Electrical

No, your squinting eyes do not deceive you. This first picture is of the completed-that's correct, completed Inspection Record from the L.A. County Building Department. Yes, that means its done-at least as far as the County is concerned. The Final Inspection was done today, December 28th, 2010, but there isn't any water in the spa and I haven't flipped on the breakers or tested the equipment. But I'm certain that you understand that this was a big day for me!

Lets back up a little bit and then I'll explain where I am and where I go from here toward the first big soak.

I've been working on the electrical layout and wiring for a number of weekends, with the valuable help via email from my cousin, Mike Thomas in Boise (Thanks Mike!).

It turns out that electrical work is much more that understanding electricity-its hard tedious work in small places with sharp wires, the wrong tools and no leverage.

I started with the easy stuff first-drilling holes in the studs inside of the garage in order to run 3/4" and 1/2" conduit from a sub panel by the equipment to the main panel. I rented a cool tool called a right angle drill so I could drill the holes in the studs. Then I bought a special drill bit that goes through wood like nobodies business. This is a serious machine that will throw you around if you don't have two hands on it and good footing-which of course I never had-getting into odd positions around, behind and underneath the various obstacles in the garage.

Next I pulled the conduit through the holes in the studs and drilled the holes in the wall to access the sub panel and J-box for the waterfall switch. Tommy helped me pull the wire through the conduit. I didn't plan on wiring the sub panel or making the final hook up to the main, so the wires just stayed as I pulled them until the electrician made those connections some time later.

I had never thought about how the elements of the equipment should be connected. It took some time to wrap my brain around the big picture, but eventually it made sense. But I can be my own worst enemy when it comes to designing a plan. I like to figure out how everything is best laid out in the most efficient way. I can't just lay it out so it works correctly-I didn't want anything redundant, especially conduit and wires. It is a good idea, especially in a small space, but it made it more difficult when you're dealing with really stiff wires (#6 awg) and flexible (yeah right) waterproof conduit. I developed a whole new appreciation for electricians!

I had to customize a waterproof specialty J-box for the spa light relay, which meant drilling through the heavy gauge steel box to accommodate two watertight fittings. I didn't have a drill bit big enough so I had to drill small holes in a circular pattern to knock out and file smooth.

I removed two pumps from the concrete slab because I had to wire the waterfall pump and rewired the spa pump.

I don't seem to be very skilled at stripping and bending wire. I pre-wired any items I could, but I still had a fair amount of trouble making proper connections. I did, of course, but it was interesting. I do not easily get into or out of some of the positions I had to be in to work in the space where all of the electrical connections are located.

It amazed me how often I could get in the wrong position to accomplish a particular task, and how I never seemed to have the proper tool within reach. I do not know how many trips from the equipment location to the garage and back I made, but I actually wore a path in the grass!

I broke out a hole in the stucco near the breezeway for a switch to turn the waterfall on and off, and Mike walked me through the wiring (Thanks again, Mike).

After I had done all that I felt comfortable doing, I called Mark The Electrician to wire the sub panel and make the final hook up to the main. I actually thought that we might be swimming on Christmas. But then it started to rain. And rain. And rain. And rain. I hate the rain.

When it finally stopped raining I had a spa filled nearly one third with water, water I could not use just yet. So 150 buckets later (Thats right, I counted them) the spa was empty and I could finish gluing in the jets-the last thing before I could call for the final inspection.

I have some clean up and other fixtures to glue in and then I'll be ready to begin filling the spa. That will be the next really big test. I'll find out if there are any leaks in the plumbing I did over a year ago. Any leaks in the equipment connections I will be able to address as the spa fills, but the pipes from the equipment to the spa are mostly under an awful lot of dirt. I sure hope they're fine, or someone may want to call the number on the bottom of the Emergency Lifesaving Techniques sign!

Ding dong the grout is done

The images in this entry do not reflect the finished grout job, but they represent significant steps toward that accomplishment. The corner of the steps were particularly difficult because 3 surfaces come together at a point that could be sharp and dangerous if it they aren't done carefully.

I took down the E-Z-Up canopy that has been up for over a year. It was starting to fall apart and wasn't keeping the rain out anyway. It is a different look that we like.

