Tile, continued (#4)

After our pool survey on Friday, the designer and I went back to the office to regroup. I just need to check with hubby, but I'm pretty sure we'll be getting the PebbleSheen Aqua Blue with the Shimmering Sea pool finish and the Luv Earthview Blue 6" tiles for the waterline. We might use some of the 4-section mosaic pieces to pattern the spa a little bit, but I haven't quite figured out how much spa will be exposed for tiling, so that can be decided later.
I'm still trying to like a step marker. I love Lightstreams, but they are very expensive at something like $20-30 per linear foot. Artistry in Mosaics has a new by-the-foot product with starfish, sand dollars, and scallops in navy blue for about $10 per linear foot. I really need to go out there with a tape measure and figure out exactly how many feet I'm dealing with. The glass tile generally runs under $20/sqft, but each 12x12 sheet will give me 4-6 linear feet depending on whether I go 2 or 3 tiles width. The designer will check with PebbleTec to see if they'll run a deal on their new tiles, but I'm not sure how much I like their tile products. I see later that they have a Gemz pool tile collection that is similar to the Lightstreams, so I'll have to find out if those are budget-breakers as well. Still open to possibilities.

When the PB showed up at the office, he remembered another similar surplus glass tile that they had in the back storage, and brought out a very nice multiple-blue iridescent glass tile sheet with some copper-like highlights. It's darker than the previous glass tile sheet, and is also plentiful. I think that one will work nicely, but I'm going to keep asking around. So here is a picture of the Artistic Pavers Shellock Tan that will be used for the coping, the Luv Tile Earthview Blue for waterline tile, the PebbleSheen Aqua Blue for the the pool finish (Shimmering Sea to be added), and the no-name surplus glass tile for step markers and swim lane, all taken mid-day with the good camera, roughly in position on the spa. And the good news is that after several hours in the direct sun, the paver is just warm, not hot, as advertised. I went next door and stood on the neighbor's red concrete pavers, and they were maybe just a bit warmer, or it was in my imagination. Who knows?

Meanwhile, back at the house, the bobcat guy, Victor, was filling in the giant crater end of the pool. Much better. The ground water has been filling in the entire deep end, to about a foot deep, maybe. It seemed to come in at high tide, but doesn't seem to go back out at low tide. I'll need to keep a closer eye on that to see if it's in my imagination or what. It's nice having the giant mound of dirt on the side of the house all leveled out, and the concrete-tie rod "sculpture" that has been decorating the front yard for the past week is finally gone.
We do have quite a bit of repair work to do. The other night, I could hear gurgling water in the front yard and realized that the neighbor's sprinkler line was busted and running down the street. The pool guys had capped off both ends, but didn't have an elbow and connectors to fix it. We weren't sure we wanted it fixed anyway, not being sure if any more heavy equipment was going to run down the side yard. The only thing we can think of is something to carry those heavy pavers, which run something like 2800# per pallet. But the PB reassures me that the machine that can carry those is too wide to fit along the side yard anyway, so the paver guys will have to dolly those from the front yard to the back yard by hand.

Saturday morning, my hubby and I were trying to sleep in a bit (or a lot) but we could hear digging sounds in the backyard. Hmmm? Sure enough, the tile guy was out there prepping the shell for his work - digging a little trench around the outside of the shell, digging big holes for the two skimmers, and even better, grinding down all the nails that have been sticking dangerously out of the shotcrete. He also bent a lot of the rebar back and buried it, which he says the electrician won't appreciate, but it's nice having them out of the way.

It's sure nice to have even just that tiny bit of color in the pool. The gray is pretty boring. It was about 78 degrees today, so I'm looking longingly at the neighbors' pools on both sides. Beautiful blue water, so inviting. I'm so ready to swim now, and I honestly have no idea when the pool will be done. Everyone keeps asking me and I hadn't bothered to ask. I must be crazy.