The pool is officially GONE! GONE GONE GONE!!! Thank god.
When last I posted, we were getting ready to start cutting the concrete. Since then we cut, pried, smashed, and generally busted up all the concrete; moved most of that concrete to create a nice little faux flagstone type patio; dug up all the dirt around what was left of the pool; and destroyed Vic's reciprocal saw cutting out enough of the walls of the pool for it to effectively vanish underneath whatever I end up putting in back there. It was SO much work! I feel like I owe Vic my firstborn child or something for the amount of heavy labor he's put in in my yard over the last 3 weeks. Personally, I've NEVER worked that hard or for nearly that long on something that physical. I've been exhausted beyond belief at night, and sleeping like a rock. The kids have been really good at kicking it in the house while mommy is out doing loud and dangerous (the sides of the pool were metal, which had to be cut, which left sharp scary edges which I only gouged myself on once) things in the backyard, but I think they're relieved that at least the noisy part is done. There's still a lot to do back there, but at this point, we're headed in the direction of putting things back together, instead of ripping them apart.
I was all ready to document the whole process, but ended up having battery issues with my digital camera, and missed a big chunk of the process in the middle. Here's what I have.
BEFORE: Well, mostly before, we had all the landscaping rock dug out in this pic, but you get the idea.
Vic with the concrete saw, SUCH a stud!
All busted up
Prying the concrete out. We actually ended up bending that huge pry-bar on a particularly massive bit of concrete.
And... DONE! With the concrete busting anyways.
THIS is what we did with all that busted concrete. Recycling! This is where we have a gap in the documentation, so you don't get to see how we did it, but those pieces were HEAVY, and it wasn't easy to get them all so level. Again, Vic is THE MAN.
Cutting out the sides of the pool. (I dug out all that dirt my own self. Aren't you impressed?)
TA DA!! No more pool! WOO HOO!!!
Obviously, there is SO much more left to do, but I think we are over the biggest hurdle. I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I'm crazy for even attempting it, but trust me, working around it was not an option. Next steps include staining the concrete so that it looks more like stone, buying some crushed granite or something to fill in the cracks around the concrete slabs, deciding exactly where the lawn is going to be and digging the dirt down to the right size and level for said lawn, calling in the guys who do concrete borders for around the lawn, calling in the other guys to put in the sprinkler system, and then laying the sod. I'd like to get all this done on my current budget. If there's anything left over, we may get in a tree or two. The rest of the plants will have to wait until we can afford them, and a drip irrigation system to keep them alive. Future plans include a possible sandbox, and cover of some kind for the patio, cause you really can't have enough shade in Albuquerque. And that, my dears, concludes your tour of the Krause House backyard. Hope you enjoyed it.
