Austin Owner Build (Raised Pool with Infinity Edge)
- Thread starter GregSS
- Start date
Wow, I envy those that can go on vacation (or just not be around) during their pool build. I could not do that. It's great that you have the confidence in your PB that he will handle things accordingly. I wish I had that same confidence in my PB. 
That shot really shows what it happening 
Engineering at it's finest right there!
When do you come back? Where do you think the pool will be at when you get back? The reason I ask is once steel is done I have the PO measure everything to make sure it is long, wide, deep, etc enough. THIS is the time to make changes or tweaks.
Kim
Engineering at it's finest right there! When do you come back? Where do you think the pool will be at when you get back? The reason I ask is once steel is done I have the PO measure everything to make sure it is long, wide, deep, etc enough. THIS is the time to make changes or tweaks.
Kim
Wow, I envy those that can go on vacation (or just not be around) during their pool build. I could not do that. It's great that you have the confidence in your PB that he will handle things accordingly. I wish I had that same confidence in my PB.
I am the PB--it is an owner build. I spent a lot of time with the excavator and steel crew before I left.
That shot really shows what it happening
When do you come back? Where do you think the pool will be at when you get back? The reason I ask is once steel is done I have the PO measure everything to make sure it is long, wide, deep, etc enough. THIS is the time to make changes or tweaks.
Kim
We fly back late Thursday. Steel should be done by Wednesday or Thursday. I will need to get my plumber out this week or next.
During the excavation stage we spent considerable time measuring (all of the walls are 12" thick and some of the footers will be a little thicker). If you look outside the pool you will see a lot of large wooded structures--the sole purpose of those structures was for alignment and elevation (there are many more that are outside of the camera view).
- Jun 7, 2017
- 9,121
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
I’m excited to watch the progress on this very unique build! We have a sloped yard and over half of our pool is raised beam, so I’m very curious to see how yours turns out.
Yes, gunite is sprayed directly onto the fill bags. Properly packed gravel/fill bags should not move or compress once covered up.
I will probably use shotcrete, if I can find a shotcrete sub. Austin has very few shotcrete companies that do residential pools. The concern with gunite is getting a dry mix at the footers--dry mix will not provide good support.
I have been super busy at the office and have not had a lot of time to get online. The steel crew finished the steel. It took three guys six days to install the steel. A total of 6.5 tons of steel were placed in the pool.
I will do the plumbing and electrical; so things will slow down. I have already installed the 2" pipe for the globrite lights.
I have decided to do the plumbing to save costs. The plumber that I was going to use decided to increase the cost from $6k to $9.5k after seeing the pool structure. He told me that the plumbing would have been a 6 hour job prior to steel and now would take 2-3 days. The funny thing is that I decided to purchase the pipe and fittings from a local pool supplier and the total was right at $1k for the needed materials; so the plumber wanted approximately $5k of labor for 6 hours of work. And, at 2 days of work that would be $4k per day--must be a lot of profit in the swimming pool plumbing business (the plumbing quote only included pipe, fittings, glue, and labor).
I was fortunate to find a local shotcrete company. And, it has been suggested that I do a two stage pour/shoot. Stage one would be to pour the footers around the pool out of concrete--this would save cost as concrete is cheaper than shotcrete. Additionally, according the to shotcrete sub, concrete would create a better footer than shotcrete.
Below is a picture of the completed steel. Hurricane Harvey is supposed to hit Texas tonight, and we could get between 4" and 25" of rain coupled with strong winds. I hope that the storm does not damage the forms.
Attachments
That is 
about the price increase for the plumber! Really dude? Nope!
That steel looks awesome!
Here is hoping the forms stand up to the wind!!! Scary stuff in your part of the world right now
about the price increase for the plumber! Really dude? Nope!That steel looks awesome!
Here is hoping the forms stand up to the wind!!! Scary stuff in your part of the world right now
I would do the entire structure out of shotcrete. It shouldn't cost that much more unless rates in your area are way higher than they are here.
Shotecrete is going for $195-$200 yard. Concrete around $120 to $140. I am estimating the shotcrete for the pool at 120 yards. Some of the footers are pretty deep. I think the Shotecrete sub is concerned about nozzleman fatigue--they will have to be very careful/precise on the negative edge.
My concern with a two stage pour of different "concretes" is the cold joint.
As is mine... With shotcrete there really aren't cold joints if the start and stop point is done correctly. Shotcrete also yield higher PSI compressive strength even with the same design mix as poured concrete.
This sub is going to do 120 yards with one gun?
This sub is going to do 120 yards with one gun?
- Oct 18, 2009
- 3,637
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
- Sep 8, 2013
- 606
Just checking to make sure you know that you need to waterproof both sides of the infinity wall. They sell some products that are good for both sides.
Martin,
Thanks for the tip--I will take all of the tips that I can get. I was aware of the need for waterproofing, but do not have a good idea of what brand to use (I have seen Merlex Super Blockade used before--it is rated for positive and negative pressure).
- May 23, 2015
- 24,455
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
That's an amazing amount of concrete....
The guys that do the shotcrete work make it look effortless, but there's a lot of skill involved. I would imagine the wrong guy working the nozzle would make a total mess of a project that size. This was a quick and interesting read -
https://www.shotcrete.org/media/Archive/2011Sum_NozKnowledge.pdf
The guys that do the shotcrete work make it look effortless, but there's a lot of skill involved. I would imagine the wrong guy working the nozzle would make a total mess of a project that size. This was a quick and interesting read -
https://www.shotcrete.org/media/Archive/2011Sum_NozKnowledge.pdf