Clubhouse Pool Project - Part I

Full-time villa owners, and there are 44 of you, may have been tracking the progress of the clubhouse pool project this summer & seen first-hand the final results.  Part-time villa owners, and there are 22 of you, may not have seen the final product. Because I worked on the project, I kept a photo diary of its progress, which is posted on this blog.

I am on the Building & Grounds Committee this year, chaired by Cindy Larsen, who was the board member tasked with getting the landscaping around the pool installed.

There had been a conceptual landscaping plan presented at the last board meeting in April.  

CONCEPTUAL LANDSCAPE PLAN

Since the project was fairly large in scope for us, Jack Lieber, a local, well-known landscape architect was asked to review the plan & make recommendations.  He had visited our community once before when I was on the board.

JACK LIEBER, NATIONALLY RENOWN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

Jack noted that a portion of the deck area collected water, was cracked, looked a bit bleak, & the west facing clubhouse could benefit from a bit of shade.

Instead of nestling the palms in the corner as originally planned, the area could be made more interesting if the concrete was cut to receive 3 large Foxtail palm trees.  The holes cut for the trees would drain some of the standing water, shade the clubhouse, & provide some visual interest to the area.

CONCRETE DECK WITH HIGHLIGHTED AREA THAT HOLDS WATER

REVISED AERIAL PHOTO LANDSCAPE PLAN USING FOXTAIL PALMS

Jack also suggested a more dramatic entrance to the pool area be implemented with a stand of Sabal Palms at the gate.  All Jack's landscape recommendations sounded very doable.

PHOTO RENDERING OF FOXTAIL PALMS TO BE INSTALLED IN HOLES IN CONCRETE

Plans were revised and photo renderings created to illustrate the final appearance he suggested.  Areas were measured. Contractors were called. Landscaping quotes were revised.  Marking flags were placed in the ground to check locations.  Things started to fall into place.

PHOTO RENDERING OF FOXTAIL PALMS WITH AWABUKI VIBURNUM HEDGE BEHIND
 AND FOXTAIL FERNS AT BASE OF PALMS

RENDERING OF PROPOSED LANDSCAPED ENTRANCE TO POOL AREA

Eleven, 2,500+ lbs. palm trees had to be planted, before workmen could begin the installation of 1" thick pavers on top of the existing concrete deck.

An electrician was called to locate & disconnect existing electrical conduits, that would be utilized later for the landscape uplighting.  The first electrical box caught fire when opened.  I'm told it was caused by corrosion entering the line after more than 24 years of service.  New wires had to be pulled for the service from the box to the first light post.

The paver contractor was contacted about cutting the concrete to receive the new palms.

ACCURATE PAVERS WORKMEN CUTTING SQUARES IN CONCRETE
IT WAS 98 DEGREES WHEN THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN

ONE OF THE THREE 5' SQUARES CUT TO RECEIVE THE NEW PALMS

The existing fence at the back gate fell apart when a portion of it was removed to allow the large landscaping equipment into the pool area. The project had a rocky start.

Before any plants could be installed, all the existing overgrown trees, bougainvillea & arbicola hedge had to be removed.  

The Awabuki Viburnum hedge & Foxtail Palms were then installed.

THREE NEW 20' FOXTAIL PALMS INSTALLED IN SQUARE CUT OUTS

DORMAN LANDSCAPING INSTALLS FIRST OF THREE 
SABAL PALMS AT ENTRANCE TO POOL

Sabal Palms were installed at the side entrance to the pool area. Dorman Landscaping provided these trees with large root balls, so the trees could be installed with their large crown of palm fronds intact.

SABAL PALM IS INSTALLED WITH BOBCAT AT POOL SIDE ENTRANCE

ENTRANCE TO POOL WITH 1st SET OF SABAL PALMS INSTALLED

Cindy & I thought the trunks of the Sabal Palms should all match in color for the best effect at the entrance, so Dorman removed and replaced the grey trunk palm with a brown trunk palm a few days later.  No kidding.

All this work was done by 4 of the hardest working landscapers I've ever seen.  They worked tirelessly & quickly in spite of a heat index of 103 degrees most days.  They stayed past 6pm everyday until the area was cleaned up.

Bob Barto made arrangements for a sprinkler contractor to adjust our sprinklers to accommodate the new plantings.

Next came the paver installation which begain with a bed of fine sand across the existing concrete deck.

BED OF SAND INSTALLED ON DECK TO RECEIVE NEW 1" CONCRETE PAVERS

CONCRETE SLAB REMOVED SO THAT EXISTING WALK 
MEETS PAVERS AT LEVEL THRESHOLD

THIS ILLUSTRATES HOW EXISTING COPING WAS REMOVED AND VOID BENEATH OLD COPING WAS BUILT UP WITH 2" PAVER BLOCKS SO NEW COPING COULD BE INSTALLED

Can't tell you too much about the paver portion of the project, because the installation was coordinated by Shawn McKenna in Minnesota.  

SHOW CONDITION OF ANT EATEN POSTS ON EXISTING CANVAS PERGOLA

I did photo document some existing conditions that may need to be addressed soon.

DETAIL OF ROTTING POSTS OF CANVAS PERGOLA

Water & wood will always draw ants.  Even now, with the new pavers installed, the ants are still making their way back to the canvas & wood pergola for lunch. 


The base of these posts are covered with some trim to hide the damage, but if there had been a hurricane this year, the pergola could have never withstood heavy winds.

It's my hope we'll soon get rid of this slowly rotting structure, and replace it with something like these wall-mounted, fully adjustable, solar umbrellas. (See below)  They can provide all the shade needed, but will be minimum maintenance compared to this wood 'ant buffet'.

Part II of Project in Next Blog

This blog is in no way associated with the FVHOA.