Pine Bluff Backyard Project
2004
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Background
In March of 2004 we decided to completely relandscape our backyard and have a custom pool and spa
built. A dozen contractors and four plan proposals later, we chose to go with
Garden View, a company in Sierra Madre that is well known
for their spectacular pools, spas, and landscaping. The plan they submitted was beautiful, creative,
and thorough. We signed a contract with them in June; they promised a start date no later than
mid-September based on their current workload. This site was created as a weblog and photo journal
of the project.
The Plan
The first image shows the rendering I made after carefully measuring our backyard. I gave this to
each prospective contractor as something to start from. They then submitted a pool design for our
review. The second image is the actual plan submitted by
Garden View that unanimously won our vote (and contract).
A few details have changed (and will continue to change) as the project progresses. West is toward
the top of the image. The spa will reside in the Northeast corner of our yard.
June 9: Signed Contract
We signed our contract today. Garden View promised a start
date no later than mid-September based on their current jobs. We have to bring in a tree removal
company before excavation can begin. I have decided to take out a half dozen or so smaller trees
myself in order to save a bit of money; the larger trees (like our 3' diameter magnolia) I will leave
to the professionals.
July 5: Original Yard
These pictures were taken mere minutes before a large and efficient crew from Discount Tree
Removal wiped the slate of our backyard clean. I had already taken care of a lot of the smaller
stuff myself (as indicated by the piles of dead branches). The first picture looks North toward
the location that the new pool will occupy. The second pic looks south. The third pic looks West.
The final pic is of the brick patio at the North end of our house that will be removed during
excavation.
August 9: The Blank Canvas
The first image is a view of our backyard facing North, toward the San Gabriel Mountains.
The second is a view facing West. I was struck for a moment by the poetic muse and noted
that our backyard was as a blank canvas awaiting the touch of the artist's brush. At least that
sounded better than dusty wasteland.
August 10: Pool Mockup
The crew arrived to transfer the paper plans to fluorescent pink paint on the ground. This marks
our first physical idea of what the pool will be like, and so far we are delighted! The image on
the far right is a very rough idea of kinda what the pool will be like...
August 11: Excavation
Two separate crews arrived today, starting at 7am in the morning. The first crew broke up our brick
patio and removed the part of our parkway hedge so the bobcat could drive into the backyard. The
second crew came with said bobcat (and three giant trucks) and did the actual excavation.
August 11 (lunchtime): Excavation II
So much is changing today that I decided to came home for lunch and take more pix. They have completely
removed the fountain,
and have dug the entire pool out about two feet deep. The last pic shows the rubble left by our
cement slab and fountain. I was told that the next step would be the steel infrastructure, probably
on Monday.
August 11 (evening): Excavation III
The pool is nearly excavated. There's a bit more to be done that will be finished early tomorrow
morning. The first two pics are looking North from just in front of the bobcat. The third pic is
looking West, and shows how the bobcat gets in and out of our yard. The final pic is looking North
over the whole yard. It's really starting to look like a pool!
August 12: Excavation IV
Excavation Movie (AVI, 30 secs, 7.8MB)
The crew showed up bright and early to complete the excavation. I used this opportunity to make
a short movie of the bobcat at work.
August 13: Excavation Complete!
I got home too late last night to take these pictures, so had to wait until this morning. The
excavation is complete! Hurray! All the main features are visible now: the spa, the deep-end
bench seat, the light (the groove cutout to the left of the bench seat), and the skimmer (the square
cutout directly across from the spa). We asked that the deep end be 7'6" -- plenty of water
to have fun in. A crew will show up on Monday morning to begin the steel framing; they estimate two
days or so for that.
August 16: Steel
They started the steel framing today; it is expected to be complete by Wednesday. They basically
build a 'wire mesh' out of rebar, one rod at a time. We expect that plumbing and electrical will
be the next steps, followed by the gunite.
August 17: Steel II
Day two of the steel framing. I found out what 'gunite' is: it is dry concrete that is forced to
the applicator nozzle by pneumatic pressure, and mixed at the last second with water. The operator
has complete control over the concrete/water mixture -- much like an airbrush.
August 18: Steel Complete!
It amazes me that this entire steel frame was built by one guy in three days with straight lengths
of rebar! The third pic shows the skimmer frame; the fourth pic shows the light frame; the fifth
pic shows the spa. Next up: plumbing and electrical.
August 25: Plumbing
Today was spent trenching the two main channels for the pool and spa plumbing. One channel leads
from the skimmer, and the other from the spa. The crew anticipates 1-2 more days to complete the
work.
