I miss Vancouver....

Will we go back to live? Not unless suddenly the tax structure changes.... but I do miss home.

My friend Paul is very clever and writes VERY well. He has been working on a blog for a couple of years now. He has a book inside screaming to get out (think Alien) and someday we are all going to be bragging about the fact that we knew him before Oprah made him famous.....

This morning he posted the following video on his own blog - I had to steal it. Sometimes it is just nice to remember where you are from!

physical plant

We are almost completely "built out" - so thought I would share an image of the physical plant entailed in a modern pool.

From right to left (thanks Paul - I understand now which is which) we have the hydraulic motor for the "swim system" - a small 2 HP pump for the water feature - the larger 6 HP pump for the pool itself - the filter - and finally the heat pump.

The gray box above the heatpump is actually the automation controller that will regulate the system, and you can also note the wireless system installed on the side of the house above the swim system on the right side of the photo.

The automation system was SUPPOSED to have been working last week - (and parts of it were) but there have been some programming challenges and a tech rep from the factory will be on site tomorrow to pull one of the boards and finalize the implementation

Back home in the northwest - except for the hottest part of the summer, a heater is necessary even to maintain a nice pool temperature.

Here in FL however - so far the notion of heating the water is somewhat ridiculous.

When we filled the pool using the backyard hoses, the water appears to have come out of the tap in the high 60s'. Sitting in the sun, all 20K gallons were at 80 degrees within 5 days. Now the water is consistently in the high 80's without anything but the sun inserting energy into the system.

We had the pool plumbed to accept a solar heating system as well as the installed heat pump - and I am thinking about getting the solar installed much more quickly than planned if only to run it at night as a means of DUMPING heat from the system to keep the termperature in a more "comfortable" zone for swimming.

Automation now live....

Today the builder completed the installation of our pool "automation" package.

Many of the elements that will eventually be controlled are still to be installed (the swim system, the salt/chlorine generator, solar heating etc) but by tomorrow we will at least be able to control that equipment already on site.

The device at left is our "pool digital assistant" - a waterproof wireless controller that communicates with the automation center installed with the physical plant beside our home. This handheld gives constant readings on pool and air temperature / salinity and chlorine levels within the pool, and allows us to adjust the color of our lights, turn on the waterfall, pumps etc.

More on this and the individual elements as we get used to using them.........

we be swimming!

There is still a good bit of frustration over the fact that the screen is not built (awaiting word on the variance application at the County Meeting on July 23rd) but at least tonight we had the chance to get in and use the pool for the first time.

Water has been balanced (and now is not green!) chlorine is in the system - and we are able to enjoy the pool itself.....

Once the PebbleSheen liner has had 28 days to cure - we can install the salt system and the counter current generator - so the pool itself is not yet complete - but we can at least get in an cool off!

Counter current swim systems

Ok - so as I have talked to friends about the pool this is feature that is either laughed at the most - or appreciated depending on the geek quotient of the one asking the questions.

When we designed the pool I wanted to ensure that it could be used not merely for splashing about - but also as a place where I might be able to exercise. ( I hope) Unless it was going to be 15 m long - the only way to actually be able to swim in a backyard pool would be to put a current in the pool that I could swim AGAINST.

We have all seen the ads in the "in flight" magazines for Endless Pools.... but these are approx 6 foot by 10 feet and while very cool as a swim machine - not really appropriate for a backyard recreational pool.

There are several systems that would allow one to create a current in a full sized pool - but of the available options (Riverflow, Badujet) only one really looked like it would provide the type of current that one actually wants to use as resistance from a swimming perspective.... a new system from the folks at Endless pools called the FastLane.

Badujet is effectively a couple of hose nozzles that push a jet of water - very turbulent and not very strong - and while the Riverflow system LOOKS smooth - it also looks slow and underpowered.

The Fastlane system is a 6 HP hydraulic motor that pushes an impeller capable of pushing almost 5000 gallons a minute. The system is rated to be able to sustain a sub 1 minute 100 yard pace - so in my current state of health that is MORE than I need from a current generator.

The swim system can not be installed until the pool surface has had 30 days to cure - so we are still 3 weeks away from installation - but I am really looking forward to seeing it in action.

Green water?

Some friends commented by private message that the water in the pool sure looks green.

They are right!

Turns out the water in central FL (surprising no one who thought that the tap water here smells awful) contains lots of copper particles - tons of chlorine and lots of other dissolved minerals.

I left town this afternoon - but wife.com told me that the crew was back blowing the air (and construction crap) out of the pipes today - and that the filter system has been completed and is now running. Various chemicals (likely a muriatic acid) was added to the pool water to bring the PH into the range we want - and the "balancing" of the pool chemistry is underway now.

We will eventually be using a salt water system to keep algae and bacteria out of the pool - but these can not be started until after the PebbleSheen coating has had 30 days to cure - so by Thursday the goal is to have the pool chemistry balanced and have chlorine in the pool.... that means we will be able to swim by the weekend!

Just as the salt system can not be installed until the lining has had 28 days to cure - neither can the counter current swim system be installed until that period has passed.... More on that system in a post when I return home later in the week.

dissapointment... but not from the pool

As I write this I have just spent the last 5 minutes thinking I was going to have to throw a shoe through my television.

The Sopranos series finale just ended - and the "fade to black" ending was more of a disappointment than I want to admit..... what the hell was David Chase thinking???? ... all the tension mounting in the last few mintues - then NOTHING. If there is not a movie to close the loop then the man simply has no soul.

water in the hole!

After the child fence went in yesterday morning - the PebbleTec crew returned and completed the interior finish.

We spent the last 24 hours filling the pool (and even were able to watch our first shuttle launch since moving here while doing so)

So here it is - not yet a pool - for now merely a 20,000 gallon collection of water set to grow algae and bacteria in the warmth of a FL summer until the circulation system gets commissioned in the next couple of days!

child safety fence installed

Friday morning the child safety fence was installed. As mentioned in an earlier post - it is a law in FL that there need to be two different means of securing a pool so that children can not accidentally gain access to the area.

As our screen is still likely 60 days out (assuming we DO get the variance) our two methods of protection are the temporary fence around the backyard - and now this child fence.

Holes are bored into our pavers - and the posts are placed into these to secure the fence. It is the work of only 10 minutes or so to take the fence down or install it - so once the screen is in place we will be able to store the barrier unless we have nieces and nephews visiting.

PebbleTec

A LARGE crew arrived this morning for 4 frantic hours of work.

While the gunite shell for the pool has been in the ground for almost 60 days - the actual "inside" of the pool is a technology called PebbleSheen. This is an exposed - but very soft and smooth - aggregate that is applied as if it was a mixture of cement and plaster.

Pools used to be either cement of vinyl lined - but evidently this rather more "foot friendly" technology was imported from Oz a decade or so ago. The American manufacturer of these products is named Pebbletec .

Evidently this finish is a mixture of small pieces of smooth stones and fixative. It is applied by spray and trowel - then after curing for a day is washed with an acid mixture to remove excess plaster then buffed for additional smoothness.

Not only is it a nice smooth surface - it can be colored in a variety of shades from white or blue all the way through to a black matte. For what it is worth we decided to go for a very light blue color officially called "cool blue".

The pictures to the Left show the team spraying the mixture onto the walls, the process of trow ling it smooth - and then the finished product after the application is complete.

Tomorrow the team will return to wash the surface with acid - then buff it to its finished state.

Hopefully another crew will also arrive tomorrow to install the child safety fence.