A few months ago I was contacted by a home design and engineering firm out of Nashville to consult on and apply a Hydrazzo finish to a pool on a small private island in the Caribbean. The design group is known for their work with Country Music Artists. I later learned that Tempool would be bidding to finish Faith Hill and Tim McGraw’s pool at their new vacation home. I was provided with the specs and some drawings of the pool and entered a bid. A few days later we were awarded the job.
When we plaster pools outside of the U.S. there are always unique challenges and hurdles to jump. This job would prove to be no different. I was only allowed to bring one of the guys from my plaster crew, and due to the labor laws of the tiny Island nation we would have to use a certain amount of local labor. We would also be limited on the tools we could bring and our mixing/pump trucks obviously would not be accompanying us on our journey.

Robert and I packed the essentials and boarded a small plane that would fly us to the island where we would take up lodging for the next two days. After a bumpy puddle jumping flight we got settled in our hotel. The next morning we took an even bumpier hour long boat ride to the island where we would be plastering the Hill/McGraw’s swimming pool.

The mixing methods that are used in the Caribbean differ greatly from the way we do things in the States. The hydrazzo finish would have to be mixed in 55 gallon drums with hand drills and then transported to the trowlers with 5 gallon buckets. With the help of several locals, Robert and I applied the pure white hydrazzo finish in 6 hours. After making the hour long trek back across a small stretch of the Caribbean to our hotel we downed a couple beers and ate fried fish for dinner. The next morning we would head back and polish the finish.

The polishing took about two hours and the pool turned out fantastic despite the challenges. The builder was extremely happy with the finished product (we’re hoping this leads to more work with the design group in the U.S. and abroad). Robert and I headed back to Jacksonville and a busy Monday. This was a weekend job. No rest for the weary.

-Jon Temple-