August 30: Plumbing II
These pictures attempt to follow the basic path of the plumbing. The first pic faces West and shows
the trench leading from where the equipment will go (the near corner of the house) to the gas main.
The next four pics basically face North and show the main pipes leading from the equipment to the pool
and spa. The last pic (at an odd angle) shows the drain pipes at the bottom of the pool. The pool
equipment arrived this afternoon (the large cardboard boxes), and will be installed tomorrow.
August 31: Plumbing Complete!
The pool equipment is fully installed and the plumbing from it to the pool and spa is complete. We
are expecting the electricians to arrive tomorrow, and if the inspection goes smoothly, the shotcrete
should happen on Monday. Our contractor opted for shotcrete based on availability; it is apparently
a bit stronger than gunite, but harder to apply and work with.
September 1: Electrical
The first pic shows the gas and sewer connections by the Southwest corner of the house. The second
pic shows the electrical stubs to the pool equipment. The final pic shows the electrical conduit (the
grey pipes) running to the pool fixtures. The electrical connections should be completed tomorrow, as
well as the installation of the in-house control panel. We are also expecting the City Inspector to
come and sign off on the work so the shotcrete can happen next week.
September 2: Inspection
The City Inspector came and signed off on the construction so far. We can move ahead with the
shotcrete! He mentioned two items: we will need to place our house number on our house (or garage)
before the final inspection, and we need to enclose the main city power line that goes to the house
in a plastic sleeve (to prevent electrocution when cleaning the pool).
September 8: Shotcrete
The first three pix show the forms that the crew put up in preparation for the shotcrete.
Right about the time they finished, the cement mixer and associated pumping equipment
showed up.
These five pictures show the shotcrete process in action. After spraying the concrete
mixture into place, a crew of guys comes through and shapes the actual pool surface --
smoothing, leveling, and carving per the plans. But if you really want action, check out
these three movies:
Shotcrete Movie 1 (AVI, 31 secs, 8.3MB)
Shotcrete Movie 2 (AVI, 22 secs, 6.3MB)
Shotcrete Movie 3 (AVI, 25 secs, 7.7MB)
These pictures show the completed shell. The whole thing was done in a single day.
We've been asked to wet down the surface twice a day to ensure a nice slow cure.
Not much will happen until the shell is completely cured -- a process that takes about
a week.
September 14: Flagstone Delivery
Our flagstone was delivered this morning: a load of sand, concrete, and the stones
themselves were unloaded in the front of our house. The shotcrete shell is also
finished curing. The next steps will include finishing the demolition next to the
garage, grading for the concrete deck, building the seatwall behind the spa, and
placing the flagstone and granite boulders.
September 15: Flagstone and Boulders
A crew did about half of the decorative flagstone and boulder placement today. It looks
like they should be able to finish it by tomorrow.
September 16: Flagstone and Boulders II
Three crews worked today completing the decorative flagstone and boulder placement
(pics 1 and 2), clearing the north side of the house (pic 3), and installing the
pool equipment electrical and control boxes (pic 4).
September 17: Seatwall
A lot of grading happened today and the seatwall structure was built behind the spa.
Next week the crews expect to complete the flagstone and pour the concrete deck.
September 20: Seatwall II
The crew started the stone facade for the seatwall today, and placed a few more
of the decorative granite boulders.
September 21-22: Concrete Decking Forms
The seatwall flagstone has now been completed and the forms for the cantilever
concrete deck have been built. The deck will be colored 'golden buff', and given
a 'wash finish'.
September 23: Concrete Decking
The crew poured the entire concrete deck today. The concrete was pumped in from
the truck, and hand sculpted/finished. It looks fabulous! The first image
looks North; the second and third look South and West from behind the spa,
respectively; the fourth looks back East toward the spa; and the fifth is the
traditional 'wide shot'.
September 24: Acid Wash
Some decorative stonework around the spa was completed today, and the concrete deck
was acid-washed.
September 24: Front Yard Proposal
Well, the obvious has happened: as our backyard has been getting more and more beautiful,
our front yard has been seeming less and less attractive. So we asked
Garden View to draft a simple plan for the
front that would tie the whole yard together. Here is the proposed plan (West is
toward the top of the image):
September 29: Front Yard Excavation
Most of our front yard was ripped out today. The outline of the grass for the back
yard was painted on the ground. And the curbcore for drainage was bored out on the
Southwest side of the yard.
