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Posted by Kris Krieger on September 25, 2007, 5:30 pm
>
>>
[ ... ]
>>>
>>> That glass house, with woods all around it, could present some
>>> interesting wild animal watching.
>>>
>>
>> To be sure... Are larger windows something you can add yourself? Or
>> is that something that you'd need to contract to have done?
>
> I could do it, but I have to do it in 2's.
> Our house is symetrical, from the front.
> I don't have any plans to alter the envelope, except to install a door
> from the Living room out to the new porch I just completed.
> There's an existing 3'w x 5'h window there now so it shouldn't be a
> major ordeal.
> Then next spring I'll install another door where an existing window is
> located on the 2nd floor which will lead out to the deck, er roof of
> the new porch.
> I designed and built the porch with a floor load on the roof so that
> it can be a porch/deck at a later date.
>
> About your pool, now that you have one, are you glad you chose to get
> one installed?
I love it ;) Between being overweight, and having arthritis, it's the one
form of xwercise that doesn't leave me immobile the next day <L!>
> Have any idea what your monthly expenses are for it?
Hard to say because it's fairly automatic - it generates chlorine from
salt, so every few weeks (more when it rains more, less when there are
longer sunny periods) I dump some in. THere is a monitor to keep track of
the level; I like it a bit on the saltier side. There is an ozonator. LAso
a Polaris bottom cleaner.
So, there really is not much to do. Empty the catch-baskets (whcih I check
daily since little toads tend to get into the pool an dsucked into the
basket) (they usually live once removed); rince the filter cartridges every
so often; brush the side tiles to prevent mineral buildup; that's about it.
The main expenses are running th efilter etc., and in the cooler months,
gas for the heater.
> We did our own maintenance on ours and I think our monthly was in the
> neighborhood of $35-50 per, for chemicals, electric, etc.
We prob run a bit less, with the salt system and the ozonator taking th
eplace of most chemicals.
> Never had any problems during the 4 years we lived there and it was a
> great asset when hurricane Charlie took out the power for 5 days.
> I miss my pool, it adds so much, even if you don't swim in it.
> We had a fountain on one corner and on a nice day when the windows and
> doors were open you could hear the falling water throughout the whole
> house, very calming.
> I'm an aquarian.
No fountain, but a 12' waterfall wall. Not with th ebrown stone construct
- it's a 2' (from the ground level) wall, faced with the same tile and is
used for the pool-edge, and topped with the same stone as the coping. REal
stone, not brick. Colors went with the house (tans, touich of unmber here
and there) better than did any of the brick.
Coping i sNoche Honed:
http://www.mastertilepool.com/catalog/static_pool/natural_stone.html
They don't seem to carry the tile we used - it's basically a medium sky
blue with buff and a bit of an ochre color, looks like the colors were put
on and them swiped horizontally with a brush, to giv ea sort fo "watercolor
sky" look. THe buff an dochre-ish colors go with the coping stone (whcih
in turn, goes with the house brick), and the plaster is a blueish pebbel
finish that, with the water in the pool, looks like this:
http://platinumpools.com/gallery/pages/image038.htm
The pool itself is a simple shape, basically rectangular, with rounded
corners on the side opposite the house (ther are a lot fo homes in back of
us with arched windows, and ther eare arched doorways in the house, so I
wanted to echo that, while keeping a very basic swimmable shape). The
steps have a "niche" so they do not at all impinge upon the swimming lanes.
I designed the pool before I picked the builder, and the poeple at Platinum
Pools were just fine with that, translated it to their CAD program an
dhelped me tweak the pool and decking design. I also had pretty much
decided upon the colors and general materials, also the decking tyupe. So
they got off easy <L!>
The water looks sapphire-blue from inside the house, and I put up a couple
solar lights that I put onto 3' poles (well, 2' since 1' is in the ground)
- they're 2' out from the pool (the width of the deck where they are
located), so they reflect on the water at night - looks nice esp with the
2' perimeter of loose stone that circles teh decking (whole house, pation,
and connected deck, actually) (intended to be bug-barrier, since it's easy
to speay the bleep out of it with insecticide) (yes, there is 20-year
fiberglass weed-barrier under the stones ;) ).
There isn't a whole lot of yard directly in back of teh pool, so I put in 2
greyish pindo Palms, which look really nice, backed by a few clumps of tall
grass - so far, Panicum virgatum vars. "Dallas BLues" (sprays outwards) and
'Heavy Metal' (upright/vertical habit), both of which also have blueish-
greyish-green foliage and bronzy seed-panicles. TO the left side facing
the pool (i.e. opposite th eporch) is a Mediterranean Fan Palm, which has
been a bit of a disappointment but I suspect that's because it got infested
with bleeping bleep-bleeped fire ants (I really loather those damn things),
but I doused the base with Seven pellets and fertilizer, and the newer
leaves are slowing coming out and looking much better. INn the back and to
the sides of that are Bambusa multiplex (clumping bamboo), 'Golden Goddes'
on the left and 'Alphonse Karr' on the right.
That is the back curve of the "pie slice". To the right (southwest side)
is the beginning of the White Garden; so far, from left (south) to right
(west): an almond verbena, a NAtchez crepe myrtle, a Little Gem magnolia,
a Viburnum odorotissima, and a white Oleander - at which point, you're back
to the 'Golden Goddes' - sort-of in front and to the right of that Fan Palm
is a Gardfenia 'August Beauty'. Directly in back of th epool, visible from
the main room/family room, is a very littel rose bed with Iceberg (white),
Lavaglut (true deep eye-popping blood-red, not even a *hint* of accursed
pink), and Julia Childe (yellow). Off to the right of the pool, north-
east of the Pindo palms, is anotehr Little Gem, a Yaupon Holly, in front of
that a Hesperaloe ("Red Yucca"), a Pineapple Guava, and a couple Foster
Hollies, with a couple more coming around the East side of the "pie slice".
In front of those are teh Citrus - Navel Orange, Rio Grapefruit, and soon
to be moved there, a Meyer Lemon. THen a small ned with soem assorted
red/orange/yellow-blooming thnigs, then another 'Golden GOddes', Foster
Holly, 'Alphonse Karr', Awabuki Viburnum, and agoan a 'GOlden Goddess'.
Can't see that corner from the house, only gfrom the pool. It's the low
point of the back so it's rather wet, had a 'littel Gem' die so I'm trying
the Bamboos as Privacy Plants. Plus, I do really like babmoos and otehr
ornamental gfrasses. I'm trying to find a place for a miscanthus
Giganteus, which I want very much, and places for a couple of other, lower
grasses ("only" 6'- 8' foliage rather than MG's 10' foliage).
From the house, then, the pool has IMO a bit of an "oasis" look, esp. when
the sun is very bright. I eventually want to hide the fence, yet leave
about a 2' strip that can be mowed. Actually, I'd like to eventually make
that strip stone as well, but that'll be *very* evxpensive...so, fo rnow,
it's jsut that damn St. Augustine grass. I hat elawn but I can't afford to
deal witht eh yard all at once. Also, gotta keep some grass in back in
case of resale, sincemost people have a fetish for lawn, for some reason.
ALso have to keep 50% of the front as lawn, it's the HOA dictate. But I'm
getting in some shrubs and so on there as well ;) Have the large stuff,
now I need to get small perennials that are successful. HTat part has been
a learning curve. But that's a different sage ;)
I'm very happy with how it's turning out so far. Everyone who sees the
pool says they really like it, which is cool but th ebest is that *I*
really like it a lot ;)
Need more plants back there, tho'... <LOL!!>
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