cat_dunc
I'm loving your pool updates. Thanks for the detailed posts about it. Very interesting! Please keep them coming.
Thanks! Expecting in ground pool cover and paving next week. Will post more updates then
Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - Swimming Pool Progress 21May 08, 2017 9:13 pm cat_dunc I'm loving your pool updates. Thanks for the detailed posts about it. Very interesting! Please keep them coming. Thanks! Expecting in ground pool cover and paving next week. Will post more updates then Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - Swimming Pool Progress 22May 12, 2017 10:01 pm Well I am back online. After a couple of weeks without internet I can finally start posting updates again.. Not a lot has happened with the pool. Solar has gone up on the roof and the landscapers prepared the area for the paving however they can't start until the in ground pool cover goes in. Hopefully both the cover and the paving start next week. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - I built a deck! 23May 12, 2017 11:10 pm So I finally completed a projected I wanted to do for a long time. Building my own deck. Ever since we decided on a floor plan for our house and saw the alfresco I had decided that I wanted to give building a deck a go. The first decision was to work out what material I wanted to use. I settled on Ekodeck. It is a plastic composite which I was interested in as it should hopefully mean low maintenance. https://www.ekologix.com.au/ekodeck/ Next step was to draw up a plan of what I wanted to build. I drew this up on the computer which helped me in working out how much material I needed to buy. I purchased all the timbre joists, Ekodeck and bolts/screws/brackets from bunnings and had them delivered. All up the material cost around $3,000 Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ As you can see from the design it isn't a standard deck. I had a border around the outside and two breaker boards (running vertically in the picture above) which helped break up the deck into three sections. This meant I wouldn't have to but join the Ekodeck boards which are only 5.4m long. With no experience in deck building or timber work I spent my time on Youtube and Google learning what I needed to do. I started with the timber joists and built the borders first. I used an off cut of one of the Ekodeck boards to help space out the joists. I used 75mm screws to join all the joists together. Probably overkill for what I was building but at least it was solid. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Once all the borders were built I started laying out the joists throughout the middle of the framework. I built the two breaker board joists first and then measured even spaces between those and spaced out the joists from there. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Once all the joists were built I started bolting and nailing everything together. Up until this point I was only laying them out to make sure they all measured up. I used 5mm thick L brackets with anka screws into the concrete and hex screws into the joists. I also used L brackets with nails to secure the joists to the border frame. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Once everything was bolted and secured I added some extra noggins to stop any side to side flex in the joists. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Once I was happy with the joists I started adding the Ekodeck to the borders. Having the borders done first helped to make sure the deck was square and the remaining pieces all fit together nicely. I used spaces to make sure the gaps between the house walls and pillars and between the corner joins were even. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I continued using the spaces between each board. I made sure that I measured each space before I cut the board so that the cuts were in a straight line. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ End result. I think it looks great! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - I built a deck! 27May 13, 2017 9:57 pm Wow! Thats incredible. You'd never know it was the first you've done and you learnt from youtube. Hows it feel walking out from the house and not having to step down? We have the same step down onto concrete that you had before the deck. Can you please post more information on your in ground pool housing? Edit - pool cover housing that is Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - I built a deck! 28May 13, 2017 10:05 pm cat_dunc Wow! Thats incredible. You'd never know it was the first you've done and you learnt from youtube. Hows it feel walking out from the house and not having to step down? We have the same step down onto concrete that you had before the deck. Can you please post more information on your in ground pool housing? Edit - pool cover housing that is Not having the step down really helps make the alfresco feel like an extended room of the house. When we open both triple sliding doors the whole area is great. Can't wait until summer! It will be similar to the ones below by Downunder Pool Covers. The cover is built into the ground and then paved over with a small lid. Manually rolled out with a rod. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - I built a deck! 29May 13, 2017 10:09 pm What a great product! The company is installing the lot? May i ask how much its costing you please? Also what's your plan with the gap between the concrete and the deck? Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - I built a deck! 30May 13, 2017 10:24 pm cat_dunc What a great product! The company is installing the lot? May i ask how much its costing you please? Also what's your plan with the gap between the concrete and the deck? Yep, company is doing everything. Pool, pool fence, solar roof install and plumbing, paving and pool cover. All up around $73k There is more info in my blog here http://tropezienadventure.blogspot.com. ... gress.html Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - I built a deck! 31May 13, 2017 10:33 pm measure Yep, company is doing everything. Pool, pool fence, solar roof install and plumbing, paving and pool cover. All up around $73k There is more info in my blog here http://tropezienadventure.blogspot.com. ... gress.html Awesome thanks. Lots of useful info there! Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - I built a deck! 32May 24, 2017 4:25 pm A few things have happened over the last couple of weeks. CCTV System I spent a couple of days installing and setting up our new CCTV system. We are really happy with the quality of the system and the ease of use after it is setup. I purchased everything from Aliexpress.com which is basically a Chinese version of Ebay. If you go down this path make sure you do your research on who you are buying from. The savings are worth it however. We have 9 cameras installed and all are able to be viewed from our phones when we are out and about. They are also set up with email alerts for when movement is detected in certain areas of the camera view. This is handy as an extra level of security. It is an Network Video Recording system meaning everything is running over a network. The NVR is a POE (Power of Ethernet) system meaning that unit itself powers the cameras. This means each camera doesn't require a power point. Each camera is connected via ethernet cable running back to the NVR. The NVR is then connected to our router and internet. The physical setup of the system wasn't difficult however it is time consuming and if you are not comfortable getting up in your roof or removing roof tiles I would recommend getting someone to do it for you. