Marshall and Sharon toasting their new back yard resort.
The pool looked its best on our wedding day, so these will represent the BEFORE side of this story. Notice the brown brick coping and the chattahoochee deck. You can also sort of see the original configuration of the steps. The patio in front of the kitchen used to be gray slate tile which we ripped up and painted a cream color a few years ago. The change to a light color reduced the heat on the feet. Plus, it looked better. When we chose the new deck tile, we kept that in mind.
After draining the pool, they started construction of the spa. Here you can see the PVC plumbing and our first view of it's location. Code required several inspections and lots of rebar. The old trim tile on the inside edge of the pool was a brown and tan pattern.
The spa frame was finished, but it was still ugly. Next, they poured the concrete all at once, and installed the "conversation pit" bench at the south end of pool and a small underwater seat next to the skimmer drain at the north end.
The deck tile was delivered, and we were very happy with the way the pieces looked. We chose two similar beige colors that we thought would be easy on the feet. Next they ripped out the old coping and prepared to lay the deck tile.
By the end of that day the coping was in and the new blue trim tile was installed on the inside of the pool and around the spa.
The tile installers, all Brazilian artisans, showed up on a sunny day in January and layed the entire deck in one day. The guy in the red shirt on the right was the crew boss. They spoke little as they worked and went very quickly. It was an impressive process to watch. The result was stunning. The bench on the north end seats one. The trim tile details show a wave pattern.
We added some mosaics to the pool surface including this fish and reef collection. The pool was ready for water!
It was perfect weather for us to begin enjoying our pool right away. Sunny warm days for the pool, and cool evenings for the spa. Sharon spent an hour or two in the spa every night for the first two weeks. I did about half or less of that much spa time.
Since the pool's completion, we've had a couple patio parties and added a gazebo to help increase the shaded area during the day.
