Getting the Pool Fixed - Again.

After we got our pool acid washed last winter it was made very clear to us that it was in bad shape.  After years of neglect by the previous owner (who only bought the place for rental income and therefore lacked giving the place any TLC) and improper care it was left in a state of distress.  The existing plaster was thin and blotchy and the black algae that was in it would continue to be a real pain to keep clear.  Since that fateful day, Thomas and I decided that we needed to start saving to get the darn thing re-done.  We were hoping that we would have a good two years to save up- a little at a time- but you know that things don't always go according to plan.

Reasons for speeding up the savings process include: a) our chlorine levels needed to be kept higher than usual (around 5% when the norm is around 2%) to keep the algae at bay and chemicals aren't cheap, b) the extreme Phoenix heat made it darn near impossible to keep on top of the chemicals since it burned off so quickly, c) the great dust storm over the 4th of July weekend quickly turned our pool back to green, and d) we could not get it back to clear again.  You think that a little dust storm couldn't cause that much damage?  Well, think again.

Here's a picture of what that storm looked like.

It's a 50 mile wide thick cloud of dirt that came sweeping in.  Nothing was safe!  It was so thick that the airports shut down because visibility was practically 0!

Which meant that our pool went back from looking like it did in December when it was acid washed:

Back to this:

Of course now that Baby Bravo is on the way, we needed to make sure that we did what was effective and affordable.  Naturally I would love to have all of the bells and whistles added to the pool when we redo it... but now with Sprout set to make their appearance in May- we needed to be more practical.  And really, why get the bells and whistles when we are only planning on being here for another couple of years anyhow?  We'll save the big guns for our forever home.

We had several companies come out and give estimates that ranged from $2,100 all the way up to $7,000+!  We ended up settling on a family owned pool company called Mercury Pools that could give us a beautiful (and premium!) pebbletec surface for $3,400.  Sure, it still ain't cheap- but it's going to make us happy (and it was much less expensive than the competitors).  And if that's what we need to do in order for me to go in the backyard without screaming expletives at the black lagoon that is our pool... then so be it!  Plus, a pebbletec finish is less maintenance which makes this prego happy.

We chose the finish in Glacial White which looks like this:

 

It's grainy- I know... but you get an idea of what it looks like.  It's not solid white: it's got some grays, yellows, and greens in there.  I know that white seems like a boring choice but it's really what worked for us.  There are more exciting and even prettier colors to choose from but from what we learned... color is more expensive (and we're already shelling out a hefty chunk of dough) and it also absorbs heat. And let me tell you, the pool does not need any help in that department since in the summertime it heats up pretty well on it's own in the sun... therefore, the cooler the better which translated to the lighter finish the better.

We still haven't decided whether we want to replace the tiles in the pool or not.  They are dated and definitely wouldn't have been my first choice had I been able to choose... but again it comes back down to Baby Bravo and what is or isn't necessary to dish out.

The guys are here now draining the pool and demo begins tomorrow!  I am SO excited!!

Our First Monsoon

Thomas was just talking to me about how this has been a dry season for Phoenix. We've heard a lot about monsoon season and how crazy it is but we really hadn't experienced much of it. We had gotten a little bit of rain and some thunder/lightning... but it was kind of around us.... not close by.

Well, today we got a monsoon. It was incredible. I was working in the front yard on my little solar lighting project along the walkway. The weather was hot (hot enough that I had to take frequent breaks) and the sky was clear. We had talked about how picturesque the day was just a few hours earlier. All of a sudden (and I mean suddenly!) the sky was dark gray and rumbling! I thought nothing of it at first... but it got crazy quick! I started to see cracks of lightning right overhead! I had to go out back to call Thomas into the house because he was cleaning out the pool with the giant metal rod!

Within minutes, it was a full blown crazy monsoon! Pouring rain, incredible wind, roaring thunder and blinding lightning. I opened all the blinds in the house so that we could see at every angle.

I love this weather. I even went outside several times to shoot video (I knew I wouldn't be able to catch the lightning with a still camera).

Anyway, that's today's big adventure!