Search results

  1. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Quick update - vacuuming to waste was the right answer, so thanks again folks and especially @Bill1974 for that guidance. Incredibly the vacuum pretty much liquidised even the worst of the mud and flushed it down the waste, a lot of small stones and grit got caught in either the vacuum basket or...
  2. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Yep, that might be a tad chilly! also not sure a turkey baster would make much of an impression!! I did think about a wet'r'dry vacuum though, so as to suck the stuff out without it getting in the pipes... but I do think maybe vacuuming to waste is the only viable option. Hopefully with the...
  3. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    I guess vacuuming to waste is probably the right answer. I initially thought it would be a great idea to try and scoop out the worst of it with a leaf net... that wasn't such a great idea, as it turns out, because of course it just kicked up the dirt so I can't see a thing (and what I scooped...
  4. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Firstly thanks for the insights, very helpful. We'd decided to leave the pipes be (it's 1.5 inch ABS pipe with decent wall thickness and in reasonable shape as far as we can tell) but have accidentally exposed part of the run during excavation... doesn't seem to have caused any damage to the...
  5. IMG_4175.jpeg

    IMG_4175.jpeg

  6. IMG_4218.jpeg

    IMG_4218.jpeg

  7. IMG_4189.jpeg

    IMG_4189.jpeg

  8. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Having now spoken to a bunch of people, we're now going to go with a 3 inch concrete slab on top of a sub base of crushed stone. We'll lay our paving slabs onto the concrete slab (onto a shallow bed of sand and cement mortar). Apart from anything else, the slab will help to get exactly the falls...
  9. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Apologies in advance if it's bad form to reply to your own post! So I've now spoken to some other people and the consensus seems to be that it should be fine to put down a sub-base of 6" of compacted crushed stone and then pave onto that, laying our concrete paving slabs onto a bed of...
  10. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    That looks great, and the French drain you put in is a really neat-looking solution (incidentally, I just took a look at your 'liner replacement' thread and you've done an incredible job!). I've attached a plan of mine; my current thinking is to put in a French drain across where the red dashed...
  11. poolareaplan.png

    poolareaplan.png

  12. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Sorry for the delayed response and thanks for this info. The copings are shaped (see photo) so hopefully will help very slightly to keep stuff from going in the pool, but I think we will need to put some falls onto the paved area; right now not sure whether to also put in a drain+drywell into...
  13. sahara_stone.jpg

    sahara_stone.jpg

  14. IMG_3969.jpeg

    IMG_3969.jpeg

  15. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    This is very helpful, thank you.
  16. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Thanks for all the useful insights! Yes, I think you're right about the rainwater... we'll try to get an appropriate slight fall so rainwater will flow across to the grass. I even wondered about cutting in a drain/soakaway where the paving meets the grass. I also think maybe manual tamping...
  17. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Time to share my next concern, I hope this is OK... regarding the paving around the pool. It's basically concrete "reconstituted stone" paving/tiling, in 1" thick slabs (matches the depth of the outside edge of the copings). Of course I'll need to ensure I've got a level base that's completely...
  18. gregch

    Grit settled beneath pump basket

    That's a very sensible idea!
  19. gregch

    Grit settled beneath pump basket

    Ah, that's reassuring, thank you. It doesn't sound catastrophic, just a little noisier than it was (and it's been noisy the whole time we've been here) in a way that doesn't sound like bearings (I mean the bearings may well be suboptimal too, but). Any yes, you're right, it certainly doesn't...
  20. gregch

    Grit settled beneath pump basket

    I went to start up the pump and found this settled grit on the bottom of the pump basket chamber. I cleaned it out before starting the pump, but is this likely to have damaged the pump? - it seemed noisier than ever last season (I thought bearings, but info on this forum makes me wonder about...
  21. IMG_3809.jpeg

    IMG_3809.jpeg

  22. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Well I guess it's possible that the previous owner made a deliberate decision to elevate the pool edge so that stuff didn't wash into the pool. There's certainly some logic to that. We do plan to raise up the paving a fair bit, so as to match the outer edge of the new copings but we have...
  23. IMG_3854.jpeg

    IMG_3854.jpeg

  24. IMG_3866.jpeg

    IMG_3866.jpeg

  25. IMG_3862.jpeg

    IMG_3862.jpeg

  26. IMG_3860.jpeg

    IMG_3860.jpeg

  27. gregch

    Pool Refurb

    Hello folks, haven't posted here in a while, good to be back! Our pool came with the house and was already very old and a bit dilapidated when we moved in 10 years ago! I believe it's exactly as originally built in 1987 - including the vinyl liner. With some help I've managed to keep it ticking...
  28. IMG_2497.jpeg

    IMG_2497.jpeg

  29. gregch

    Replacing backwash/waste pipe, but with what?

    Like the sound of that. We're in the UK so no Home Depot here, but should be able to find something like that. Forgive the idiot question, but is Poly the same as we would call PVC, or I guess maybe not (PVC = poly vinyl chloride, vs Poly = polyethylene). But flexible, black and maybe bury-able...
  30. gregch

    Replacing backwash/waste pipe, but with what?

    Well I do know someone that might be able to get a hold of decommissioned fire hose, so I'll look into that, but the joins might be problematic...