Here's how the pool looks today:


                                      

There's actually a good bit of wind out there, but in pool-building sense, there's a hush of expectation - because these are the last few days that this dirt, steel, piping and wiring will be visible to the world.

Come Wednesday, we're getting ShotCrete.

ShotCrete is the process whereby concrete is blown onto the frame of the pool. I"ve always sort of assumed that pool walls were built like any concrete wall - that a form was built and the concrete was poured inside the form, and then the form was removed. But that's not the case - they pull a big hose down into the pool bottom, and they spray the concrete onto the form like silly string, and it dries in place.

(I have had a discreet conversation with Pete, the construction foreman,. and he assures me that, were a Cocker Spaniel to fall into the pool during the application of ShotCrete, they wouldn't be able to stop the process to perform any rescues - also, that the concrete floor will be well more than sufficient to cover up any Cockercarcasses. Watch this space for news about the reduction in dog numbers at the Chocolate House.)

On Thursday they'll be installing boulders and the water feature, and then comes PebbleTec, tiling, and paving - then the final inspection. We've only got a couple of weeks to go, it seems.

This is good, as Momma will be out here next week, and this will give her plenty to watch :)