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Pool update The pool landscapers were able to pave the coping tile however were unable to do the rest as we had to wait for the pool cover to be installed. That went in last Friday. The coping tile looks great and we can't wait until the rest is finished. You can also now see how the pool cover sits. It is framed inside a box and then paved over the top. The only part of the cover you will see is the black plastic strip which is covering the aluminium hinged cover. The black plastic will be removed after the paving is finished. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Front Porch While all that was going on I built the front porch deck. This will be complimented with steps down to the footpath at a later date. I will also show some photos of the alfresco deck now that the table and BBQ have been placed there and used. Still loving it so far! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Gutter issues And finally, I have been noticing a leak in one of the front facade gutters and when I got up near the roof to install the CCTV I noticed the gutters filled with water. It turns out the front left corner of the roof has moved under the weight of the roof tiles and this is causing the gutters to not be level and pool with water. The plumbers came out and inspected it however it isn't something they can easily fix. They may have to reinforce the frame meaning take apart some of the roof. I'll keep you posted to what they do to fix it! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - Pool/Landscaping Update! 33Jun 14, 2017 6:27 pm It has been just under a month since the last update so I have added a lot of photos below. Work had slowed with most of the projects already completed. The only projects on the go have been the pool, backyard and the home office. Swimming Pool Update The pool is now 99% complete. With only some minor things to sort out. The handover was today where we were shown how to maintain and clean our pool and use all the equipment. We can't wait for summer now! Since the last update they have completed the paving, installed the pool cover and paved over the top and installed the glass fencing. Paving and pool cover completed Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Pool cover when out. I'll update with a proper photo in the next blog post Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The core holes drilled for the pool fence. A lot more heavy duty than I expected. I was thinking they would just use Dynabolts but apparently not. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Some photos with the glass fencing in and some basic landscaping I completed this week. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Examples of the night time pool lights! It will look even better when the pool is clean and not as cloudy! The lights change to every colour of the rainbow too so I will post a video soon! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Landscaping We wanted to get around the pool and backyard completed ASAP so we wouldn't have to worry about the mess through winter. The front will we do at a later date. In the backyard we wanted mostly grass with a garden border which will grow high over the fence for privacy. Around the pool we wanted evergreen trees which won't drop their leaves with Mondo grass underneath which will help complete the look. Down the sideway we used Mondo grass and some pots with Coprosma for some colour. All low maintenance which is a bonus. We then started with the back yard. What it looked like at the start. We removed one of the fence panels so the dingo could get in and spread the soil around. A lot easier than trying to do it by hand. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ After 50 cubic metres of fill and top soil to get the levels up to the same as the base of the pool and house and then grass laid. Added garden edging to stop the grass creeping where we don't want it. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And after I have planted some screening trees and mulched. The space at the back in the corner is for a future concrete slab and garden shed. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Home Office I wanted wall to wall, floor to ceiling to make sure we had enough storage for all our items. I mixed it up with some open and some closed shelving so we could show off the good stuff and hide the messy. I also had the main desk facing the door with my back to the window then a second space for another seating station at the other end. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And a bonus pic of what it looks like up on the roof! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - Pool/Landscaping Update! 34Jun 14, 2017 6:39 pm Wow it looks great!!!! I love the pool. And that big back yard. I think you've inspired me to deck my front porch. Original plan was to pave it, but the driveway and porch slab are at the same level. Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - Pool/Landscaping Update! 35Jun 14, 2017 7:04 pm [quote="aloenyx"]Wow it looks great!!!! I love the pool. And that big back yard. I think you've inspired me to deck my front porch. Original plan was to pave it, but the driveway and porch slab are at the same level. /quote] Thanks! We can't wait until next summer! We are going to continue the deck in the porch down to the footpath which is why we went that way. Project for the next few months! Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - Pool/Landscaping Update! 36Jun 14, 2017 7:23 pm Wow measure that pool and deck looks so good. Pool party at your place lol Building with Dennis Family Homes Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - Pool/Landscaping Update! 37Jun 14, 2017 7:25 pm rtforresters Wow measure that pool and deck looks so good. Pool party at your place lol We can't wait until Summer!!! We both jumped in the pool today for the first time. Pool was 10C. We jumped out straight away. Haha. Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - Pool/Landscaping Update! 39Jun 14, 2017 8:38 pm Mate it looks incredible! The pavers, the pool, the pool cover plate, the glass fence, the lot! How awesome is instant grass. From dirt to perfection in not long Did you plant lilly pillies? Are they lilly pillies along the pool too? Which version of lilly pilly are they (if thats what they are)? Re: Boutique Homes - St Tropez 31 - Pool/Landscaping Update! 40Jun 14, 2017 10:04 pm cat_dunc Mate it looks incredible! The pavers, the pool, the pool cover plate, the glass fence, the lot! How awesome is instant grass. From dirt to perfection in not long Did you plant lilly pillies? Are they lilly pillies along the pool too? Which version of lilly pilly are they (if thats what they are)? Thanks! Instant grass is amazing! Can't wait until it settles in and we can run around on it. We planted Lilly Pilly Big Red along the back fence. Planted 1m apart so it should grow into a 3m screen. Inside the pool along the fence we planted Hilly Ficus. We will pleach it (expose the trunk) and then have garden lights pointing up but hidden under the Mondo Grass. 10 15701 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74688 |