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stoney321If you're thinking that theme song has been on repeat in my house since the big CAT showed up, you'd be right. I really need a pool icon, because it's pretty dang hot and desolate outside, and cool blue water is close, but so far... Ha.
Massive self-indulgent picspam wherein I act like a toddler clapping my hands over noises and construction equipment. If you are in any way interested in how these things work, here we go!
LOL. I will not, I promise to you all, ever have one of those cheesy signs. Nor will I have "we don't swim in your toilet" because that is ridiculous. My BFF growing up had BOTH of those at her house, btw. That just makes me want to pee in the pool, quite honestly. Wait, where was I? OH RIGHT, BIG OL' CATERPILLAR AND DUMP TRUCKS! Tonka trucks on 'roids ahead!
10:30am these guys show up, just coming off another dig that they started at 7am. Oy. Seeing as it peaked at 107 yesterday, working early and leaving early(ish) is the call of the day.
Right before they came, I snapped two pics of the backyard, which we've let go "feral" because why landscape something that will be ripped up? (And I am SO EXCITED to not have a hell hole at the back of my house anymore, you have no idea. ...not so fast, Stoney.)
This is taken at the front corner of my backyard. I'm standing just off the side of a big concrete pad (our patio) that is appx. 13X16 feet. That red thing is our chiminea, currently chilling in the garage. The rusted thing on the left is our smoker, which gets loads of use, and will figure into the outdoor kitchen design somehow, the Mr. tells me. Hmm. We'll see. ;)
From mid-fence line. Just a whole lot of dreck. The back right corner used to have a beautiful Deodar Cedar, but it would grow over the diving board, so we cut it down. And our peach tree. Those were sad days. But! I'm planting two apples (Pink Lady apples!) to be espaliered on the new fence, so. I'm getting ahead of myself, sorry. Anyway, big ol' evergreen growing up that fence making it look that way. It's coming down, too, the fence, but that's next to last on the backyard makeover.
What's that driving up my side yard? BOOP! BOOP! [The fence will be down for the duration of the build. And then it will become firewood. I hate that ugly, busted down thing.]
He's carrying a pointy dinosaur-tooth/velociraptor claw thing with the bucket. This guy could pluck a hair off your head with that thing, btw. More on that in a bit.
First big scrape of the day and the kids and I gave a cheer. (We're watching from the breakfast nook's window.] Sally's ears went up, she cocked her head, then bolted to the bathroom to wait it out. Some watch dog.
Remember how I mentioned our concrete slab/patio? The front bucket on the truck has teeth. He dug them in under the edge of the patio (digging through the grass/dirt) and caught the under lip of the patio and drug it out 20 feet. The slab is 5 inches thick. That's a heavy thing.
You can see how the uneven underside left drag marks in the sub-surface.
As I took the above picture, the kids let out a yelp. There was this that I snapped, then looked up. The bucket was right at the back door and it was like a giant dinosaur head. It's shocking to see that in action so close to glass.
Look at that big bucket! (I tried, but it moves fast, which also led to the AHH!! factor)
Bye bye Bermuda! (I had them scrape the entire backyard. No more mowing for me back there, not ever! I'm putting in Turffalo, which doesn't require supplemental water or mowing. YAY NATURE.) They're marking out with spray paint and then a frame what the dimensions of the pool will be.
Mid day we went outside and took a picture from the sidewalk. I did mention that it got to 107, yes? And not a cloud in the sky. Hot is what I'm saying. These guys that work like this are hard as nails.
Scraping out the hot tub area! I'm telling you, the guy on the bucket was using the very edge tooth to get a perfectly straight line. (True fact: straight line pools cost more than free form/rounded shapes because of the precision required for right angles and the increased surface area. And of course those would have to be the style I like. But I'm no cheap skate, 90 DEGREES, BROHAN!)
You may notice that's not a bucket anymore, but the pointy tooth thing. That's what they used to get a straight angle in the corners. Remember on Sesame Street when they talked about brushing your teeth and that monster took a brush to his one tooth and made an "Ehn! Ehn!" noise with each stroke? I may or may not have done that the whole time they dug with the Velociraptor Claw.
