Got pipes?

The next step was to paint a product called Dryloc on the outside walls and waterfall front where moisture might be an issue.
The inside gets a couple of coats of a high tech product that waterproofs the blocks by seeping into the pourous concrete and creating a flexible waterproof membrane that I can tile over.
But first it was time to cut some pvc and dry fit the plumbing for the various functions of the spa.
Everything went according to the plan I made. I'm missing some fittings that I had to order online, but generally it went pretty well. It is amazing how many feet of pipe are going into this hole. I'll do the calculations and get back to you!

Forming the waterfall

I made a couple of braces to make sure the waterfall manifold was level before I made the forms that would hold the concrete in the shape I had designed for the top of the waterfall.
Once again I underestimated how much concrete this top portion would take, and quickly sent Tommy to get 3 more 60 lb. bags to add to the 3 I already had. That turned out to be enough. I also had half bag of mortar handy to fill in the gaps I knew would show up when I took off the forms.
Once again, I learned a few things in my process. Inexpensive 3/8" plywood is not thick enough to use as a form. It buckled and warped-but I made it work. Concrete with little rocks is harder to finish on a vertical shape than just mortar. Again, I made it work but it was a lot of work. I don't really know how to get concrete in all of the areas inside of a form. I thought I did, but I don't.
So here I am, 5 months after I marked the location of the spa on the grass, with the basic structure done. I'm very excited and I've started thinking about tile options.
Lots of work still to go, and the days are getting shorter, but it's looking pretty good.
I didn't plan it, but it's kinda cool that I accomplished something like this on my dad's 100th birthday. Happy birthday, Pop!

Spa side controller

The spa side controller could have gone anywhere convenient to use from the spa. I want to put it in the first block up in the waterfall wall because it will ne easy to use, easy to get to if it needs repairing, and out of the way of whatever cover I put on the spa.
I used a notched block with the center plenum already cut down which will accomodate the control.
I made a couple of blocks so I could partially fill the block and still leave enough space to easily install the controller from the top after I put in the tile.
I'll have to drill a hole for the cord from the controller to the control unit to finish off this detail.

Mortaring in the skimmer

I've been thinking about how to make sure the mortar that holds in and surrounds the skimmer gets into every nook and cranny if I make a form to hold it in place while I pour in the mortar. I figured out that I had to be able to place the skimmer in the form from the top because it was too big to fit through a hole in the form because of the flange. I even cut a notch in the opening to account for a small tab that kept me from sliding the skimmer straight down into the form. Instead, I would slide the skimmer down into the form about an inch from the face, then push it flush against the form over the tab. But unfortunately I did not think about how I would get the form off after the mortar was poured.
I had to break the form with my fingers to remove it, otherwise I would have disrupted the setting mortar and the position of the skimmer. But when I broke the form, the skimmer and the mortar moved anyway! I had a problem.
I must have worked that mortar and repositioned the skimmer for an hour to get it positioned correctly. Now I would have to hold the skimmer in place while the mortar set up to where it wouldn't move. I had to make sure it was level horizontally and vertically while maintaining 3/8" spacing from the wall for the future placement of the tile. I held and put pressure on it for over an hour, but it worked.

THE TOP ROW

The only blocks left after the top row are going to be used to build the waterfall. But first, my goal was to have the basic structure (five rows-191 blocks-75 bags of mortar-2 1/2 yards of concrete-235' of rebar) finished by the first day of school.
There weren't any jet housings in this row, which fittingly made the top the easiest and fastest. Just like I had hoped, I finally got a little better at this!
I had to add some rebar to the existing verticals in the north end to support the waterfall structure, but that again was not hard after what I had already done.
Two days before school started, I had reached my goal. It has started to really look like a spa, and the addition of the waterfall wall will complete the structure.

Working on the fourth row

The fourth row has rebar in it according to the plans that call for horizontal steel every 16". I also had to ground the equipment to this level of rebar, as well as a ground to the steel pole that supports the avocado tree that is within 5' of the spa.
Five more spa jet housings went into this row the same way as the fourth row, plus the rebar.
I put in the top blocks for the steps, which made it easier to get in and out of the spa. I had to fill these blocks with mortar before I placed them. I don't know how much they weighed, but I was glad to finish them.
I filled the 114 cells in the seating area and outside walls before I gave the seating area a flat top coat that challenged my concrete finishing ability.

Finishing up the 3rd row

Things started to go a little faster once I finished the first 2 rows. I put mortar around the light niche and built the 3rd row quickly compared to the first 2. I had to take my time when it came to placing the spa jet housings through the third wall blocks. I put silicone around the housings inside of the blocks after I leveled each one, then secured hose clamps over the silicone against the blocks so the housings wouldn't move when I filled the block cells with mortar.
I put in the first level of the steps with this row and filled the 46 cells with mortar.