In time for the last day of summer....

Wine & cheese ledge

 

.....we have a filled pool! No chemicals or pumps working as yet but a pool none the less.

Have a look!

Look what I just got home to! A filling swimming pool - yay!! Just in time for the official last day of summer tomorrow. So close to being ready now. Pumps need to be hooked up & water chemicals chucked in and we are swimming.

A big sigh of relief

The short story....our pool fence has been certified as safe! Keep reading for the longer story.

It starts with outsourcing the pool area to 2 different fencing companies, Concept Pools and our landscapers.  All seemed to be going along smoothly until a private certifier turned up on the doorstep. I didn't understand that this was part of the procedure before the pool could be lined & filled. Concept Pools called for the certifier to attend once I had notified them it was completed as directed by the landscapers. What I also didn't realise was that there were small issues that still needed to be fixed. End result = defect notice. Listed issues included vertical gaps being more than the maximum x 3, boundary fence being less than 1.8m in places, something about non-claim able zones.... Haywards organised most of the issues to be rectified but tried in vain to get advice from the certifiers regarding the boundary fence.
I had booked in a re-inspection for Tuesday knowing that the lining was scheduled for Friday. After waiting home all day, there was a no show by the certifiers. They came by today minimising previous issues and finding other minor ones. Having said this, the certifier was happy to pass it based on the work already done and making notes in the file of items that ended to be corrected. Of course now the rain received today and the mucking around with certification has delayed the final step in the process. There is still hope that we will have a functioning pool by the last day of summer!

Pool reflections

Apart from a post to show you our newly laid waterline tiles, I thought I would update you on the latest decisions we had to make on the pool.
A few weeks prior to Christmas, I was surprisingly informed that there was an extra cost to be incurred. The backwash pipe allowance in the contract is for 6m but we would need about 30m to reach the sewer gully. To extend, it would cost about $1200. Upon baulking at paying that, it was suggested that we change to a centrifugal filter - no backwashing required, with Concept picking up the extra $50. Great - signed off on it.
Fast forward to January when our landscaping team asked how we were going to remove waste water from the pool in the case of days of heavy rain. Not sure? was my answer. The Finishing supervisor suggested hooking up a hose, carrying to the stormwater absorption pit and dumping in there. The Director of Concept suggested just letting it overflow and evaporation will do its trick. Neither solution sat comfortably with me at all.
Tim Hayward and his boys suggested getting a plumber to do the pipework as they could not see how it could possibly be $1200 worth and requesting the original filter in the contract. Done! We had a plumber by that afternoon ($250 plus the pipes which are yet to be invoiced) with the job completed.
Well done Hayward Landscaping - not something in their brief but took it on willingly.
I sent an email to Concept Pools informing them of the work completed (installing a gully on the boundary shaft and raising it to the new ground level; run a line to the new gully) so imagine my surprise when I then received the contract variation from THEM for over $1000 to complete the work. Now having sent them photos, I hope that we receive the correct filter to install.