This year's swimming pool surprise!

[digitalwanderer]

My wife always wanted a big dream house with an inground pool and a big deck. She absolutely loves it. Nothing makes her happier than to come home from work to a perfectly sparkling pool with the hot tub waterfall cascading in to it where she can float and shoot baskets to unwind while the backyard speakers fill the yard well.

She also wanted a pool boy who would make sure it was always working/clean/ready, and my new summer hell was born!

First few years were spent just figuring the damned thing out. Every year there would be at least one new problem. A busted pump that needed replacing, the hot tub heater would go out, some PVC lines would crack, etc. This year I decided to close the hell out of the pool MY WAY so it wouldn't he so hard to open. Got the top secured with dual mesh nets so I can get the gunk out with the lighweight net and the heavyweight one protected the pool water. I also put a water tight top on the hot tub for a change, i was tired of the scummy/moldy/nasty mess it turned in to each year.

Good news/bad news. The top worked, kept the hot tub nice and dry. Bad news, I found out why you're never supposed to leave your hot tub dry through the winter.

It popped out, the whole thing popped out of the freaking concrete! The waterfall in to the pool is at least 2-3 feet higher than it was and the back is still flush with the concrete. It took me two hours to build up the courage to stick my head under the tarp with a flashlight to see if the hot tub popping out had weakened the pool wall and it had collapsed into the hot tub hole...which would basically mean bye-bye pool.

It hadn't. Got 6" of concrete between the hot tub hole and the pool and the hole under the hot tub was dry. After a little research I figured out that there is a decent chance that I didn't break any of the plumbing lines and I MIGHT be able to lift the front a bit more and get under it to get it cleared out and get a decent foundation for it and reset it in there. If not I'll just raise it up and extend the drain/feeder lines and build a little decorative wall around it.

Either that or I'm grasping at straws because I'm a little clueless and everyone is counting on me to make it all better without spending much on it, oh and with one arm tied behind my back until at least Thursday and unfortunately it's my right one and I'm right handed.

Pffft, easy-peasy..right? I mean, how hard could it be?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Looks like fun.

I'd help, but...uh...I've got things to do.

Regards,
SB

 

[Grall]

I'm such an inept guy at anything handyman-related it's ludicrous, you really don't want my advice...at all. lol

(Btw, all the advice I really could give would be, "rent backhoe, dig it all out of the ground; fill back in with dirt and be happy with that." )

 

[digitalwanderer]

No backhoe, just cut up the hot tub and throw it away in pieces and use the hole left to put in a trampoline that's even with the pool surface.

 

[AlNom]

Pffft, easy-peasy..right? I mean, how hard could it be?

"Stronger and harder than a bad girl's dream.
Make a bad one good, mm make a wrong one right.
Power of love will keep you home at night."

 

[Malo]

I'm wondering whether you went into your backyard until now. Wouldn't you have noticed it gradually lifting over time?

 

[digitalwanderer]

First time I've been out there this winter, and thanks AI! Love Huey Lewis and the News!

 

[digitalwanderer]

There's this family motto on my father's side that has a long and rich tradition in my family, and I have proudly inherited it.

"Hayden, you are a fucking idiot!!!"

I'm not sure how far this motto has extended back, but I have not only heard it more times than I can remember from my own father but I even recall his father saying it on a few occasions too...and he passed away when I was about 4-5.

Now understand, this is NEVER said towards anyone but the one saying it! It's not something you ever hear us say to each other about each other, it's a special phrase that's built in to our genetic code that we have to mutter aloud everytime we realize that we've been thinking a problem to death for a while the whole time missing something incredibly obvious and a much easier way.

I had the good fortune to just hear myself say that, and it's a weird feeling. I'm mad at myself for being so stupid, but at the same time I'm enjoying a weird epiphany for finally figuring it out. Like I said, it's a very specific credo for very special occasions that happen way too often on the male side of my family.

