THE LAST RENOVATION
Here at My Little House we are no strangers to renovations and the upheaval they bring. We have lived through winters without walls, and microwave dinners for weeks on end, but I have to say adding a pool was most probably the worst project of all.
It shouldn’t have been, its outside and it was summer. What could go wrong? Well, the start date got pushed from early January to mid-February, the hole was dug, the dirt trucked out, the walls were constructed and from there it went a little hay-wire. The concrete for the base dried in the pipes, meaning another couple of weeks wait for another concrete truck; a couple of storms hit and the rear wall collapsed… twice; fibreglassing was put off again and off again due to weather as were the coping stones. Eventually we had a pool, yes a pool, it was however by this time mid autumn, there was little grass left anywhere and so rain meant mud!
Our first landscapers didn’t work out (whole other story), but the next were amazing. Concrete was our choice for around the pool and we kept it minimal. The pool is at the back of the garden to make sure we retained lots of grass and we figured we were more likely to sit on the deck and use the pool for swimming only.
Before Pool
The digger moves in
The hole
The framing
The walls
The steps
Setting up for fibreglassing
Actual Water
The concrete
Landscaping
Done… well nearly
The pool is a rectangle 8 metres by 4 metres. It is salt water and heated via a heatpump. The colour is a dark grey with black tiles around the waterline, this gives a more aqua than blue colour when the water is added. The coping stones are grey granite and the concrete is a grey by Peter Fell.
Total cost $115,000.
Would I do it again? Honestly no! Well perhaps ask me mid summer 2018, I may change my tune!
Lessons learnt;
- It is much easier (and cheaper) managing a renovation of any manner in a recession than it is when in a growth period.
- Tradesmen are very unreliable so when you find a good one never ever lose their contact and praise the hell out of them. If you are single I would not rule out marriage!
- Dogs and mud do not mix.
- I am an expert on mopping floors.
- There is not enough wine to compensate for the fact I have no grass.
- Concrete is comparable to gold in both price and availability
Mayfair Pool by Designer Pools, Concrete by Rawlinsons Landscaping, Landscaping and Readylawn by The Lawn Laying Company, Landscape Plan by Flourish (had to be modified a little due to pool placement)
Photography and Styling by My Little House
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