The grout around the skimmer had to be carefully notched to accommodate the frame that fits over the false front.

Then of course there are the tools of the trade. From left to right-One 18 pound tub of grout (I used 5 and a half tubs); glass of ice water; nasty rubber gloves; plastic tub for cleaning the tools; bigger plastic tub for rinsing the grout sponges (shown inside the tub); hard rubber grout float; and a margin trowel. The cool-looking Vans inside on the step were my work shoes inside the spa!

The grout has to cure before I can put in the spa jets, but I've got electrical to do while I'm waiting. I have some clean up to do and then I'll post a video of the completed grout stage. I was just excited that I finished. I distinctly recall looking at all of the grout to do about a month ago and thinking I might never get it done!

Grouting

Unless you’re really bored and have the time (or interest) to read the following sob story, skip down to the asterisk.

Back in mid September I had my first real failure in the project. I knew that the inside of the spa would require something other than the standard sanded grout because it would be submerged in 104 degree water. Sanded grout would not be waterproof and would require sealing and re-sealing after some time.

After a substantial amount of research I learned that what I required was epoxy grout, which was expensive and had a reputation as being difficult to work with, but would hold up under water and not need to be sealed.

I bought what I thought was about half the epoxy grout I would need for the spa for $125. Like most epoxies, it is two parts that actually needs to be mixed with a third part, standard sanded grout, which creates one batch. According to the instructions, it was important to mix all of each part together because it was measured precisely.

The first problem was that the batch that would cover half of the spa would be workable for 30 to 60 minutes, which I could not do alone. So I bought small plastic containers and meticulously measured out the exact proportions that divided the batch in quarters, figuring that I could do that much by myself in the time allowed.

I bought a new grout float, margin trowel and heavy duty rubber gloves, waited for a clear weekend day and psyched up to start this final step toward the end of this journey.

Fast forward, although it seemed like eternity, about 6 hours and picture me lying on the couch exhausted and angry, because things had not exactly gone my way. Then anger grew into panic. I realized I had to get up and go back into the spa and remove all of the epoxy grout that I had just finished. I knew it wasn’t right and I was never going to use that crap again-let alone finish the spa if I had to do it with that stuff!

I had only done the rear seat and part of the waterfall wall, which is about 25% of what I thought the grout would cover. At that rate the grout was going to cost me over $900.

I had spent most of the time trying to get the grout to stay in the vertical joints, but it would just seep out onto the tile. It became apparent to me that the grout was not going to stay in the vertical joints, so I decided to remove as much as I could by pushing the grout down into the joints and removing the rest. Time was not on my side at this point and I also needed to get the grout off of the face of the tile or it would be ruined. I called Betsy to help, and between us we removed all of the grout from the tile. Everything else that touched the grout was ruined. The trowel, the float, the bucket, the gloves, the sponges and the scrub pads were all history.

Enter the couch epiphany. In addition to the cost and nastiness, the grout would never stay in the vertical joints-I already found that out, and there were a lot of them in my spa! I knew what I had to do before it was too late. I got up and took a screwdriver back into the spa and removed all of the grout. I was thankful to get back to where I was at the beginning of the day without ruining any tile. If I had to remove any tile because the grout could not be removed from the front of the tile it would have taken the waterproofing with it, and I would have been in deep you-know-what!

But I’m a lucky guy. As it turns out, I didn’t like the color of the epoxy grout anyway, I hadn’t ruined anything, I learned a great (albeit expensive) lesson and things were about to get much better. Thank you, Gene!

Gene Trumbull wrote the book on building a spa. No really. He literally wrote the book on building your own spa that I have used to guide me through the entire process. And he found a product to use instead of epoxy grout.

It is a urethane grout called QuartzLock2 made by StarQuartz that is waterproof, premixed, easy to use, and most importantly, stays in the vertical joints. Hallelujah!

There was just one problem. The marketing information declared that it was not for use in a spa. But Gene had used it successfully and I wanted to believe that it would work. I made contact with the manufacturer’s rep, Jorge, and found out that because the product did not have sufficient time in the field in a submerged hot water application, they could not warrant the product or recommend it’s use in a spa application.