I've been pondering the hot tub. I've poked my head around as much as I can with a flashlight and figured out the cause. There are cracks in the cement behind the hot tub where the railing holes are, water has been washing through it for years eroding the sandy soil into the area under the hot tub, when the hot tub popped up and it started flowing again it filled with the loose sand/dirt and that's why it settled crooked. I was going to attempt to jack it up slightly and try and dig the sand out of there, I think mainly because of my affection for shovels, digging, and hard labor, but then I got to thinking. It's just loose fill in there that was washed in, why not just fill it up and wash it out? Not even completely, but enough to get it to level and settled straight. Once there start filling the hot tub and try and keep the weight balanced to settle her straight....but that will only work if the piping is all in tact and I can't be sure of that unless I actually try running water through the tub which could add too much weight and bust it or shift it hard and break the piping.

So I've been trying to figure out a way to see what the fuck is going on down there without actually GOING down there. I was perplexed, but had other things to tend to/worry about.

Ended up being a strangely wonderful day. Turns out I got lucky, (go figure), and didn't do any actual damage to my rotator cuff. All it needs is a little time to heal and some physical therapy and it'll be good as new! Also spoke with the family about being bummed and they all sat around and explained why it all wasn't as bad as I thought and I shouldn't be so hard on myself and it gave me the warm tinglies and made me feel a whole lot better. My 2-1/2 weeks of panic attacks is at an end, and I'm celebrating by finishing a cigar I shouldn't be smoking.

Sitting out looking at the moon all peaceful, I suddenly realized I'd bought a 5 meter long endoscope that hooks up to my phone on impulse on an Amazon flash sale just thinking it'd be a neat and useful thing to have, and I suddenly realized it was the EXACT thing I was in need of to find out what the what is happening under the hot tub without moving anything!

I think I scared some stray cats and a few odd humans out and about suddenly yelling it out at midnight in my driveway, but it's not something I have control over. It's genetic, I swear!

So tomorrow I am going to have some fun with and endoscope and the tub and I think I can actually fix the damned thing and may end up with something better than I started with. I also decided it's time to get some cement patcher and patch every damned crack in every damned bit of concrete around my yard. It makes a huge difference and it's not that expensive, especially when weighed against the damage more continued erosion/cracking could do.

See? I TOLD you I'd figure it out! I don't even have to do it with one arm tied behind my back anymore and I'm ALMOST willing to bet I can make it a single-man project. (Although I'm also tempted to invite 5 or 6 of my stronger friends over for a fun afternoon of drinking and heaving a hot tub around. )

 

[Entropy]

There's this family motto on my father's side that has a long and rich tradition in my family, and I have proudly inherited it.

"Hayden, you are a fucking idiot!!!"

I'm not sure how far this motto has extended back, but I have not only heard it more times than I can remember from my own father but I even recall his father saying it on a few occasions too...and he passed away when I was about 4-5.

Now understand, this is NEVER said towards anyone but the one saying it! It's not something you ever hear us say to each other about each other, it's a special phrase that's built in to our genetic code that we have to mutter aloud everytime we realize that we've been thinking a problem to death for a while the whole time missing something incredibly obvious and a much easier way.

I had the good fortune to just hear myself say that, and it's a weird feeling. I'm mad at myself for being so stupid, but at the same time I'm enjoying a weird epiphany for finally figuring it out. Like I said, it's a very specific credo for very special occasions that happen way too often on the male side of my family.

I've been pondering the hot tub. I've poked my head around as much as I can with a flashlight and figured out the cause. There are cracks in the cement behind the hot tub where the railing holes are, water has been washing through it for years eroding the sandy soil into the area under the hot tub, when the hot tub popped up and it started flowing again it filled with the loose sand/dirt and that's why it settled crooked. I was going to attempt to jack it up slightly and try and dig the sand out of there, I think mainly because of my affection for shovels, digging, and hard labor, but then I got to thinking. It's just loose fill in there that was washed in, why not just fill it up and wash it out? Not even completely, but enough to get it to level and settled straight. Once there start filling the hot tub and try and keep the weight balanced to settle her straight....but that will only work if the piping is all in tact and I can't be sure of that unless I actually try running water through the tub which could add too much weight and bust it or shift it hard and break the piping.

