Still continues to Rain - still continues to NOT be a problem for Venture!

I have really been amazed at all of the work that has been completed in the rain. I really figured that the rain would slow us down but it seems to have only picked up speed. Today they ran the gas lines, put in the tile and have almost finished laying the flagstone. Of course I took pictures but its been raining so the color might be a bit off and I had to take the pictures inside - sugar melts you know! I do know that I need to clean my windows - and I can say that because no one is really reading this blog! LOL

Below are the pictures and I think it is going to look wonderful once it is all done!

Rain? Won't stop Venture!

Summer in Texas is usually just - hot! Yesterday they sprayed the gunite and when I came home I did as instructed and watered it so it would not dry out. What happened? It rained most of the night and into the morning. So we figured no work would get done on the pool. In fact since the gunite was completed a day early we figured the rain just put us back on schedule. Right? No! They came out and completed all of the electrical work today - even in the rain! I always thought rain and electricity never mixed but they said they could do it - no problem. So - electrical is now done! They even cleaned off the driveway where the mud/dirt was tracked.

I gotta say it's crazy how fast this is going. Tomorrow it will be one week since the hole was dug. Just one week and we already have the gunite in, electrical done and past our first inspection. Wow!

The round silver thing in the back wall of the pool is the LED light! Can't wait to see it at night!!

Gunite In!!

Man these guys at Venture move fast! We just had the hole dug on Thursday of last week. Today we past our first inspection and since the inspection was done so early today they decided to go ahead and spray the gunite which we thought was happening tomorrow. We are really starting to look like a pool!!

Coping and Tile - Selections made!

We went to the Venture Pool Showroom today and picked out our coping and tile. We went with the Oklahoma Flagstone for the coping and a wide variation stone tile. Once we get the concrete stained I think the flagstone, tile and stain will all look great together. Monday is an inspection and I think Tuesday they spray the gunite.

Pool Steps in Question

We are suppose to have steps going into the pool... Looking a how the rebar was done we can't tell... Tomorrow we go and select the flagstone, coping and concrete and will ask then. We are certain it is because we have never built a pool before and are not sure what to expect! LOL

Day Two - Rebar and plumbing done!

So today they came back and completed the rebar and plumbing. Tons of pictures and are all posted on Face Book but only just a few here....

BBVA/Compass - Such nice people!

Just got a call from Jason at BBVA/Compass where we got the financing for the pool. He just wanted to see how things were going with the pool and if there was anything he could do. Really??!! I gotta say I am completely blown away by BBVA/Compass. Jason has been so nice and helpful! Frank and I have already decided that we will be moving banks. We have banked with another well known bank for many, many years and never have gotten a call just to see how things were going. Thank you - Jason and BBVA/Compass!

Day One - Play by Play

This is the first picture of the day - they started with removing sections of the fence.

I just went to get a cup of coffee and they had both sections of the fence down. These guys work very fast!!

Levels are up and ready for action... Let the digging begin!

The fence sections are down time to start marking out the pool!! That's the superintendent from Venture - very nice guy!!

Yep he is going for it - gotta get the posts out of the way so he can get through.....

That's the fence post being pulled out of the ground like straw coming out of a to go cup... too easy.....

They made it through the alley and the fence...doom is near for the old concrete patio and walk path.

They started with the walk path to the patio it was loud and really close to the house.. The guy that was operating the trackhoe did a great job and really got into some close places!

Once the trackhoe got in the backyard it was straight to the concrete patio...

Bye Bye you ugly patio - I always hated you!! Didn't take much effort with the trackhoe just a couple of hits and it broke in half! Completely crazy to watch that close to the house!

This is the spa and the view from our kitchen window... had to move inside to take the picture as there was a lot of activity happening....

And they are done! Packing up and heading out for the day. Back tomorrow with more pictures of plumbing and rebar....

Day One - The digging is done!

Today was the big day! Venture said someone would be out between 8 -10. We figured that meant cable time and were not in a rush to get home from dropping off Madison. At 8:10 we pulled into the neighborhood and guess what?! Venture was waiting on us.... amazing! We were late for the big event! They were great and extremely efficient... The pool was dug and the patio tore up all by 11:42 a.m.

We took pictures each step of the way and will post a play by play..... We are getting really excited... Not that we weren't already LOL.

Saturday we go pick out the flagstone and coping!! That just means more posts to come.

Dig Day has been announced!!!!

We just got a call from Venture Pools saying that they have all the required permits.
They will start digging the hole this Thursday!!!

And So it begins............Wooot

Stain samples w/ sealer changes everything, help.......

Okay - so here we have those same stain samples but now with a sealer changed all the colors somewhat. Now what??!!!

Sealer for the Stain

Today we are going to put some sealer on the stain and see how it looks.
We will post some new pics and see what everyone thinks.

We have decided on Picture #2 for the stain color.

Will post the pics in a bit.

Frank

Stain Samples

Well we are still waiting on the City of Rowlett on the permits and all this waiting has done nothing except make me second guess the concrete stain color that I want. We have gone through 4 samples leaving them on for different periods of time to obtain different shades. We are down to two main colors but there is one from the first batch that I think I might still like.
Anyone have an opinion on the color they like best???

Permit Update

Well last week was crazy - those who are our friends on Face Book know that we took a week away from pool preparation due to work schedules. Now we are all back home and checked in on the permit process.

The electric company has signed off on the permit and it's now with the city of Rowlett. Hopefully Venture Pools will get the paperwork from the city by the end of the week. They say they could start within a day or two after getting the paperwork.

Before we made the final decision to put in a pool we did a great deal of research. We read a lot of discussion boards, blogs and even view rip off reports website to make sure we were dealing with a reputable pool company. So many people complained about how long it took and/or the lack of communication. So far (knock on wood) we haven't had that issue. We were told up front by Venture Pools that the permit process would take a while and that being dependent on others to get the paperwork swiftly sometimes didn't work out as hoped. We fully expected the permit process to take a while. I think this is our second week on the permits, not really sure as last week was too crazy to keep track. None the less we were told what to expect. I guess other pool companies may not communicate that information well enough nor provide updated information as you move through the permit process - thank goodness Venture Pools does! Love those folks.

Backyard at the present

Not much too it but that's because we always knew we would put in a pool!

The Dogs

Jerry and Lexi our two wonderful little dogs that required the fenced in area so they don't go a missing!! hehe

Fence is up!

So this is where it all began - last night we dug the holes put in the cement and stuck in the poles.

We came out this morning and they were still standing!!
Today we have been running around getting ready for a long overdue visit with family.
But still had to finish that fence!
Mainly because next weekend we will not be able to do anything to prepare for the big event.