This week we started working on the swimming pool as I am sick and tired of the endless problems we have had with it. We had been renting the house and the land lord did nothing to try and fix the issues so when we bought the house last year it was one of the projects that needed doing. I am not happy the pool is in the back garden as the front garden is massive compared to this area. It would be too costly to move as you are filling this one in and digging a new one so best to leave it alone.
Funny as every house we had rented in Johannesburg had a pool issue and we have found it so frustrating. The last house had a bad drainage issue which had caused a massive hollow under the deep end. Not knowing how big a problem it was I deemed it too dangerous to swim as it could give way at any moment sucking you down like a bath plug.
The repairs we are carrying out is firstly the pipe work as it was creating air pockets which hinders the cleaning of the pool with the Kreepy Krawly. It would work for a few minutes and just stop. Plus we noticed a wet patch in the brick work further down the garden so there was definitely a leak somewhere.
The paving needed to be lifted up and new piping put in place plus a proper drainage system for the back washing. The system they had made no sense as it went straight down the side of the house into the front garden washing all the top soil away. This new route will take it directly into the main drainage system.
The next stage is to fiberglass the surface of the pool which I will oversee. Luckily mt first job involved selling fiberglass materials and know it very well. The surface is currently fine but would like a decent blue color so it is a quick and in expensive fix.
We were quoted a ridiculous amount to do the entire job so this is where we say good bye to the current work force and do it ourselves. All it is is surface tissue with a Flowcoat on top. Basically a Gelcoat with wax so it dries non tacky and smooth giving you a mold like finish. I will add more styrene monomer to thin it out which will give it the finish I require.This will save about 80% off the original quote these sharks wanted.
I did ask them why so much as they didn't know I could teach then a thing or two as I quizzed them on what materials they were using. Using a non chemical resistant resin is a dangerous option and they didn't even know that so I hope they learned something.
Decking has also been planned which I will show at a later date once we are working on it.
Make shift drain pipe directly into the pool making use of any rain water to help save money.
The next project is the pool house which needs a new roof. The pitch is all wrong so not an easy fix and have a friend who is doing it for us.This building was not on the plans when we were buying the house and was one of the conditions of the sale that I stipulated. The value obviously shot up as soon as it was added almost doubling the value immediately. It was originally built for entertainment and has now been converted into a large two bedroom flat bigger than some houses in the area.
I have always wanted a property where you could add some value and this one just ticked all the right boxes.The work never seems to end when you own a property as there is always constant maintenance that needs doing.
