Category: Pool House

One of the more unique, and infrequently shared, features of our house is the indoor pool.  Nearly five years ago, when we closed on this house, it looked like this:

Looking up, there was fiberglass sheeting on the ceiling, dark wood siding on the walls, and a leaking roof-due to old solar panels on the roof, dripped down.  Looking down, the floors were covered with outdoor grade carpet, covering the damaged tile below, and the pool liner was shot.  We saw potential, but because we didn’t need the pool, finishing it was lowest on the priority list.  That doesn’t mean changes haven’t been made along the way, though.

Before replacing the house siding, we first had to tackle landscaping work, which had been filled in too high, covering the wooden rim joist that rests on the concrete foundation.  Wanting to keep the future back deck all on the same level, we decided to take out the wet bar platform and lower the door and window.  Once the exterior work made it to the pool house, we replaced all the windows and doors.

Which brings us up to speed on past pool house progress, but this space has basically functioned as a personal warehouse of building supplies.  It feels like this space has 3,286 steps to get it done, so it’s bit by bit progress.  First order of business is replacing the ceiling.  Unlike all the other spaces we’ve worked on, it’s not quite that simple.Having a ceiling peak of 15 feet, plus a 9 foot deep hole to work over, we needed scaffolding.  Rather than renting and spending the same or more money, we built a temporary structure to make working easier.  Step 1 of 3,286 complete.  Then, Ben tore off the old sheets, exposing the structure.  Step 2, check!Those exposed beams are such a cool structural element, but the leaking roof had streaked and stained both.  A thorough sanding brought them back to life.  Steps 3-9, done!Once the beams were finished, Ben started prep work to install the tongue and groove pine boards.  First, two by 4 boards were secured perpendicular to the trusses followed up by new light boxes to adequately light the entire room.  Steps 10 and 11.  Next, he cut pieces of rigid foam insulation to tuck between the boards for a higher R value and covered with a thin plastic sheeting-12 and 13 are done.Board by board, we’ve been installing pine planks.  Let’s say that was steps 14 through 20.  Below, the center had just been finished, minus the insides of the skylights.Due to the ceiling trusses dipping down and rising up unevenly, we decided to install the boards perpendicular to the beams.  This makes the unevenness far less noticeable, unlike a long run that accentuates any discrepancies.  It’s hard to see the ceiling from below with the scaffolding in the way, but it’s looking great already.The strips on either side of the beams still need work, the skylights will get boxed in, and trim will go up to cover the gaps, so it’s not a quick process.  It is, however, 20 steps in the right direction.

Whether it’s family, friends, or readers, the most often asked question about our house is related to the most crazy feature: the pool house.  It’s a large room with a deep indoor pool.  Here’s the view from the house when we moved in:

And looking back from the fountain seen above:

Clearly, the main feature and purpose of this room is the pool.  But, if you look at the above photos, you’ll see a recessed hot tub and a raised wet bar area.  When we bought the place, the pool hadn’t functioned in several years.  In the 10 or so years the previous owner had been here, the hot tub had never worked.  Instead, the pool had very disgusting water lingering and festering.  We sucked out the remaining water and ripped out the sun bleached and damaged pool liner.

Before we could landscape and build our single level deck, we had to knock out the platform:

To be able to cut out the concrete…

and lower the door and window:

One thing always seems to lead to another.  Or requires something to be done before the next can happen.  All of that to say the pool house isn’t looking nice these days.  See what I mean?

Essentially, we use the space as our personal warehouse.  Those stacks are rigid insulation that we’re using to wrap the house.  On the floor we’ve got siding and exterior trim.  You can see the saw horses where I prepaint the trim white.

When we replaced the cedar shake roof, the plastic wrap around the skylights came loose.  So that dangles down in a really graceful way.  Ha.

As stunning as it currently is, this isn’t our permanent plan for this space.  Before we can get to any of the pretty parts, we have to remove the plastic ceiling panels and the dark stained siding.  Then, we’ll wrap everything in two layers of the rigid insulation panels to hold in heat during the winter.

Here’s what we’ve discussed for the finishes in the room.  On the ceiling, we want to use tongue and groove wood.  Whether we leave it natural, stain, or paint it is still up in the air.  For the walls, we’re leaning toward the same lap siding, but painting it a lighter neutral.  A section of the back wall is two feet deeper than the rest.  We’ve thrown out the idea of creating a rust steel accent wall there, to help tie the exterior in.  Those giant beams will get a good sanding and clear coat.  I really like the original lights, so those will stay.

In place of the recessed hot tub, we’ll cover the hole, tile over it, and put in a stand alone tub.  They’re so much more efficient and accessing the plumbing is a necessity.

I mentioned tile, and we’re really hoping to use a natural material.  Perhaps the same slate we used in the master bathroom because we love it so much.  It’s not slippery or slick, and looks amazing.  Most of the doors and windows are fogged up, which means the seals are broken and need replacing.

Over in this corner, we’ll add a kick ass kitchenette.

Once we remodel the kitchen, the sink and some of the granite will get reused in here.  We thought the old range would live in here, too.  Until fate changed that plan.  Almost two years ago, we found a barely used 48 inch range on Craigslist for a song.  Initially, we thought we’d use it in the kitchen, but decided we’d rather have double wall ovens and a cooktop.  So, the steal of a deal range will allow us to bake out here in the summer, without heating up the house in the process.

As for the pool itself, we do plan to fix it.  It might need some new plumbing work, and certainly needs a new liner.  Most of these plans aren’t a priority.  We’ll have to change out the doors and windows soon-ish.  Some kitchen work will probably happen when we work on the main kitchen.  Other than that, we’ll just have to see when things happen.  For now, it’s an extremely convenient place to store everything we need for larger projects.