Our new back page

This is how boring our backside looked before we started the little project that turned out to be a little bigger than we had thought.
We planned to level the entire plot down by 25 cm before the digger started digging the pit for the pool just to facilitate later paving. Our plan was also to build a nice fence that framed everything.

Yes, how much is 120 cubic meters of clay and stone. Too much. Remember to plan what you want to do with the whole project so that you use the excavator when it is available. Then you will avoid extra expenses in the future.

Now the pool has been assembled and we have filled up with shingle under the pool's water rise.

When you have to do something, it's always that thing with tools and machines. For a good result, you must have things that work to work with and that make the job easier. So here are 2 tips, rent or buy a rotation laser that you use to get things level. It has saved so much time and everything has fallen to the right level. Machines for the heavy work, we had a mini-dumper with which we drove out all the sand and shingle. We moved 28 cubic meters of sand and shingle in one day and you weren't even tired afterwards.

Now we have started to put up fences and screen walls around the pool. Since the digger had excavated so much, there wasn't much to dig for the terminals. A tip about terminals is to put down terminals that have an adjustable steel holder. It facilitates the installation of the posts, you do not have to get the terminals exactly at the same height in mm and therefore do not have to cut the posts to get them all at the same height.

When we start laying stones, we have a good foundation to build on. First, we have laid out a good fiber cloth, which means that soil and shingle do not mix with the base layer with 0/18 crush and you avoid all the weeds that find their way up. Then we drove with the toad to pack up the bearing layer. Don't forget to consider the slope of the paving stone and how the water flows.
When everything is packed and ready, you should lay out the setting sand, which should be 0-3 mm in coarseness, you can have 0-8 as well. When we have come this far, then you easily drive over with the toad again.

So there, finally time to lay stone. We have chosen vero slate graphite, great tiles with a slightly uneven pattern. It will look a little more alive. Add some new setting sand and pull off so that it is smooth and fine. Think again about slopes and the path of the water so that you don't get a lake on the tiles.
A tip when cutting into round shapes is to make thin cuts of about 1 cm on the top side of the stone, not straight but try to get a bit angular around. After that, you almost cut through from behind. Then lightly tap the stone and it will come off. Since it is not possible to saw around with a diamond blade, this is one way. Then just start planing the stone carefully with a small blade. In the end, you get a nice rounding in the stone. Be careful with your fingers.

Yes, how much can it rain? It has been really wet in the sand so it has not been possible to lay more stone. It's better to get a good sub than to rush off. As you can see, this stone is incredibly easy to lay. All this I have put in 6-7 hours with the help of berry help.
We have also started laying out the stone border around the pool. It seems to be a bit of a chore to get it to fit in the joints. We haven't found a laying schedule, so you have to move them around until the turns are good.

Now we start rounding the pool with stone, so here are some tips to get the same slope around the entire pool and avoid slipping between the ground stone and the edge. I have made my own scraper. I put it on the snap-in strip and measure the level of the buried steel pipe. Thanks to the laser, I get the same level on the slope.

Now comes the hard part, all the cutting for electrical boxes and terminals. For cutting around the electrical boxes, place a stone next to the stone that will go around the box and carefully place it on the box and straighten the stone so that it fits. Draw as much as you can with a crayon.
When cutting, start cutting from the underside. Set up the stone and cut with a small cutter in the grooves of the underside and continue to the dimensions of the box. Since you have the dimensions of the box, you know where to put the cross section. Place a cross section from the top side and cut as far as it will go in width. When you're done, you put the stone on top of another stone, but the cut on the outside and tap a little lightly with a hammer and it comes off nicely. Run a bit neatly in the corners with a small angle grinder to remove the sharp corners. Don't forget safety glasses and hearing protection, it splashes well with stone chips.

Now we have reached a point where it is time to start cutting all the curb stones. In retrospect, the cuts would have been made when the other stone was laid. What you have to do now is lift up some stones to pull it straight again just because it has become uneven. You learn something new every day.
When you want to get it right with straight edges, it's good to have a stealth angle at hand. You put it on the stone angles and take out the right angle to the curb. Then you measure the distance with the ruler to the kerb and set the stealth angle there with the taken angle and draw the cut line (see pictures).

Here's a tip to keep the neighborly peace ok. When you cut stone dry, it dusts well and everything gets a nice blanket of white dust. Use water and there will be no smoke, see the pictures. It is enough to cut off one side only. Tap the stone lightly and it will break.

