Has Anyone Built A Swimming Pool

[GregJ]

Since we got our tractor, we have been toying with the idea of building a small swimming pool. This would be a project for later winter, early spring 2004. I would like to keep it very low budget. I am thinking concrete. I have a moderate amount of concrete experience and considerable tile experience. We would like to use solar heat with electrical or propane backup. I would be interested if anybody has attempted this and what your experiences have been.

Thanks,
Greg

 

[RonR]

Other Options.....

We had a 24' round doughboy pool, above ground, but dug out 1/2 of it so it was 6' deep. New was about $5K, but we sold it after 12 years for $500. Needed a new liner for about $500, but was good otherwise.

I think you could find a used pool, buy a new liner, and have less invested than concrete. Though they look simple, I think there are plenty of gotchas if you try to design it yourself.

Oh, we used the tractor to fill in the other half--36 tons of dirt/sand!

Good luck.
Ron

 

[rjsmit1]

I have not personally built an in ground pool, but I contracted to have one built in Texas. Process went approximately as follows:
The hole was dug with a bobcat to the shape of the pool. This operator was excellent. He had no cave ins and cut a beautiful 3 dimensional shape in the ground following a drawing and some stakes placed by the foreman. Trenches were dug around the outside of the pool for the pipes to supply water to and from the filtration system. There were pipes all over the place as they have water inlets all around the pool. They then installed the steel rebar. This formed a big basket like webbing around the inside of the pool. The rebar was set up from the dirt so that the concrete would surround the steel. All piping, pumps and filtering equipment was installed at about the same time they were doing the rebar if I remember correctly. Then the concrete was sprayed in. They called the concrete "gunite". This work was done with specialized equipment with very skilled people. The concrete had to be able to stick to the vertical walls of the pool without forms. I don't remember if it took more than one coat of concrete (gunite). They then poured the concrete deck around the pool and plastered the inside of the pool after the concrete cured. After the plaster set up, the pool was filled and the fun began! I would argue that building this type of pool is not a job for a beginner as there are plenty of opportunities for expensive and difficult mistakes. For example, what if your concrete walls succumbed to gravity and fell down to the bottom of the hole? Yikes- what a mess... Good luck.

 

[EddieWalker]

I was thinking the same thing. How hard could it be? I bought a book on ebay showing all the different styles and how to build, but kept thinking I'd do the digging and let the experienced pool builder finish it off and spray the gunite. Some things just take experience to get good at.

After talking to some pool builders and getting the same answer, I've decided it's cheaper in the long run to have an expert do it and provide a gurantee.

Reasons for my decision are unknow soil conditions as far as water retention in the ground around the pool throughout the year. I did'nt realize that ground water can come up to the pool level and play all kinds of trouble from the outside and bottom. Especially the bottom!

The excavation has to be perfect. Only virgin soil is to remain for the gunite to hold without cracking. This means NO filling in if you dig too deep. I can operate my backhoe just fine for trenches, stump and tree removal, but I realize I'm a long way from digging a huge hole for a pool and getting it perfect the first time.

If you want a vinyl pool, then it might be possible. I've only looked into gunite.

Good Luck,
Eddie

 

[rockyridgefarm]

There are some "pool in a Box" companies. They usually have vinyl liners, and look pretty straight forward. There are some that use metal walls, but cost a lot more.

I agree that gunite is probably something you don't want to learn on. But I have had more than a few pool owners tell me they would go with a vinyl liner, if they were to do it over. You just budget on a new liner every 10 years. But less maintanence than the gunite

 

[Bird]

The vinyl liner with steel walls is what we had built in 1977. The steel was supposed to have some copper in it if I remember right and was supposedly guaranteed for 30 years. We sold the place in 1989; about 11.5 years after the pool was built and it still had the original liner, pump, sand filter, etc. although the blue color of the vinyl liner was fading a bit.

 

[EastTexFrank]

We had a fibreglass pool when we moved to Dallas. I wouldn't recommend them. Eventually had it ripped out and replaced with a gunnite pool. I watched them build that and install all the equipment and I can honestly say I wouldn't attempt that on my own although I did learn the best way to configure the cleaning equipment. There are just too many opportunities to totally mess up. I don't know about the vinyl liner pools except the above ground variety but I would have thought that they would need to be enclosed in a smoothe structure of some kind to prevent puncture.

 

[Gatorboy]

Looks like you've got all kinds of advice on building a pool -- but I would like to share my ideal pool design:

The pool would be rectangular with the deep section (~6') in the middle and shallow (3') on both ends. Off of the middle you would have a swim-out area (like a notch) that would have the railing and steps into the pool. This way you would have a full rectangle section with no ladders for obstructions.

You can now play volleyball in the pool with people on each end at an equal advantage -- not one side treading water just to stay afloat, and the other side only up to their waists. Because the deep section is in the middle, the closer to the net you get, the deeper the water -- no way to just hammer slams to the other side.

Also, with the rectangular design (as opposed to the kidney shaped), it is a great lap pool for those who just want to do some swimming.

Finally, those who like to do cannonballs, dives, etc., you just do those in the middle rather than on a deep end.

If I ever decide to build a pool -- this is the design I will construct. Just thought I'd pass on my ideas to the group. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Alan L.]

I have a buddy in the pool business. He recently designed one with a "beach", a gradual slope area. and he was real happy with the the way it turned out. His are all gunite and he stresses the skill of the backhoe operator being able to "free-hand" the hole to match the design. They basically draw the plan and then mark it on the ground with some spray marker paint, and the backhoe operator digs the hole. They then put in the rebar and plumbing and another gunite contractor comes in and sprays in the gunite and finishes it out. The gunite is guaranteed for life.

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( enclosed in a smoothe structure of some kind to prevent puncture. )</font>

The steel walls on ours were smooth and were 3' high all the way around. The bottom of the pool got a fairly thick layer of sand before the liner was put in, and the bottom was flat and 3' deep at one end, then sloped very rapidly to 6' deep in the deep end. The sand that was used (fairly dry and troweled smooth on the bottom and slopes) had a quantity of cement in it so it would harden in time (can't remember the ratio of cement). When the liner was put in and fastened around the top, they left one small spot not fastened so they could put a vacuum hose in there to suck the air out from under the liner as it filled. And the liner did get punctured twice; once by a young fellow trying out his scuba gear right in the center of the deepest part, and I was very much surprised by the repair method; cut a piece of clear vinyl, apply the clear adhesive, dive it and stick it on the puncture. Only time I ever used "glue" under water, but it worked just fine.