Wednesday, June 24, 2009
FISH CAMP NEWS
Our own Raymond Hayes, Security Supervisor, has taken over keeping Fish Camp supplied with rods, reels, bait, etc. Raymond is an avid fisherman and will be helping us out with lake & fish camp maintenance and care. He will be stopping by Fish Camp most days after 2:00 pm, so feel free to stop and visit with him - he might give you a few pointers!
We've asked Raymond to monitor Fish Camp on a daily basis, as we've recently experienced a bit of carelessness and/or vandalism with the fishing equipment. The HOA has an annual budget for fishing equipment and supplies, and unfortunately if it is necessary to replace more equipment than our budget allows, it may be necessary to stop supplying equipment. We ask that all visitors to Fish Camp be considerate of their neighbors by replacing rods in the racks, picking up any trash that you leave, and in general, caring for the facility.\
...source: Pam Chandler
We've asked Raymond to monitor Fish Camp on a daily basis, as we've recently experienced a bit of carelessness and/or vandalism with the fishing equipment. The HOA has an annual budget for fishing equipment and supplies, and unfortunately if it is necessary to replace more equipment than our budget allows, it may be necessary to stop supplying equipment. We ask that all visitors to Fish Camp be considerate of their neighbors by replacing rods in the racks, picking up any trash that you leave, and in general, caring for the facility.\
...source: Pam Chandler
Friday, June 19, 2009
COONAN O'BRIEN
After our varmint saga some posts below, resulting in a quick ride down the highway for Mister Dillo, there was a brief lull where our grass'n'weeds grew normally. Then more digging appeared, like tiny toy archaeologists were looking for artifacts. I reset the trap. First some bait was eaten but whatever ate it got away with Salmon breath. However, this AM brought another trapped digger. Even while in the cage it managed to ruin the grass under it.
Now I know many will see this and go "ooooh, how cute..." but you'd be wrong! This snarling, wretched, spiteful, straight-razor toting beast was quite intent on breaking through the slammer to slash and chew on my white ass.
My research said that you'd have to drive it at least 20 miles away because they can come back and will certainly find your house and seek revenge. (Okay I made up the revenge part, but they can really wreck a house when inside it, and they apparently will try to get inside - a neighbor trapped 2 DOZEN in Florida as they infested his home!)
And they can be rabid.
So, drastic measure time.
I can assure you the circle of life is an unbroken one. Read into this what you will.
Now I know many will see this and go "ooooh, how cute..." but you'd be wrong! This snarling, wretched, spiteful, straight-razor toting beast was quite intent on breaking through the slammer to slash and chew on my white ass.
My research said that you'd have to drive it at least 20 miles away because they can come back and will certainly find your house and seek revenge. (Okay I made up the revenge part, but they can really wreck a house when inside it, and they apparently will try to get inside - a neighbor trapped 2 DOZEN in Florida as they infested his home!)
And they can be rabid.
So, drastic measure time.
I can assure you the circle of life is an unbroken one. Read into this what you will.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
PAVING
No doubt you've all seen the marked areas of pavement throughout the property over the past few weeks. We have awarded the contract for these repairs to Ballard's Asphalt & Concrete, and they are scheduled to be on-site this coming Tuesday, June 16th, to complete the work. It is anticipated that everything can be accomplished in one to two days, and the contractors will be re-routing traffic as they work. They will try to minimize any inconvenience, but will appreciate your patience while we complete this long-awaited project. I have attached a map to this e-mail locating the areas to be repaired. They include:
1) The approach to the East Gate, including dips and alligatoring pavement at both entrance and exit lanes
2) The significant dip in Club Blvd. on the westbound side near Malaquita
3) The pavement failures at the East Roundabout (Club Blvd. & Paraiso Parkway)
4) Corner of Musket Rim & Paraiso (both ends of Musket Rim)
5) Intersection of Overlook Pass & Calabria Court
On a second visit, not yet scheduled, curbs will be repaired and a pavement dip as you enter Malaquita Branch will be repaired, along with some other paving work for the Developer. Please don't hesitate to give me a call or an e-mail with any questions. Pam Chandler.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
POOL CRUD VANISHED!
This might help you. I have no financial interest in what I am about to describe.
If your pool has accumulated what I can only guess to be calcium or other hard mineral deposits around the tile edging, you might know it's almost impossible to remove this scale. I have spent hours in the water with a pumice stone, rubbing until my hands were raw, even through a cloth 'protection.' No amount of scrubbing made any difference.
