![]() ![]() Well, that information turned out to be wrong, and they did start the excavation today. ![]() Arno, Tom's boss, had told me that today's plan was just to mark the boundaries, but they'd have to wait for a dry day to actually dig the hole, because if they tried to dig in heavy rain the sides would collapse. Swan's foreman Tom arrived today to mark out the pool boundaries. In the images on the right, I had SketchUp calculate the shadows for 2pm on Saturday 6th May. The estimated completion date on the contract from Mike Blackburn is Tuesday 2nd May 2006. If the deepest part is not in the middle, then one side is standing in shallow water while the other side is treading water, and the game is so one-sided that it's not much fun for anyone. It means you can run a net across the middle of the pool for playing games like pool volleyball. In the 30-foot pool section we decided to have the deepest part in the middle, rather than at one end. At the end opposite the shelf we designed some steps and a small seat, to aesthetically mirror the S-curves of the large shelf and steps. To help us visualize it before construction started, I prepared a 3D model using the amazing 3D software SketchUp.Looking at the 3D view, I realized that if we left five feet clear beside the shelf, we could have a full-length lane for swimming laps as well. We experimented with various ideas, and ended up deciding to have what's basically a 30-foot pool with an attached 10-foot shallow shelf, with a 40-foot motorized cover which will completely enclose both when not in use. That way the motorized cover can completely enclose it, but we still have a large shallow area for children to play. Mike suggested instead that we conceptually drop the sloping "beach entry" by six inches, turning it into a large flat shelf just about an inch below the water level. The sloped area ends up not being covered, and dead leaves collect in the shallow water there. Unfortunately we also want an automatic motorized cover for safety, and the two don't go together very well. For example, we originally wanted a sloping "beach entry" into the pool. Mike was the reason we picked Swan Pools. Met with Mike Blackburn, the Swan Pools salesman, to sign the contract. ![]() That means that the automatic pool cover retracts into a slot in the end of the pool, and is almost completely out-of-sight when open. After getting a couple of quotes we picked Swan Pools, not because they were the cheapest, but because they offered features the other pool companies didn't, most notably the "hidden lid" pool cover. Unlike my deck, which I built myself, this time we're paying someone else to do it. Stuart's swimming pool by Swan Pools San Jose ![]()
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