When we have now come around and the plates are to meet from both sides, it does not go together. It has been shifted a little here and there I guess, there by missing a few centimeters.
As you can see in the pictures, making the plates a little smaller will be. So think about where you want it, if possible. the joint if you put around something a little bigger, e.g. a pool. When cutting, place the intended stone on the lower one and draw out where it is to be cut. Remember to cut the stone a little smaller than what you have drawn so that there is some space between the stones. It turned out pretty well despite all the hijacking.

Hello again, we've had a bit of a break in paving. It has been the European Championships! Now we have found the error that it is not correct when you have rounded a large object. When we laid the large surface in front of the pool, there was about 2 cm between the tiles where they met from both sides.
After pushing the tiles back and forth without getting it together, we measured the tiles. They are not cast in the same shape, there is a difference of approx. 4-5 mm in width on some plates. You get so ahhh when everything else has turned out so well. Now we have had to pull the tiles apart so that there are slightly larger joints.
Now for a little tip when cutting stones around plinths where it becomes so narrow that the stone risks cracking when you tap away the cutout. Tap on the short sides instead of on the stone, then the stone will wiggle off and you will not crack the stone in the angle where it is thinnest (see picture).

All edges are now cut so that it looks nice against all curbs and plinths. It's taken a long time to get it right but now it's done. Make all the edge cuts at the same time as you lay the rest of the stone to save time.

Now that we have finished with all the edges, it is time to continue with the other stone. The important thing now is to get the same height or with a little fall. What you do is remove 2 plates so that you get a level where you can set the height of the laser (see picture).

We have had a fixed point that we have set the laser on throughout the project, namely the edge of the pool stairs and started from that when we have set the terminals and plates. What you have to do then is to increase the height of the laser receiver by 1 or 2 cm/m so that you get a good fall on the plates. So the first thing we've done is set up the laser and measure the measuring stick and then it's just a matter of getting to work.

Now that we continue with the straightening, we intend to drive so that the surface is somewhat straight without too much fall. Run the iron pipes down and measure them so that they are at the right level, then just pull it straight.

We still haven't decided how to get a nice transition to the stone walkway that will lead to the front. We might be able to get some tips from the other project sites.

You don't have time to document, so here comes the continuation.
We planned ground spats before we started laying stone so everything is ready under the tiles. What we thought was to lay all the stone where we intended to have the lighting and then measure everything so that you get all the spits in a straight line. And the most important thing is that the stone does not move when you have finished drilling all the holes, hence the finishing.


Set up the laser and measure all the drill holes so that they end up in a straight line and at the right distance from the fence. First, drill all the holes with a 5 mm impact drill so that the large drill does not come out of position. Then take a 7 mm and finally a 10 mm drill. When you make the hole for the spits, you shouldn't drill with a hammer but let the hole saw rotate nicely with water cooling. The hole saw we use has strong diamond blades and has a center drill of 10mm, therefore we have pre-drilled the hole with that size. It is also easier to drill when the center drill does not have to work. Must add that the hole saw was really good, beyond expectations.


As you can see in the pictures, some holes have ended up in joints, which makes it difficult to get the center drill to go in the same hole. We had to put out heavy slabs as support for the hole saw and fill the joints with sand so that the ground stone lay still, it became a nice hole.

Then when all the holes were ready, it was just a matter of lifting 2 plates and getting the flex pipe and the junction box and connecting the spits. The spits are 24 volts so you can plug them in yourself.

Here are more pictures of the ground spitters. Tonight we will turn on the lights and we will post the pictures tomorrow. I have a feeling it will be so nice.

Now we have connected the lights around the pool and it turned out really well. We have only chosen to have point lighting so that there is a bit of a cozy factor.

So now you're back after 3 weeks of vacation and it's just a matter of starting to work again. What we have to do first is to start sealing all the larger holes that run along the edge of the pool with concrete so that it will be tight and firm before the skirting is installed. Because the stone edge is glued, it will be stable underneath. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for 6 pieces for the stone border. We have received 2 wrong deliveries so you are starting to get a little tired of the pool company.

Now that the concrete is in place, it's time to start joining the tiles. We've had nice weather now, so it's good when everything is dry. First, all leaves and stones must be sucked up. It is important that nothing remains when you brush down the sand.
We have chosen to use the stone company's LITHOFIX Easy Sand. It is a sand that becomes hard when mixed with water. It is important that all the sand is away from the tiles when you start watering, otherwise the sand will stick to the tiles. According to the instructions for use, you should blow away the fine dust with compressed air that remains when you have brushed down all the sand between the tiles, otherwise it will stick in the tiles' pores. Which we did, but it stuck to some tiles anyway, which became discolored. It doesn't look very nice, so brush and blow the tiles carefully.
It is possible to flush away with high pressure, but it just takes a little time. But you have plenty of time, don't you? If you look at the advantages, there will be hard joints with no ants or weeds. And the disadvantages are that if you have dark tiles, you will get some tiles discolored with light concrete dust if you are not careful with the sweeping.

