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Should We Get A Pool or Ourdoor Living Area with Hot Tub and Fire Pit?


Youthman

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Lots of progress over the past week.

 

The sitting wall is finished.  Here are a few build photos.  I'll take pics tomorrow of the finished product.

 

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In the past week, we've used the fire pit 4 times.  My son had 10 friends over for the first fire.  They roasted hot dogs and smores and had a great time.

 

Shaun helped me run a 60a circuit to the hot tub with a 60a GFCI using 6/3 with a ground. 

 

One of the pumps to the hot tub wasn't working (I knew that before buying it).  Shaun removed the motor, opened it up, removed the corrosion (or something) that was preventing the motor from spinning, put it back together and the pump runs great!  I had already ordered another pump.  Online it was $400, I found another one for $300, but the guy that installed my pavers contacted his guy and was able to order me a pump for $180 so it should be here the first of this week.  I'll likely hold onto it until the pump dies, then replace it with the new one.  Shaun said it may last a few weeks, or a few years.  It may cease up again at any time but for now, it's fantastic.

 

The tub has several "Misters" around the tub.  We connected the water hose to the input on the tub.  The misters help keep your face cool.  A few are clogged so I'll have to research what chemical I can soak them in to help unclog them so that they all work.

 

The LED's are very nice...it has about 10 settings of colors but I keep it on the one that does a slow fade between all of the colors. 

 

We did test out the radio...sounds like garbage.  Sub is pathetic (which I expected) and one of the two speakers works but often it's crackly due to wiring going bad.  He checked the continuity on the other speaker and it is bad.  Will likely just buy some Klipsch Outdoor speakers (likely the AW-650) and use my Zone2 from the theater room and Apple TV to stream music to my phone so we can control it from outside.

 

For $1500, I'm VERY pleased.  It's super comfy, has incredible jets (called volcanoes) on the bottom for your feet and each seat has a different arrangement of jets for different feels.  There are so many knobs to adjust the flow of water, pressure etc.  Last night, me, shaun, his wife, my son and my son's friend were in the spa and we didn't feel crowded at all.  We could each stretch our legs out and almost not touch each other.

 

My wife ordered two chase lounge chairs so she can lay out in the sun.  They are very comfortable and look nice.  She also ordered an outdoor dining table so we can enjoy a meal outside.  It should come in later this week.

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Very nice backyard rec area Michael. I build quite a few outdoor rec/outdoor kitchens, and most people use a fire pit or fireplace more than any other outdoor area. They seem to use them more than they realize. Most people claim they won't burn gas, wood only, I still plumb in a gas line. I feel that $20 worth of gas line today could save someone a lot of money and hassles later. Here's a pic of my last outdoor rec area. It has 2500 sq ft of colored/stamped concrete, an 18'x18' all cedar structure with a bar/grill/fridge inside. It was wired for TV and speakers. The homeowner asked if I could install some sort of water feature...I used a waterfall kit for that and installed it into a custom stone wall. Here's a pic...Firepit 2.jpgFirepit 1.jpgFirepit 4.jpg

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17 hours ago, Youthman said:

My wife ordered two chase lounge chairs so she can lay out in the sun.

A good excuse for you to order the patio hammock. :)

 

Coming together very nicely....years of enjoyment ahead for you and your family......congrats!

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13 hours ago, Youthman said:

Very nice.  Looks both elegant and functional.

Thanks...I wish I had that in my backyard, but someday maybe.

4 hours ago, dtel said:

Ceptorman, you do good work, very nice. :emotion-21:

thanks Elden, I did everything there except the electrical. I've done this most of my life. I have a couple brothers that helped with the cedar structure, they just know how to cut rafters while I have to do it by trial and error, and cedar is too expensive for me to experiment with. 

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Here are some updated photos.

 

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We still have to re-route the irrigation that was removed.  I also have to put together the outdoor dining table.  That will go in between the fire pit and the two chase lounge chairs.  The wooden picnic table will be moved off to the corner of the back yard or maybe over by the grill. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks Carl.  We have already gotten so much use out of it.  We find ourselves spending more time outside now that we have it.  It's nice to hit the hot tub at the end of the day to relax.

 

Big industrials eh?  I'm probably doing good to get some AW-650's installed.  I'm actually surprised the wife was cool with me wanting to add some speakers outside.

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