Deep end first! (And do you notice someone cooling off in the shade? Also, how cool are those striations in the soil? More on that soil in a bit.) This is where I'm going to make a Poltergeist joke. As in, you moved the headstones BUT YOU LEFT THE BODIES!!
They called it a day by 5pm, and I was surprised they stayed as long as they did, honestly. Phew, it was hot. I snapped a pic from the same place I did before they arrived.
Far back wall shot so you can see the hot tub and the steps. THE BUCKET DID THAT. Dude. That guy is an artist. Okay, maybe not an artist, but the man has prodigious skill.
I turned to the right to get another shot of the deep end (9ft.) Can you see the indentation for the diving board?
Standing to the left of the future diving board.
And the last shot from the position of the first shot. :) This is where I'll take a picture every morning to chart the progress, so when they're all strung together it'll look like time-lapsed photography. Kinda. :)
Remember how I've talked about how crappy my soil is? That it's the basis for cement roads in Africa and South America? How much it sucks to dig in? At one point this morning the CAT was rolled over the lip of the dig, the treads out in the air a good two or three feet. The bucket got jammed in the soil and the whole kit and kaboodle started to tip forward. AHHHHH!! Please don't flip your rig into my pool, sir! Lots of shouting, a release button hit, and it rocked back onto the treads. YIKES.
8 dump trucks so far, and they've got the shallow end to finish. (The guy that runs the excavation crew also has a cement business. Guess where the soil is going? Fine by me!) And oh man, the TRASH that was revealed under the sod! More bricks, bags, pipes, bottles... Good riddance. Feh. Can you tell I'm a little excited? Also, the Mr. is on his typical business trip, so I'm being hyper-vigilant in recording things so he doesn't miss out. He's a boy that enjoys trucks and things, so he's all sad-face about missing the dig. LOL. Boys are cute. (My neighbor's 2 year old's head popped up over the fence line (held there by Papa) so she could see the big truck. I could hear her squeals of delight from INSIDE MY HOUSE, lol. <3
From this point on, all pool stuff will go under a cut to spare you boredom. You're welcome. ;)
[ETA!!] OMG HAHAHAHAHAHAH Juggalo Dating Site? Freaking Romance, how do they work? Magical miracles all up in this date site! [Yo, Juggalos need love too, bro.]
Massive self-indulgent picspam wherein I act like a toddler clapping my hands over noises and construction equipment. If you are in any way interested in how these things work, here we go!
LOL. I will not, I promise to you all, ever have one of those cheesy signs. Nor will I have "we don't swim in your toilet" because that is ridiculous. My BFF growing up had BOTH of those at her house, btw. That just makes me want to pee in the pool, quite honestly. Wait, where was I? OH RIGHT, BIG OL' CATERPILLAR AND DUMP TRUCKS! Tonka trucks on 'roids ahead!
10:30am these guys show up, just coming off another dig that they started at 7am. Oy. Seeing as it peaked at 107 yesterday, working early and leaving early(ish) is the call of the day.
Right before they came, I snapped two pics of the backyard, which we've let go "feral" because why landscape something that will be ripped up? (And I am SO EXCITED to not have a hell hole at the back of my house anymore, you have no idea. ...not so fast, Stoney.)
This is taken at the front corner of my backyard. I'm standing just off the side of a big concrete pad (our patio) that is appx. 13X16 feet. That red thing is our chiminea, currently chilling in the garage. The rusted thing on the left is our smoker, which gets loads of use, and will figure into the outdoor kitchen design somehow, the Mr. tells me. Hmm. We'll see. ;)
From mid-fence line. Just a whole lot of dreck. The back right corner used to have a beautiful Deodar Cedar, but it would grow over the diving board, so we cut it down. And our peach tree. Those were sad days. But! I'm planting two apples (Pink Lady apples!) to be espaliered on the new fence, so. I'm getting ahead of myself, sorry. Anyway, big ol' evergreen growing up that fence making it look that way. It's coming down, too, the fence, but that's next to last on the backyard makeover.