So start by vacuuming the tiles and joints. Pour out the sand and sweep it roughly with a brush. When the joints are filled, run the tiles with a vibrator or tap the tiles lightly with a tampon or a heavier rule so that the sand flows properly into the joints. Pour out more sand and sweep over once more so that it is filled to the top. Now just pray it doesn't start raining, because then it will be run. The sand then burns onto the tiles.
Then it's time to start with the fine layer over the tiles with a soft brush so that all the dust disappears. Blow off what the brush does not remove with compressed air. Just be careful not to blow into the joints so you get the sand all over.
When it is then ready, you take out the water hose and start watering with a soft little jet so that the joints are filled with water and the sand becomes wet. Remember that the water should run all the way down to the bottom of the plate so the entire joint becomes hard. After 2 days, the joint is completely hard.

Just wanted to show how it looks after the dust has remained in the pores of the tiles. Some I have flushed with high pressure just to see if it goes away. It goes away, but as I wrote before, it takes some time. As you can see in the pictures, there is a big difference in color even though you have done the right thing. REMEMBER THIS if you have dark concrete slabs!

Yippiie, now more stone has arrived for our project so now we are going to close the site with the fence that has been in the garage for a while. First we need to remove the old one. We have had a temporary gate behind the house knot so it will be nice to get it removed. You have to have it locked around the pool so no child falls in. Out with the old and up with the new!

Now that the fence is up around the entire plot, we have cleaned away all the building rubble and pulled out the soil where we will have a lawn. We have also put sand where the stone walkway will go towards the entrance. Now the stairs also have to be rebuilt, yes this project was a bit bigger than we had thought. The stairs will probably be something that ties everything together.

Now we've tackled this with the end from the pool side to the beginning of the aisle to the front. After a few hours of fiddling back and forth with different rock models and angles, we found what we stuck with.
In order to get a stable stop against the upcoming lawn and against the heat pump, we have finally decided to use the Sköndal Flammed Granitkantstenen, which looks nice against the dark Vero Slate Graphite tiles. In addition, we have planned 2 pillar lamps in granite that will mark the different parts of the project.

So yes, now the ending is complete. Down with the electric pipe and pull everything straight. The finish against the Fantasi Antik ground stone with Granitkantsten Sköndal, we put down just to get a stable border and to make it wider. It actually turned out really nice. Remember to cut out a piece under the lamp base so that the joints end up under them if you are going to have them.

After 1345 pieces of Vero Slate tiles and 4 months of hard work, the pool side (sun side :-) ) is finished. Now it's just a matter of driving along the path that leads to the front. There we have decided on Fantasi Antique Graphite and as edge marking we have taken Ocala Antique Grey.

Now we have started with the passage to the entrance and in order to get a nice finish, we had to make a small part straight so that it fit in with the rest. Here are some tips on what to do when you have to angle the back passage.


Place the Fantasi Antik ground stone and the Ocala stone a little further than the angle. Then put some stone from the angle and straight along the house. Then you put a real layer of stone on it with the right width, etc. We have chosen 112 cm in width because it fit quite well with both types.

After that, it's just a matter of moving the entire row of stone forwards or backwards until both curb stones fit together. As you can see in the picture, about 4 cm is missing from the light curb between the outer corners. This is what will be the angle to be cut. So 4cm divided by 2 becomes 2cm which must be cut away on the two curb stones. Mark 2cm and draw a line from the upper corner.
Now just cut the curb stones so that they really fit in and after that you can draw a straight line over the others. Don't forget to measure the width so that it is the same on both parts. When the top layer is cut, just put them back and draw a line over the bottom ones.


If the parts are too small, you have to replace the stones with slightly larger ones. That's what's good about Fantasi Antik, it has 4 different sizes of stones. Then add edge protection so that you get a straight and nice line that you can lay against. If the other stones have slightly rounded/chamfered edges, don't forget to chamfer the cut parts with the angle grinder. It looks better then and you get the sand down better too.

