Need a Structural Engineer - Concrete Wall

[jimmysisson]

Don't forget he said he wanted to build a building on top of his walls at a later time, so the outer blocks will do double duty. I agree on keeping concrete away from where you'll touch it...
Jim

 

[Pooh_Bear]

I remember swimming in our concrete block pool when I was a kid,
and yes it could be very hard on the hands and feet.
And the algae was a constant problem to fight with.
Never could get the water to clearer than a slight green tint.

I have already asked the county tax assessor what the impact would be.
They only tax the deck around the pool. Cost would be about $60 extra.

Last time I checked I could have an above ground pool put up
for somewhere between $2500 and $3000. Complete setup but no deck.
I may go try the public pool this year and see exactly what depth I need.
To the best of my knowledge, I need a consistant depth of 5 feet.

Question about pool liners:
Can they survive being repeatly drained and refilled.

Can I even get a pool with a water depth of 5 feet. I see 52 inchers mostly.

I have a 3 feet deep by 12 feet diameter pool in storage.
I may put it up this year just to have a place to cool off after mowing.

I have plenty of time for this project. It won't all happen in one summer.
First I have to have a level spot excavated for a pool.
And I have some other excavations to be done at the same time.
Then some retainer walls to build and a driveway to gravel.
Wife says she gets her driveway before I get anything else.
So my little 3x12 pool may be all I get this year.
But then next summer I will be ready to go bigger.

Y'all have given me plenty to think about.
Thanks for all the info and advice.

Pooh Bear

 

[MossRoad]

First, let me apologize in advance for all the following quotes, but I think it easier to address question.

I have already asked the county tax assessor what the impact would be.
They only tax the deck around the pool. Cost would be about $60 extra.

Good.

Last time I checked I could have an above ground pool put up
for somewhere between $2500 and $3000.

If you want to walk back and forth a lot, maybe look into the oval pools. More walking distance.

Complete setup but no deck.

My deck cost more than my pool.

Question about pool liners:
Can they survive being repeatly drained and refilled.

Why?

Can I even get a pool with a water depth of 5 feet. I see 52 inchers mostly.

I've seen liners to 72" deep. You just install it to the depth you want and trim off the excess.

 

[Nat]

Pooh, Vinyl streches and when it does it re-arrainges the molicules in it there for you may get by with draining and refillining, but I sure wouldn't count on it.
I have seen customers who drained and refilled their pool and had very few problems, but most have to replace the liner after draining the pool cause it will shrink about 10 % amd the stress of refilling it will cause a rip. HTH, later, Nat

 

[Pooh_Bear]

I plan on emptying my "pool" during the winter.

The Sequatchie River forms the eastern border of our property.
But in the summer it gets real low, not even knee deep.
I can pump all the water out of it I want to.
Last year I hauled water in barrels for our garden.
This year I plan on pumping water up here.
I have a pump rated 100 gallons per minute @ 50 feet head.
My back deck is 23 feet elevation from the summer river level.
That pump will provide plenty of water to fill the pool
and keep it topped off, and for irrigation in the garden.

Pooh Bear

 

[cmuncy]

Have you thought about looking at the 2000+ gallon poly water tanks?

All you would essentually need to do would be to shave the top off. Looks liek doing this you could add your plumbing fixtures to it with no issues, bury it with no issues, and do what you want with your deck.

 

[dynasim]

A good way to hold things like this together is to use post-tension reinforcment in the concrete.

Essentially, you run plastic tubes the length of the wall. They can be straight, but are optimally curved a bit. After the concrete dries, you run high tensile strength cable through them(I think it is 270 ksi strength, it is important), and pull it up tight. It will pull the corners together, and prevent the concrete from cracking and deflecting. Concrete is strong in compression, but weak in tension, and the constant tension of the steel works with the properties of concrete to make strong stuff. This is how they make parking garage floors.

I don't know enough to tell you specifically how to do it, how tight to make the cables, how thick the concrete needs to be, nor where to get the materials, but there are people who do.

Chris

 

[MossRoad]

I plan on emptying my "pool" during the winter.

Why? No one empties their pools in the winter. Mine is frozen like an ice cube right now. If you drain your pool in the winter you will lose all of your chemistry, the liner may get deformed, rain water and snow melt will wash junk into it, leaves and dead squirrels will greet you in the spring(I know this from experience) and if you have a high water table it could float up like a boat in a bathtub. You may also want to check with your insurance company and local laws regarding a fence and attractive nuisances.

You might want to go to some swimming pool websites and see about pools in your climate and the care and feeding of them.

 

[forgeblast]

Dry stack block surface bonded concrete block walls for HTMs

check them out they use a technique called
Dry stack concrete block walls use surface bonding cement (SBC)
for additional structural strength - no mortar between blocks

SBC was formulated to build million gallon municipal cisterns for water storage

looked really cool.
forgeblast

 

[schmism]

i like setting an above ground pool in a below ground hole.

say you have a 24' round pool, 5' depth.

Dig a 30' dia hole (2-3-4-5?) feet deep. lay draintile along inside edge at bottom with sump pit, backfill with gavel. line outside of hole with off the shelf retianing block.

you now have a ~28' dia hole that you can keep dry.

setup 24' dia pool as you would on the ground, in the hole. (should have ~2' clearance around pool to move. (one could go tigher and work from the inside out)

now you extend your deck to pool edge to cover gap between ground and pool.

if only 2' in ground with a platform deck (another foot) there is now only a 2' wall to climb over.

drain 8" of water off top and cover for winter. remove cover, shock and your ready to go the next spring. My neighbor doesnt empty his and he is on his 4th year with the same liner.