Archive | October, 2023

Pool Repair, Part 2

22 Oct

With all of the pool’s guts removed it was time to start research and buying everything that we now needed to replace. 

  • What we had, most secure
  • Easiest to Replace
  • Easiest to install

We did some research on the liner and found out that it was a unibead style liner, which is supposed to be one of the most secure, but not easiest to install or replace. We measured the pool, and kept coming up with odd measurements that included an extra 1/2″ or 3/4″, but after extensive research and getting familiar with how pool sizes run, we finally felt confident enough to order the liner. The size of our pool limited our options for liner designs with Chris initially only showing me two, neither of which I was totally psyched about.  But when he went back to the results, there was a third which I loved and so we ordered it.

Come shopping with me

I don’t know if it was an option or if he thought about it for the liner, but when it came to ordering the floor liner, wall foam, and cove, we compared prices on Amazon, and thank goodness!  We saved at least $200.  And then it was a waiting game, as the website for the liner didn’t actually say when to expect delivery.

So while we waited for those things, Chris did research on how to address the giant rusted out holes in the side of the walls.  He knew we could address the rust itself with a type of spray paint he’d used in the past, but went to YouTube for advice with patching the hole.  Eventually he found that he could use sheet metal with pop rivets. Those things we could get local, so we got to work.

  • Inside’s sprayed
  • And the outside

He sprayed the major rusted areas inside and out of the pool with Rust-oleum’s Rust Reformer in effort to stop the rust from getting any worse.

Got my arm workout!

And then it was time to cut sheet metal and grind the edges to take off any sharp edges that could possibly scratch the liner once it was installed. And then we connected the sheetmetal to the side of the pool wall with pop rivets. And let me tell ya, using that pop rivet gun is no joke!

Now for everything else to show up and then the real work begins.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission at no cost to you! When you purchase through the links provided, you will be supporting Brittany Bower and helping to bring new content to the site!

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Still Growing Up – Office Style

19 Oct

I was looking back at old posts last week and was shocked by how much Chris and I have grown up since moving into our house. Is that still a thing even after you’re considered an adult? But I had previously cleaned out what was the Craft Room and put my touch on it, turning the room PINK and deciding to keep a lot of the previous clutter out. And now it has transformed again.

PINK and decluttered (compared to before)

He also decided to buy himself an official drum set (he’d been learning on a set of electronic ones), so I decided to upgrade my desk which transformed the entire room with a u-shape desk, bookcases and file cabinets. And with the white furniture, you can really see how light and bright the room turned out! It’s been nice having a place for my computer and to do crafting, with more organization, and room to display all of my keepsakes, like the flowers and cloche display from our wedding. And even a designated place for my official work, without too much adjustment.

YIKES! Before the first remodel

I mentioned that I started working from home at the end of last year, but that wasn’t even the catalyst for it. After our wedding in April, Chris decided to repurpose half of the rooms in our house. Our previous gym became a music studio/theater room, my previous office took on a storage role (the main thing our house is severely lacking) and the Craft Room became my new office.

My new (grown up) office after the wedding

When I started working from home, we really took a closer look at what that would look like. I had office jobs before, but they usually at least allow for opportunities to get up and go for a walk, usually for meetings – but mine were all online now which meant more sitting and less moving. We invested in what we thought would be a decent chair and a riser for my desk so I would at least have the option to stand.

The flexibility with the riser is nice, and it’s super easy to use since it is motorized. But I didn’t think how it might effect things when I am just sitting, which I’ve done more than I initially thought I would. At my previous job, I ended up developing an issue with my shoulder and figured out that it was because my desk was too high compared to my chair making me type with my shoulders shrugged all day. And the riser was starting to have the same effect since it raised my keyboard another couple of inches off my desk even at its lowest.

My chair was also starting to tilt to one side and it allows me slouch too much. So it’s now time for another change – I’m going to try it without the riser and trying out a new chair! We’ll see how it goes.

And for those keeping track of puppy status, the cords under my desk have now been tidied.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission at no cost to you! When you purchase through the links provided, you will be supporting Brittany Bower and helping to bring new content to the site!