Several pictures

Now we have continued to build on the passage and arrived at the entrance where we will build a stone staircase stone by stone. Here we have also tried a few different variants and found a solution with Megatäck Patina Graphite. They should really be on the wall, but we think this will probably be good. The idea is that the first step should be on the stone of the aisle and that we build a standing wall of Mega blankets.

As you can see in the pictures, we have not angled the passage along the stairs, but driven straight on and only added stone. We thought it would look so stiff if everything followed at angles. It becomes a little more alive this way. So now we have to cut the one length, but it should probably be good if we only get a straight line.

We removed the Ocala flagstone that ran along the stairs just because it was too marked. So now the stairs flow together better with the Fantasi ground stone that goes under the Mega cover. After all the horizontal steps are sawn, it is time to start with the ones that will stand up.

Start with the 2 to be sawed in the middle and work outwards. Here it is the same as with the other angles. Draw the inner corners towards each other at an angle and measure on the outer ones, see picture. Divide the measurement by 2 and mark on the stones and cut. Cut first on the short sides and then draw a line between the saw grooves.

It makes it easier to cut angles if you have a really big blade. But if you don't have one that big, you have to do it this way so that it will be reasonably good.

After the four Megatäck stones included in the angle are cut, it is time to measure them with the laser so that they all end up at the right level. They should end up right because the ground underneath is already drawn straight, but it's better to measure again.

When all the cornerstones are set in the right place, it is time to build further outwards. Actually, you should have the joint on the lower stone in the middle of the upper one, but there would be so much stone spillage and too small pieces on some parts of the stairs, so we ignored it. Stone is not free and I think our joints turned out quite well.

When everything is laid, you can measure the middle part that is in the angle and saw to it. We have left the tiles that have been there for 25 years under the new stairs. Then we put some as support against the Mega covers and drilled down reinforcement to lock them in place and filled in with concrete.

Now the next step will be to lay down some insulation and build a small stable slab of concrete which will form a small foundation for the upcoming paving in soil-moist concrete. We don't want the sand to push out the sides of the stairs, so we make it stable from the start.

Today we have jointed with LITHOFIX Easy Sand on the last tiles on the back and the whole passage. First then to the important thing, vacuum the joints so that all leaves and pebbles are sucked away.

We ran the filling with a funnel :-) just to avoid getting discolored tiles. As we wrote earlier, concrete dust sticks to the Vero Slate tiles and gives them a light discoloration. There weren't that many to join, so it went quickly. This time we carried on as usual, pour out and sweep down.

Now the entire aisle is probably ready except for the smaller granite lamps that will be placed along the aisle. We got the tall granite lamps out now and are at the entrance to the pool side. It was a really nice ending.
We have also now received insulation and concrete at the base of the stairs.

Now to the continuation on the stairs. When the concrete part has now become hard, it is time to start laying out all the stones to saw to all the edges. Then it is good to match the stone either to the left or to the right so that there are no small pieces on both sides. If it is difficult to access to measure for sawing, you can lay out the stones with two sawn edges and then draw a straight line using the two as a guide.

Since we are going to lay the Vero Slate in soil-moist concrete, we want to have all the pieces ready in case it starts raining. You can't just stop and lay because then the concrete will get wet and start to burn.

Soil-moist concrete is a mixture of pure concrete and sand. You mix 1 part concrete and 3 parts sand but no water. Then you just pour it out and pull it straight.

Then when all the edge stones are cut and laid out, it is good to remove all the stones again to start with the levels. One tip is to number all the stones that go along the edges so that you don't stand there later wondering where they should fit. It is much faster to put them all out if they are labeled in order.

So on with the iron pipes and forward with the laser one last time. Consider the slope so that the water flows from the facade outwards. We have set the level to 1cm/mi level difference.

A little tapping here and there so that standing corners are level. Add a little water so that the concrete starts to burn and tilt and the stairs are ready. It just needs to be joined, but that will take until the week

Now we have finished what we had time to do before winter. What we are still waiting for is that edge for the pool. So we cannot recommend Miami pool as a supplier for those of you who are going to build a pool. Here are some pictures of before and after the project. What we were supposed to do was just build a pool. But as everything progressed with trucks getting stuck in the mud and a few other things that meant we had to dig out the whole lot and lay fiber cloth with rough shingle so the trucks could back up onto the lot to load all the mud, the project got a lot bigger. Yes, the asphalt in the parking lot is also torn up, so the next project will be to lay stone there too, yippee!

Here are more pictures

Here are some pictures of how it turned out. We have cropped some grass in the pictures just to show how it will look this spring.