September 30: Drainage
The rest of the front yard was ripped out today. The main drainage pipes were
trenched and run from the backyard out to the street, and connected to the curbcore.
Next up will likely be the irrigation system.
October 1: Irrigation
As expected, the crew began the trenching for our sprinkler system. These two pix
show the front of the house.
October 4-5: Irrigation and Paint Prep
The first pic shows the north side of the front -- the crew removed the old plants
that were there. The next two pics show the additional progress made on the irrigation
system; benderboards have now been installed delineating the boundaries of our new
lawn. The last pic shows the sprinkler plumbing for the front of the house. We
decided to take advantage of the current lack of vegetation and hired a company to
paint the exterior.
October 6-7: Irrigation and Painting
The painters finished painting the house, replacing the aging fascia (trim) boards,
and refinishing our front door. The landscape crew completed the sprinkler system in
the front and most of the system in the back.
October 8: Irrigation
The first pic shows the trench that the crew dug for our outside electrical outlets.
The second pic shows some of the back yard sprinklers. The third pic shows more of the
back yard sprinklers and the sprinkler control box (on the wall).
October 10: Estimated Time of Completion?
We added the painting of our house and the front yard to the plan, so our estimated
time of completion was extended by a couple of weeks.
October 11: Soil Preparation
The crews did a lot of soil preparation and front yard boulder placement today.
The first pic shows the mound of soil amendment that was brought to our house,
lovingly referred to as "Little Bandini Mountain".
October 12-13: Soil Preparation & Cleanup
The crews completed all the soil preparation, and cleaned up the entire site to
get ready for the vegetation to arrive. We went to
Garden View's Nursery and picked out
all of the trees, bushes, plants, and flowers -- which should be delivered in
the next few days.
October 14: Plant Placement
All of our beautiful vegetation arrived this morning and the crews, along with
our designer, worked to place the plants around the property. We'll meet with the
owner tomorrow morning for last minute adjustments, and then the plants will be
planted.
October 15: Planting
After a final confirmation and walkthrough with the owner, the crew planted all of
the vegetation today. Groundcover and grass will be planted separately.
October 18: Outdoor Lighting
The first three pix show the absolutely fabulous decorative lights we chose and
were installed this morning. The fourth pic shows one of the dozen 'uplights' that
highlight the rest of the yard. It started raining in the afternoon and will likely
keep raining for a couple of days.
October 29: Delays Update
We've had a significant amount of rain lately that has translated to very little
progress the past two weeks. Additionally, the City informed us that we need to
move the electrical service to our house from the North to the South. Our electrical
contractor and the city are coordinating to hopefully get this done next week.
The pool plaster should happen around the same time, but the fences and grass will
have to wait until the electrical is complete.
November 3-4: Electrical and Plaster
Our electrician installed the new meter on the South side of our house; we are now
waiting for the city inspector to sign off on it and then the city will come and
hook up the power to the lines. The plaster crew arrived this morning to apply our
pebble-bottom texture.
November 5: Acid Wash
The pool was acid washed today and the fixtures (nozzles, drains, and lights) were
installed. It is now ready to be filled with water -- just as soon as the city signs
off on the final inspection.
November 9-10: Fences & Gates
Our wood fences and 4' gates were installed today. We were originally given the
option for wrought iron, but I preferred the idea of wood for the look and improved
privacy. The Fire Marshall required that the fence be built out of treated fir boards
at least 2" thick. These are stout fences! The first two pix are of the North fence (front
and back). The last two pix are of the South fence.
November 18: Garage Door
Our new steel, insulated, roll-up garage door with vista windows was installed today.
The color matches perfectly, and really improved the look of the front of the house.
November 19: Final Inspection!
The City of Pasadena signed off on our pool today! There were a few last minute details,
but Walter Trypucko of Platinum Electrical Services (Sierra Madre) stayed longer and
fixed them on the spot. We have been really blessed with the quality, integrity, and
and attention to detail of all of the crews who have worked on our job.
November 22-23: Startup, Planter, and Grass
The pool guy came on Monday to do the initial startup; he added a few hundred pounds of
salt to the skimmer, checked out the equipment, and turned everything on. We got to see
our magnificent waterfall run for the first time, and it was everything we had hoped it
would be. By Tuesday the crews had finished rebuilding the brick planter in the front and
had installed all of our grass. An electrician installed the master control panel in the
house. With the press of a single button, the valves switch over to the spa and the spa
heater and light go on. Twenty minutes later it's ready!
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