What's that driving up my side yard? BOOP! BOOP! [The fence will be down for the duration of the build. And then it will become firewood. I hate that ugly, busted down thing.]
He's carrying a pointy dinosaur-tooth/velociraptor claw thing with the bucket. This guy could pluck a hair off your head with that thing, btw. More on that in a bit.
First big scrape of the day and the kids and I gave a cheer. (We're watching from the breakfast nook's window.] Sally's ears went up, she cocked her head, then bolted to the bathroom to wait it out. Some watch dog.
Remember how I mentioned our concrete slab/patio? The front bucket on the truck has teeth. He dug them in under the edge of the patio (digging through the grass/dirt) and caught the under lip of the patio and drug it out 20 feet. The slab is 5 inches thick. That's a heavy thing.
You can see how the uneven underside left drag marks in the sub-surface.
As I took the above picture, the kids let out a yelp. There was this that I snapped, then looked up. The bucket was right at the back door and it was like a giant dinosaur head. It's shocking to see that in action so close to glass.
Look at that big bucket! (I tried, but it moves fast, which also led to the AHH!! factor)
Bye bye Bermuda! (I had them scrape the entire backyard. No more mowing for me back there, not ever! I'm putting in Turffalo, which doesn't require supplemental water or mowing. YAY NATURE.) They're marking out with spray paint and then a frame what the dimensions of the pool will be.
Mid day we went outside and took a picture from the sidewalk. I did mention that it got to 107, yes? And not a cloud in the sky. Hot is what I'm saying. These guys that work like this are hard as nails.
Scraping out the hot tub area! I'm telling you, the guy on the bucket was using the very edge tooth to get a perfectly straight line. (True fact: straight line pools cost more than free form/rounded shapes because of the precision required for right angles and the increased surface area. And of course those would have to be the style I like. But I'm no cheap skate, 90 DEGREES, BROHAN!)
You may notice that's not a bucket anymore, but the pointy tooth thing. That's what they used to get a straight angle in the corners. Remember on Sesame Street when they talked about brushing your teeth and that monster took a brush to his one tooth and made an "Ehn! Ehn!" noise with each stroke? I may or may not have done that the whole time they dug with the Velociraptor Claw.
Deep end first! (And do you notice someone cooling off in the shade? Also, how cool are those striations in the soil? More on that soil in a bit.) This is where I'm going to make a Poltergeist joke. As in, you moved the headstones BUT YOU LEFT THE BODIES!!
They called it a day by 5pm, and I was surprised they stayed as long as they did, honestly. Phew, it was hot. I snapped a pic from the same place I did before they arrived.
Far back wall shot so you can see the hot tub and the steps. THE BUCKET DID THAT. Dude. That guy is an artist. Okay, maybe not an artist, but the man has prodigious skill.
I turned to the right to get another shot of the deep end (9ft.) Can you see the indentation for the diving board?
Standing to the left of the future diving board.
And the last shot from the position of the first shot. :) This is where I'll take a picture every morning to chart the progress, so when they're all strung together it'll look like time-lapsed photography. Kinda. :)
Remember how I've talked about how crappy my soil is? That it's the basis for cement roads in Africa and South America? How much it sucks to dig in? At one point this morning the CAT was rolled over the lip of the dig, the treads out in the air a good two or three feet. The bucket got jammed in the soil and the whole kit and kaboodle started to tip forward. AHHHHH!! Please don't flip your rig into my pool, sir! Lots of shouting, a release button hit, and it rocked back onto the treads. YIKES.
8 dump trucks so far, and they've got the shallow end to finish. (The guy that runs the excavation crew also has a cement business. Guess where the soil is going? Fine by me!) And oh man, the TRASH that was revealed under the sod! More bricks, bags, pipes, bottles... Good riddance. Feh. Can you tell I'm a little excited? Also, the Mr. is on his typical business trip, so I'm being hyper-vigilant in recording things so he doesn't miss out. He's a boy that enjoys trucks and things, so he's all sad-face about missing the dig. LOL. Boys are cute. (My neighbor's 2 year old's head popped up over the fence line (held there by Papa) so she could see the big truck. I could hear her squeals of delight from INSIDE MY HOUSE, lol. <3
From this point on, all pool stuff will go under a cut to spare you boredom. You're welcome. ;)
[ETA!!] OMG HAHAHAHAHAHAH Juggalo Dating Site? Freaking Romance, how do they work? Magical miracles all up in this date site! [Yo, Juggalos need love too, bro.]
