they were helped a little by the fact that we had pre-plumbed the part from our pool house mechanical room to the edge of the pool, when we first built it. It runsRead more about Pool plumbing[…]
29
Mar
Pool steel is done, waiting for plumbing
The pool steel got finished last week, and looks great, but there was a delay with the plumbers, as the coronavirus has left them with a smaller crew. We are still hoping for plumbing and shotcrete in the coming week, and the weather forecast looks favorable.
23
Mar
Pool – despite everything, progress continues again
What a couple of weeks it has been. Two weeks ago, we finished the excavation of our pool. At that time, just two short weeks ago, no-one was talking about sheltering in place or how many new coronavirus cases were reported that day. Obviously, a lot has happened since then. Coronavirus notwithstanding, we’ve had twoRead more about Pool – despite everything, progress continues again[…]
11
Mar
Soil analysis
We planned on using some of the dirt from our pool excavation to fill our garden beds. But first, we needed to figure out exactly what we had, and determine what we would have to add to it to make it good growing soil. We learned a net trick from our local botanical gardens. TakingRead more about Soil analysis[…]
10
Mar
Pools progress – Houston, we have a hole
They dug the pool in 4 days last week. It should have taken three, but they hit rock below 6 feet in the deep end. Actually, were were quite lucky that they didn’t hit rock before that. Because the rock sat under the spot where they had the exit ramp, they had to dig upRead more about Pools progress – Houston, we have a hole[…]