I would have considered the product anyway, because the alternative was using a sanded grout and sealing it, which I knew would fail eventually. After all, the spa is waterproof without the grout. It’s just for looks.

But I’m a lucky guy.

Jorge made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. If I would agree to give his company feedback regarding the installation and use of this product in a submerged heated application, he would provide me with grout for the spa.

*For those of you that have just joined us, I’m in the process of grouting the spa with a new urethane product instead of an epoxy grout that proved too difficult for me to use.

I started with a small section on the back of the waterfall, just to get a feeling for the product and the application process. It was pretty warm and I did a little bigger area than I should have. By the time I cleaned the tools and got back to the job the grout took a little longer to clean up than it would have if I had gotten to it quicker. I knew it would wipe off much easier when I didn’t do as large of an area. I took a little grout out when I had to scrub the tile a little bit, but it turned out fine and I would bring it up flush with the tile when I continued. The grout is premixed and worked well in the vertical joints.

I had help from Tommy when I started up again and finished the entire back of the waterfall at one time. I finished the rest of the exterior, including the top of the back wall before I moved to the front of the waterfall wall and down to all of the horizontal surfaces. My strategy was to do the horizontal surfaces like the seats, steps and floor first, because there would be some excess wiped off of the vertical surfaces that would collect in the horizontal surface grout lines unless they were already done and I could just wipe them off of the tile.

I’m now over half way done with the grouting but waiting for dry weather to finish up.

Finished Placing the Tile

"Just coming on the end of August. Another summer's promise almost gone". These words from The Eagles were my inspiration two years ago when I thought about starting this project all summer, but never did, and regretted it until I did start in April of '09.

So again this year I accomplished something, just not as much as I thought I would! Like everything else with this project, measuring, cutting and placing the tile took a lot more time than I thought it would! For one thing, when all was said and done, I placed 872 pieces of tile!

Cutting the tile around round 21 spa jets and return lines with a straight saw is a challenge, and took some creativity and the most time. The cuts around the jet lines did not have to be too precise because they would be covered with the flange of the spa jet covers. But it needed to be close and it was a little tedious.

The ceramic tile has to be cut with a "Wet" saw, meaning that the blade needs to stay wet in order to minimize chipping the tile. It also prolongs the life of the blade. The saw is a Home Depot special that I bought a few years ago to cut porcelain tile for my patio. Unlike a more expensive model that continually drips water onto the blade, the blade on mine runs through a trough of water that sprays water up onto the tile-and the user! So basically I got soaked whenever I used it, and I wore tiny tile shards on my face, shirt and glasses.

The most challenging aspect of placing this tile was the adhesive I used on the entire inside of the spa. It is part of a high tech product line that features a coordinated system that synchronizes the waterproofing with the tile adhesion. The waterproofing material molecularly bonds with the tile adhesive creating an impressive bond that hopefully will withstand the hydrostatic pressure, heat and water treatment of the spa water. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the adhesive is an expensive, nasty two part product that needs to be precisely measured and mixed in small batches, because it has a short working time before it turns to rubber. All of the reusable tools (and me) needed to be cleaned with Xylene.

One part is a liquid and the other is a thick paste that has to be mixed 1 part paste to 2 parts liquid. There is no saving extra adhesive after it is mixed. The surface has to be cleaned with Xylene, otherwise, you can peel the dried adhesive right off.

So I had to cut and layout small sections of the spa before I made up a batch of adhesive. I didn't have time to cut pieces to fit once the adhesive was mixed, and I couldn't make any mistakes placing the tile, because to remove a piece of tile would also remove the waterproofing and probably part of the concrete block! Each batch was only good for between 8 and 9 square feet, and the spa has over 150 square feet of tile.

Thankfully no one had a camera when I was measuring and placing the tile in the foot well. Just picture me curled up in an area that is 40" X 64" trying to look at a level upside down and making a paper pattern! I think I may even have dosed off down there!

For the longest time I couldn't figure out why I would get so tired by the end of the day measuring and cutting the tile, until I started thinking about how many times I would climb down into the spa, measure tile, climb up out of the spa, cut the tile, climb back into the spa, mark the corrections, and climb back out again-over and over and over. It's like I was rock climbing all day!