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 01:15 pm (UTC)Pix of my tiny tiny urban garden are going up today or tomorrow when I finally type up my veggie growing in small spaces post!
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Date: 2010-08-04 01:22 pm (UTC)Oooooh, YAY!! I'll be all over that post!
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Date: 2010-08-04 01:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 01:23 pm (UTC)It is remarkable how much can change in 6 hours, right? The Mr. called me EVERY HOUR wanting updates and pictures. Hahahahha. Oh, boys. <3
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Date: 2010-08-04 01:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 01:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 01:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 01:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 02:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 01:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 02:09 pm (UTC)Hoardes of Swmbos are welcome to come into my pool, because I know they will drink wine and eat delicious treats with me!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 02:06 pm (UTC)ZOMG, Stoney, that guy is and artiste!
And yeah, I have that kind of taste, too.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 02:11 pm (UTC)It's amazing to watch this huge 4 ft. bucket shave off the teeeeensiest bit of soil to give a flat edge. WOW.
Champagne tastes on a beer budget. It is a craft beer budget, but still. :D
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 02:35 pm (UTC)That's so cool! I'm so excited for you, it's going to look so good when it's done, you're never going to want to leave the pool.
This is where I'm going to make a Poltergeist joke.
Ahahaha. I was thinking the same thing when I first saw that photo.
What's Turffalo?
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 02:53 pm (UTC)Okay, not that last one.
HEEE. Poltergeist FTW!
Turrfalo is a hybridized form of buffalo grass, a native prairie grass that only grows to about 4 inches and doesn't need mowing or watering. I'll have a strip of grass near the deep end for the dog and for ground cover, but my mowing days back there are over, huzzah!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 02:35 pm (UTC)"Ehn! Ehn!" noise with each stroke? I may or may not have done that the whole time they dug with the Velociraptor Claw
OMG I love you the most.
This is where I'm going to make a Poltergeist joke. As in, you moved the headstones BUT YOU LEFT THE BODIES!!
I take that back. NOW I love you the most.
Have floaties; will travel.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 02:54 pm (UTC)COME ON. When you come here for your speaking engagement (see what I did there with the positive energy?) you shall come dip in my pool.
(no subject)
From:Icon used with irony and amusement
From:Re: Icon used with irony and amusement
From:Re: Icon used with irony and amusement
From:no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 03:31 pm (UTC)But now I can watch it happen for you! (And I can dream that it might happen in my own backyard one day!)
(On a more technical level, I realize now that it would have been pretty much impossible to get big machinery truck diggy things into our tiny backyard without actually demolishing at least one of my neighbour's houses. But I suppose that was a sacrifice I was prepared to make! Or I used my kid imagination to envision big diggy things with wings.)
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Date: 2010-08-04 03:35 pm (UTC)When you don't have easy access like I do, they have to bring out big cranes or small bobcats and triple the hours. Yikes. We were definitely at an advantage for this, for sure.
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Date: 2010-08-04 03:36 pm (UTC)The big equipment stuff is mostly over so I make sad faces.
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Date: 2010-08-04 03:47 pm (UTC)First over 100 degree days and we're already wilting. Thank goodness we're taking off for the Sierras tomorrow - 70 degree high, 50's overnight. Yes, please.
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Date: 2010-08-04 03:59 pm (UTC)Oooooooh, have a lovely time on your vacation! That sounds heavenly.
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Date: 2010-08-04 04:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 04:13 pm (UTC)When i was a kid - second grade, i think - we got a pool. They had to dynamite out the deep end. Fun times! This was in the seventies, so our pool cover was this huge, inflatable 'bubble' of clear plastic. It had a turquoise blue ring all around the bottom that you filled with water to hold it down. Then a pump inset in the pool deck would be turned on, and the bubble would inflate.