I saw advertised, bought and tried a 'miracle' gel which supposedly contained some type of acid which would cling to the crud and eventually detach it (I never was sure about what it would do to the water itself, but in short order I found it didn't work at all.)
I also tried pool acid itself... Muriatic. Diluted, then increasingly stronger. It works some, but you can't keep it where it needs to STAY due to that pesky gravity thing.
Crud on pool tile
Crud on spa wall at waterfall. I even tried chipping away with a chisel and hammer and a LOT of elbow grease.
Then Terri brought home a one-sheet for a new process. One of the realtors in Lakeway had the detail... the process is called Soda Blast. Think of sand blasting or bead blasting but with Magnesium Sulfate. From Wikipedia: "Magnesium sulfate is a chemical compound containing magnesium and sulfate, with the formula MgSO4. In its hydrated form the pH is 6.0 (5.5 to 7.0). It is often encountered as the heptahydrate, MgSO4·7H2O, commonly called Epsom salt." Said to be softer than alternatives, and claimed to leave your tiles intact, and be PH neutral, we hired the guys.
They arrived in a big truck trailer with a VERY large compressor on the flat trailer. Hoses, pressure vessel, and mixture pumps were unloaded.
The guys go to work.
They lowered the water about 8 inches and drained the spa completely, then went to work blasting the tiles. The magnesium sulfate turns grey when wet, and so did the pool.
Blasting
They 'sort of' cleaned the pool, but since so much of the stuff was in the water, obviously couldn't get it all.
Pool Murk, after...
I was told to refill, turn on the pumps and let them run for a while - 8 hours or so, then to backwash, and possibly repeat. After checking pressure on the filter, which surprisingly hadn't changed, I decided to let the pump run maybe 24 hours. The pressure still didn't change. Overnight the water went from really murky to clear!
You can decide for yourself if you think the process was successful. A good 4 years of crud is gone, the pool and spa look new and clean and, I am amazed.
Finished tile
Cleaned Spa at waterfall. If you notice pits on one tile to left, I did that with chisel in another failed attempt to clean it myself.
The name of the company is Soda Blast Express.
Our water is sparkling clear today.
If your pool has accumulated what I can only guess to be calcium or other hard mineral deposits around the tile edging, you might know it's almost impossible to remove this scale. I have spent hours in the water with a pumice stone, rubbing until my hands were raw, even through a cloth 'protection.' No amount of scrubbing made any difference.
I saw advertised, bought and tried a 'miracle' gel which supposedly contained some type of acid which would cling to the crud and eventually detach it (I never was sure about what it would do to the water itself, but in short order I found it didn't work at all.)
I also tried pool acid itself... Muriatic. Diluted, then increasingly stronger. It works some, but you can't keep it where it needs to STAY due to that pesky gravity thing.
Then Terri brought home a one-sheet for a new process. One of the realtors in Lakeway had the detail... the process is called Soda Blast. Think of sand blasting or bead blasting but with Magnesium Sulfate. From Wikipedia: "Magnesium sulfate is a chemical compound containing magnesium and sulfate, with the formula MgSO4. In its hydrated form the pH is 6.0 (5.5 to 7.0). It is often encountered as the heptahydrate, MgSO4·7H2O, commonly called Epsom salt." Said to be softer than alternatives, and claimed to leave your tiles intact, and be PH neutral, we hired the guys.
They arrived in a big truck trailer with a VERY large compressor on the flat trailer. Hoses, pressure vessel, and mixture pumps were unloaded.
They lowered the water about 8 inches and drained the spa completely, then went to work blasting the tiles. The magnesium sulfate turns grey when wet, and so did the pool.
They 'sort of' cleaned the pool, but since so much of the stuff was in the water, obviously couldn't get it all.
I was told to refill, turn on the pumps and let them run for a while - 8 hours or so, then to backwash, and possibly repeat. After checking pressure on the filter, which surprisingly hadn't changed, I decided to let the pump run maybe 24 hours. The pressure still didn't change. Overnight the water went from really murky to clear!
You can decide for yourself if you think the process was successful. A good 4 years of crud is gone, the pool and spa look new and clean and, I am amazed.
The name of the company is Soda Blast Express.
Our water is sparkling clear today.
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