So I've been trying to figure out a way to see what the fuck is going on down there without actually GOING down there. I was perplexed, but had other things to tend to/worry about.

Ended up being a strangely wonderful day. Turns out I got lucky, (go figure), and didn't do any actual damage to my rotator cuff. All it needs is a little time to heal and some physical therapy and it'll be good as new! Also spoke with the family about being bummed and they all sat around and explained why it all wasn't as bad as I thought and I shouldn't be so hard on myself and it gave me the warm tinglies and made me feel a whole lot better. My 2-1/2 weeks of panic attacks is at an end, and I'm celebrating by finishing a cigar I shouldn't be smoking.

Sitting out looking at the moon all peaceful, I suddenly realized I'd bought a 5 meter long endoscope that hooks up to my phone on impulse on an Amazon flash sale just thinking it'd be a neat and useful thing to have, and I suddenly realized it was the EXACT thing I was in need of to find out what the what is happening under the hot tub without moving anything!

I think I scared some stray cats and a few odd humans out and about suddenly yelling it out at midnight in my driveway, but it's not something I have control over. It's genetic, I swear!

So tomorrow I am going to have some fun with and endoscope and the tub and I think I can actually fix the damned thing and may end up with something better than I started with. I also decided it's time to get some cement patcher and patch every damned crack in every damned bit of concrete around my yard. It makes a huge difference and it's not that expensive, especially when weighed against the damage more continued erosion/cracking could do.

See? I TOLD you I'd figure it out! I don't even have to do it with one arm tied behind my back anymore and I'm ALMOST willing to bet I can make it a single-man project. (Although I'm also tempted to invite 5 or 6 of my stronger friends over for a fun afternoon of drinking and heaving a hot tub around. )

Celebrate by smoking another cigar.
You earned it. ;-)

 

[digitalwanderer]

I'm gonna, tomorrow....but then I'm stopping again. 3 days is 3 days too many, but I ain't gonna beat myself up for it. Just gonna finish up tomorrow and quit again, I got some fresh vape supplies coming in to get me back off 'em again quick. Same thing happened to me when I went to SIGGRAPH, I always seem to smoke when I'm out of town but then quit when I come back. (You hear too many damned interesting things in the little smoking group gatherings outside of the events!)

Also realized I can use it to help me find the vacuum leak on the kid's VW as well as go down the gopher hole in my yard and FINALLY TAKE THE BATTLE TO THEM!!!

Yeah, things is looking up. Just like it's ok to cry during the sad bits a little celebration at the good bits is ok too.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Celebrate by smoking another cigar.
You earned it. ;-)

 

[Entropy]

View attachment 2577

Exactly. Victories should be celebrated!
And a stogie is as good a way as any.
Better than most, actually. ;-)

 

[digitalwanderer]

Exactly. Victories should be celebrated!
And a stogie is as good a way as any.
Better than most, actually. ;-)

How about if I was hypothetically just sitting in my driveway waiting for a buddy to come by with a week and a half late delivery of some 90%+ THC level vape cartridges after dropping my daughter off at school and seeing my wife off to work while enjoying feeling all numb from the over-powered painkillers that my doctor gave me, and more than twice as many as I asked for I think just because she liked me and thought I was erring on the wrong side of worry on it.

I'm not arguing, not hurting feels very nice and yesterday ended about 2-1/2 weeks of intense stress so I'm giving myself the day off to just bloody try and remember how to slow down and relax.

Oh, plus it's raining so I decided to put of the scoping until tomorrow when the weather is better.

Double-oh, when my friend came by I checked out his physical ability to help me with the hot tub and while he's almost as old as me he isn't as broken. He also recommended a couple of other mutual friends that I think we would all have a ball getting together and trying to fix a hot tub.

You know that old cliched saying, "Happy Friday!"? Well it might be old and cliched, but it's the only thing that fits the description for me today...I'm having a happy Friday.

A happy Friday to you all, may your pools stay forever clean and your hot tubs stay where they are supposed to.