Soils Check: FAILED

My Baja step is gone!!

The soils guy from the county came out yesterday to approve our soil so we can move on, but he didn't approve it!  Apparently, when our lot was graded back in the 60s, they used lots of different soil and backfill, and the deep soil is very soft.  So the engineer is making our contractor dig WAY deeper.

So I said, "but aren't you going to have to backfill again anyway to get the pool shape back?"  Oh no my dear.  We have to fill it with concrete!  Expensive concrete!!!  So now we have to pay for all this extra labor to dig out unnecessary dirt and then pay to fill it with all this extra concrete.  I asked my contractor if he's ever had to do this before, and he said NO.  Yup, I'm the first one.  Deep breaths.  I guess we are going to have the most structurally sound pool on the block (in the city?)! ;)

But these guys are such hard workers.  They came at 7am this morning to start hand digging and jackhammering to get the appropriate amount of dirt out so that the soils guy can come back this afternoon and hopefully approve it.  Love it!

And even though the Baja step is gone, it looks like we have some pipes?? And we definitely have a lot of rebar!

Trenching

We had a long break because of the rain so everything could dry out, and now nothing very exciting is going on. 

They dug this little portion of the trench yesterday...

And today they made it bigger...

And did some major jackhammering of the concrete on the side of the house (the side the chickens are on- they must have LOVED that all day)...

I think those boxes are a good sign! I have no idea what they are, but it looks like stuff that will make the pool work! ;)

My California room has become a dirt resting place...

It hasn't even been very long, but I hate not having a backyard! This can't be done soon enough...too bad it won't be until summer. 

Rain, Rain Go Away

Here's what happens when you decide to put in a pool during an El Niño year...

No rain in years, and we decide to put in a pool this year. So the poor guys had to spend a few hours on Saturday lining the pool with plastic before it rains tomorrow. 

The funniest part is that even this El Niño year, it's barely rained, hasn't rained in weeks, yet there are supposed to be TWO storms that dump a ton of rain within a week of starting the project! Argh!!

DAY TWO: We Have a Pool?

In just two days, we basically have a pool!  This is going FAST!  But I hear it slows down a lot as you progress- it's just the digging part that is really fast.

This is the baja step, that will eventually have 2 or 3 steps below it (although it's not huge, everything in these photos looks smaller than they appear in real life!)...

The slope...

Where the jacuzzi will be- it was originally a raised spa, but we had to sink it into the pool so that we could have the electric cover thingy.  That little shelf at the very end is where the cover will go under the concrete.

OFFICIAL DAY ONE: Digging!

After more revisions and engineering, the plans were FINALLY approved today!  First they tore out our gate, brick wall, planter and tree...

Then it was time to get out the huge roots of our two ficus trees- the photo doesn't do it justice, but they were gigantic!

After all the roots and irrigation were out, they measured and started digging the pool!

The kids were completely enthralled with the entire thing after they got home from school for over TWO HOURS!!!  They would watch the digging...

And then when it would be filled with dirt, they would run to front to watch him dump it in the truck...

So after day one, here is our pool! ;)

And here is our fire pit pad and grass area!

Backyard Reno- Day Two

It's getting uglier...

There is a portable potty in our front yard, which should annoy me because it's hideous, but it makes me happy because it means we are really starting!!

I tried to find photos of the backyard after we did our initial landscaping but couldn't find much. I never really took photos or posted about it because I never liked it even after we did landscaping!

Here a few that I found from over a year ago, but the trees were much more mature when they took them out yesterday. 

And those photos don't give an accurate picture at all of the ficus they took out bc in the one photo where you can see them, they we had just trimmed them way back. They were HUGE! As much as I hated them, they provided a ton of privacy and shade, and that part I'll miss. In this old Reno photo, you can kind of see how full the branches were...

Big Backyard Reno- It's Happening

It took SEVEN MONTHS to find the right designer and contractor, design the plans, redesign the plans and get them submitted, but they FINALLY started demo today!!  The plans were just submitted yesterday so we still have weeks before actual construction can start, but at least something is finally happening!

They are taking down our gigantic ficus trees.