Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Our Pool Building Project

Well....as you well remember, last year I worked on wooden pool signs for our outdoor kitchen & bath area.



And~~~they sat in my office/craft room for a year.  Our budget didn't allow for completing the project as we had hoped.  *sigh*

This spring (after sending arms & legs to the IRS) we began saving for the supplies we would need for our project!!

One of my husband's employees is also a General Contractor and VERRRRRY skilled carpenter.  So, he and my husband worked Sundays and evenings {after work} to put the frame of the building and roof up.  I have to say.....I am a BIG fan of the HARD work they did----well into the night.


The framing began............


And, so did the construction chaos, sawdust and clutter!!!!  Even the pool was full of sawdust!! 



Fast forward a bit.......actually a LOT....and the framing has been finished.  My hubby now worked on installing the inner and outer walls.  Installing the metal roof was SUCH a challenge with such a steep roof pitch.  I actually had to go inside and stop watching him!!!! 


There are not many photos of this stage!!  I literally closed my eyes most of the time, while handing tools up to him!  I wasn't much of an assistant at this stage!  :)


I AM, however, proud to say that my hubby and I built the entire cabinet and counter area ourselves....in ONE day--------------one verrrrrrrrrrrry loooooooooong day!!  (That's me taking a break inside the corner cabinet! 


Uh-huh~~~  I am a multi-tasking assistant!  Not only did I help with the design, measurements and build of the counter/cupboards, I also played project photographer!

I also did ALL of the tiling!  We found this backsplash tile at Home Depot.  It was one of their "special purchases", so we bought every sheet they had!  We even had to go to the other Home Depot in our town and purchase 6 more sheets!  We did pretty good estimating how much we would need....only ended up with 2 sheets extra at the end of the project.

I'm pretty proud of my work.........


These were taken before grout.......



A close-up shot to see the colors!  Aren't they beautiful?!  They remind me of the sand & sea.  Perfect!  It's the effect I was going for~~~a calm & relaxing 'surrender'.



In this photo we are ready for the 4th of July cookout.  We had friends and family over---including family from Florida, here all week.  So much fun....swimming, playing and LOTS of laughing!


Towels and cover-ups already occupy the hooks! 


The door on the end of the building is to the 1/2 bath that we all agree is the BEST addition to the pool area!!  I love the outdoor kitchen with the sinks, built-in grill, the refrigerator and the XM radio!!  But, even I think the bathroom has been the most used and appreciated items!!



Even with the addition of the 12'x32' building, there is still PLENTY of seating and lounging areas all around the pool.

Wish you all were here this summer to enjoy our work (including blood, sweat, and yes---tears)!