Next step-Grouting.

Waterproof Application

This process of applying the waterproofing to the inside of the spa deserves it's own blog update, mostly because I used so many expletives (even a few new ones) that I literally embarrassed an Australian Sailor (sorry, Mike!).

The products are all made by Sani-Tred, and they are guaranteed forever, which is why I selected them. They are expensive but seem like the best product to waterproof the concrete block and are flexible enough to not fail over time.

The picture shows the products and tools I used. Along with the rubber gloves and various cut up milk cartons were the actual products. The Permaflex base coat requires a separate catalyst/activator that is mixed with the Permaflex to create a prime coat that penetrates the concrete block and provides a surface for the next product to molecularly weld to. The problem with this product is the application process. First of all, it needs to be at least 70 degrees out or the product is too thick to apply. Then it needs to be thinned with Xylene. Good smelling stuff. I rolled the product onto the concrete block, but the product does not absorb into the block without being worked in with a brush, even after being thinned. So it was basically like hand painting the entire inside of the spa-three times! At least I didn't ever paint myself into a corner!

All of the tiles need to be primed with the Permaflex, so I set up the ping pong table and covered it with tile, three times. It's a lot of tile!

If the application of any of the products occurs over the course of a day, you need to clean a film that develops with TSP and Xylene before you can apply the next product in order to assure a proper bond. This I did at least 3 times.

The Liquid Rubber Base (LRB) is applied over the Permaflex, and also has to be mixed with a thickening activator, which is just a nasty process that creates an equally nasty product that smells, is very sticky and sets up quickly. Fun stuff.

This product is used in all of the joints, especially where the walls and the floor meet, and to fill cracks. The instructions suggest shoveling the mixture into a Ziploc bag with a cut out corner in order to apply a consistent bead into the various corners. Yeah right! What a frickin' mess! I made a wooden squeegee with the corner cut out to try and smooth out the corners after my Ziploc emptied product everywhere (including on me), which would have worked better if the consistency of the LRB were thicker. Another long frustrating process that I just worked through until it was acceptable.

One more "Topcoat" of Permaflex and I am ready to place some tile.

Tiling the waterfall front

After I practiced my tiling skills on the back of the waterfall, I began working on the front. My goal was to continue the diamond pattern on the front like I had done on the back, and create a cohesive look where the waterfall manifold did not disrupt the pattern.

The challenge was to cut the tiles to create the illusion that the pattern continued, and to calculate where the pattern had to start in order for it to end at the top without using tiny pieces that would look out of place and unplanned.

These tiles did not need to be applied over the waterproofing like the tiles on the inside of the spa, but in order to start this wall above the water line I needed to create a straight line that I could build from. I cut a 1" x 2" and wedged it between the two sides as I placed the tiles and built the pattern up from there.

I made paper dolls (Not really, just seeing if you were paying attention). But I did cut patterns out of paper for each piece and dry placed it on the wall before I cut the tiles. I drew around each piece before I made thin set and made it official-there is no going back after the tile is placed in thin set! You can see the pencil marks if you look closely.

I finished this wall before the Memorial Day Weekend. I thought it turned out pretty cool!

The time I have spent since has been on preparing the inside of the spa for the waterproofing application.

Finished tiling the back of the waterfall

I was very excited to finish up tiling the major area of the back of the waterfall because it really showed the off the tile and the pattern I decided on.

I have been waiting for the concrete block to dry out between rainstorms to waterproof the inside of the spa.

In the meantime, I tiled the top of the waterfall after the one row around the three outside walls.

I decided to tile the back of the waterfall as a good way to get better for tiling the front of the waterfall that will be a little more complicated and more visible. I fit and placed about 100 tiles on the back of the waterfall. All but 15 tiles had to be cut.

I cannot say that I'm very fast at this, so I just take my time to try to get it right. The border around the top arch was a challenge, but with a little patience and a lot of time (mostly getting up and down and back and forth) it turned out pretty well.

The blue tape is to protect areas from the waterproofing application that is next.