My New Pool - Part 1

When we bought our new house, we were promised a pool, which very conveniently was located behind our home but maintained by the homeowners association. However, the pool was closed because it had a crack in its bottom. Now, nobody wants a crack in their bottom (although perhaps plumbers may view this comment differently), so the pool had to be replaced. We knew this going into the purchase contract, and negotiated an escrow amount from the sellers to help pay for the expected cost. The "guesstimate" was from three to five thousand per resident, which multiplied by 50 some homeowners, would mean "no more than $250,000" in cost was expected.

The picture on the left was taken AFTER the old pool had been removed, and fresh fill had been brought in for compacting. After compacting, they'd dig a fresh hole for where the new pool would go. The water showing is the adjacent pond. The picture on the right shows what happened when they dug down a little further...., and then discovered even more debris when the operator thought he had hit bottom at 7 feet, only to discover a second selection of trees and bushes at 15 feet. Hopefully the game plan does not include digging a hole to China. The picture on the right is self explanatory - yucky!

They had suspected that the pool had been built on fill, but not organic debris, and in the big dig now going on, found it to be not one, but several layers of organic debris. Fortunately, no dinosaur bones, but plenty of native palms and other trees, which the original developer had apparently cut down when building the homes and from fill from the adjoining pond. There was also discovered the old pool's gas line, which interestingly had not been shut down and the meter removed. Can you say "Kaboom!"? Fortunately, after many phone calls, the gas line (for the pool heater) was shut down and the meter removed.

Meanwhile, the Homeowners Association has asked our residents if they want to add a four person hot tub/spa to the project, for ONLY an additional $35,000 bucks. I have voted no, since I regard these as just giant Petri dishes in search of infectious germs. This pool project was expected to be finished by Christmas, but maybe I should have asked "which year?". So, this blog entry is labeled Part 1 for a reason, there WILL be a part 2, probably a part 3 and hopefully a conclusion. Fortunately, we still own a condo at Cedars Tennis Resort, with a Jr. Olympic sized pool ideal for lap swimming. And of course, there's always the beach and the Gulf of Mexico. Ain't Florida grand?