You would unzip a door to go in, and it was warm, so we'd swim in the winter, too - totally awesome! I loved that bubble! Later, we replaced it with a fiberglass panel building that looked a lot like a greenhouse, with huge windows in the roof that could be opened to let out heat and let in sunlight. Very cool.
You're gonna have such fun with this. :) And wow - why so much garbage *down inside* your yard? I guess the initial construction of your house just buried it all. Weird.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 04:16 pm (UTC)And yeah, I've cataloged the crap I've uncovered in my soil anytime I've expanded my flower beds. They basically laid sod over the construction garbage, the jerks.
(no subject)
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From:no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 04:20 pm (UTC)Mmmmm Pink Lady apples. I'm quite jealous. We just moved from Washington to California and I'm very much missing fresh apples.
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Date: 2010-08-04 04:46 pm (UTC)APPLES. I'm sad to lose the peach tree, but they're not... pretty. (I'm such a brat.) Espaliered apples, though? Tres magnifique!
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 04:56 pm (UTC)I have seen it, readers o'stoney, so I can attest to this greatness!
And I love how your post reads like a teacher on a field trip with her elementary kids. "And do you see this? And did you see the diving board? And look! What's that?" hahaha! Thank you for the play-by-play, Stoney.
And I have to say that I gasped when I saw the missing trees! You didn't replant them elsewhere? So sad... But it's a good think you'll have a kick ass pool in their place and a bitchin' garden in the front to make up for it. Yay! Pool party!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 04:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 05:20 pm (UTC)The pictures of the hole showing the strata are super cool (archaeologist moment). It looks like concrete under the soil so hats off to you for being able to cultivate anything.
107? *dies*
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 05:30 pm (UTC)I was TOTALLY imagining that my backyard was the site of a big dig and we'd find all sorts of massive trilobytes, etc. back there! (Which honestly wouldn't be unusual for where I live. I have a few nautiluses, actually!)
That concrete looking stuff is the caliche - white clay that is nigh on impossible to work with. (We used to be underwater several millennium ago, so we're on top of miles of limestone.)
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 05:50 pm (UTC)Your yard is going to be so cool when the pool is done. Are you going to landscape the heck out of it? Wait, who am I asking that question of, of course you are going to. Looking forward to pictures of that as well!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 08:33 pm (UTC)Yeah, I'm not an idiot, I know you don't burn pressure treated wood, so no worries.
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 06:43 pm (UTC)So JEALOUS of you getting a pool. I wish I was closer so I could come and visit. Right now I have to pack up the kids and go to the other side of town to get to the YMCA pool.
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Date: 2010-08-04 08:34 pm (UTC)Before this we had to pack up and bum water off friends or hit the community pool, too. No more, wheeeeeee!
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Date: 2010-08-04 07:15 pm (UTC)I grew up in rock country. Thank you, volcanoes. Dig a foot and then get the jackhammer out to put on the backhoe. Your guy is an artist, especially compared to what I remember of my father operating one (who had no excuse as he owned it & could get plenty of practice).
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Date: 2010-08-04 08:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 09:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 09:53 pm (UTC)I love the time-lapse-in-training!
Poolsquee!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 10:42 pm (UTC)This is all very exciting. Poooooooool for Stoneeeeyyyyy and famillllyyyyyyy! :D
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 10:47 pm (UTC)YAYNESS!!!!!!
Oh, your icon is TAUNTING ME with WISHES AND DREAMS! (yay!)
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 10:47 pm (UTC)...SURELY THIS WAS INCLUDED IN THE PLANS. SURELY.
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Date: 2010-08-04 11:45 pm (UTC)That bottom picture? That big bare space where I was standing will be the outdoor kitchen with a lovely cabana and a keg tap and booze area and fanning of my body boys. WHICH IS WHY WE NEED A STONEY CON, I'M JUST SAYING. That way I can justify having a... variety of mens.
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Date: 2010-08-04 11:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 11:46 pm (UTC)