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Pool Repair, Part 1

17 Oct

Last month, Chris came into my office and showed me a video – our pool had a major leak! He didn’t know if it was from the liner or if a pipe had busted, so he went diving in the pool to find out.

Right inside from the leak he a found a tear in the liner. So, he grabbed the glue and extra vinyl (we had patched a hole last year), and went to trying to do the repair, but as soon as he touched it, it tore even more. And we realized this was not going to be an easy repair.

We already knew we were on borrowed time with the pool once we found a rusted spot at the far end after dismantling the previous pool deck. We just didn’t know what all would be involved with that repair – or if could even be done – but knew that the liner would have to come off and it might not go back on as easy as it came off. Now would be the time to address it though since the current liner obviously had to be replaced anyways.

So Chris got to draining the pool. It was such a sad sight.

But also eye opening for all of the problems we weren’t aware of. Water pooled in a few areas so he cut the liner to allow it to finish draining disclosing the spots that had washed out. One was around the floor drain, which is what he patched last year. We couldn’t see the bottom of the hole and had no idea how far it would go, leaving us to question how we were going to fix it.

The other spot that washed out was on the inside of where he spotted the leak from the outside and was severe enough that we could clearly see some of the metal framing.

Since we’d already come this far with removing the liner, Chris decided to continue cutting down the edges in sections, revealing tears in the foam wall liner and rust spots behind large sections of it. So it came down too.

Now that basically all of the pool’s trim pieces and guts had been removed, we finally had an idea of what we were up against and it was time to start researching how to do the repairs.

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Projects Undone – The Old Pool Deck

4 Oct

We have now had our house for 5 years, it’s crazy how fast time flies!

We’ve made a lot of changes in that time, some revising what was here already and some adding our own touches. But this summer has focused on finally cleaning up the projects we have undone, making our yard more visually pleasing and safer for the little ones running around (our friend’s kids) and hopefully, our future furry one.

The previous owners had a small deck for the pool steps, similar to the ones we have now, but on the opposite side of the pool. It served its purpose, but was starting to show its age and wasn’t to our liking, We usually get out to the backyard through the French doors in the living room or from our bedroom – on the opposite end of the house. On top of that, while we we do have grass in our back yard, it didn’t grow between the pool and the house due to a lack of sun when we moved in, so we tracked in mud every time we came back in after being in the pool.

The previous pool steps (picture taken from realtor.com)

So Chris did what he does and started tearing it down. Getting the boards off was the easy part. The hard part was dismantling the concrete blocks that had cement poured in the center and then bolted to the ground. We tried sledgehammers but they were no match – they simply bounced off. We talked about getting a back hoe and burying them or renting a jackhammer to break them apart, but thought it would take days and subsequently several hundreds of dollars. So they had been an eye sore for about 4 of the past 5 years.

Finally, during the hottest summer I can ever remember in Florida, my husband did what he does and searched on Amazon for a solution – a jack hammer for about $200 (a rental is about $80/day). Knowing that it would physically hard work and guessing that he’d only be able to stand the heat for 15 minutes a day, this would be a tremendous savings if it worked out. Our only hesitation with it was knowing that it would not be the same quality as the commercial rental.

The packaging is nice with a case to hold everything and make sure the pieces don’t end up scattered across the shed. But the quality of the jack hammer is even more impressive. It’s obviously physically straining, at 54 pounds bouncing back and forth against cement and concrete, but the blocks just started tumbling off, and it was even quiet enough for him to continue while I worked in my office without my those on the phone complaining about any background noise.

XtremepowerUS 61117-XP Jack Hammer w/Chisel & Shovel Bits from Amazon

Now that the old pool deck is FINALLY gone, that side of the yard is cleaning up nicely, although still in need of some work. We got rid of the tree as it was effecting the foundation of our house and now that strip has filled in with some nice grass.

Such an improvement!

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission at no cost to you! When you purchase through the links provided, you will be supporting Brittany Bower and helping to bring new content to the site!

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