DIY Pool.... Sheesh What Fun....

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GregJ

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Jun 18, 2009
17
New here and I have a few questions. Probably a little background would be appropriate. Several years ago, my CFO (wife :roll: ) authorized the acquisition of a small Kubota tractor with a backhoe. It came on one condition.... Someday I build her a small pool. All she wanted was a soaking pool slightly larger than a hot tub. So, the year has come to make good on this promise and I have been researching to the point where my google icon is basically worn out. I have gone into this as a total pool neophyte, but I have a tendency to jump off the high dive and invent the water on the way down. Life is a little more exciting that way :lol: . Overall, the project has gone quite well (I think). I have overcome the construction, plumbing, heating, filtering, salt chlorinator, deck and tiling questions..... and just when I think I am in the home stretch, I am stalemated with a surfacing issue. :oops: I had done some preliminary research and felt that Sani-tred would work quite well. Now I am seeing Epoxy finishes that might be better. Then I am advised to do plaster. So, here is my dilemna.... Plastering is out of our budget (I think). The epoxy finishes I have been reading about here are getting a bad rap for customer service. I was convinced that UltraPoly One Coat was the answer until I found out that it will not bond to concrete with fiber mesh.... or at least that voids the warranty. This seemed like it would be the least of my issues. It is bare concrete. There should be a coating that is designed to bond easily to bare concrete with fiber mesh. I have not found a simple solution. So, I am putting this out to the experts here. For reference, this is a poured pool, internal dimensions of 6'8" x 16'8" x 47" deep below the waterline tile. Attached is a picture.
Thank you in advance.

Greg
Pool19.JPG
 
Welcome to TFP.

I don't think plaster is all that expensive if you DIY. Takes some learning, though. You could have a liner made to fit the pool too.

Your steps look pretty scary to me without a handrail. Mine are 7ft wide and it can be awkward stepping into the water on them without grabbing the rail. Hard to see, a little slick and the water can make your foot not go exactly where you think it will.
 
Welcome to TFP!!

That's a pretty cool little pool! :goodjob:

While it's far from optimal, you can always "brown coat" (sponge a portland/ water coat on) it and paint the pool. I prefer plaster, but that's only because (other than painting) it's the only way I've done pools.

Where are the returns? - I see the 2 skimmers but not the returns. (are those them in the floor? - you would do well to have at least 1 wall return to provide surface circulation)
 
Waste,
Thank you. There are 2 skimmers, 2 floor returns (can't see in the picture) and 2 adjustable floor inlets. I think I should be ok there. Thanks for the "brown coat" suggestion.

John T.,
You are right about the stairs. This pool is so small that to put standard rise & run stairs, it would have taken up half the pool. We are going to try it for one year with texture and heavily accented tiles on each step and see how it goes. We liked the idea of the bench seating and a railing really gets in the way. Since I am building it myself, I feel I can modify as we get used to it.

Greg
 
Thought I would post an update and ask a few more questions. We ended up using Olympic 2 part epoxy Gunzite primer and Zeron topcoat. Overall it went fairly smoothly except for the weather. We had unexpected rain and ended up building a tent over the pool to finish. Here is the finished product:

Pool22.JPG

Pool23.JPG


Here is the mechanical center for the pool. Hayward 6003 heat pump, Hayward 1hp superpump, Hayward sand filter and an Aquarite chlorine generator.

Pool24.JPG


The pool is heating, pumping and everything is going well except for one thing. Periodically the pool fills with microscopic little bubbles that cloud the water in the entire pool. It will last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. Then it clears up crystal clear. My assumption is that this is caused by the chlorine generator. Is this normal? Could somebody shed some light on this for me?

Thanks,
Greg
 
Hi Greg!
I really like how you felt in the skimmers into the wall right on the top instead of pour them in a lil lower, the way I did it. This is soooo much better looking. I wish I would have seen that before i started my build :(
Very nice looking pool Greg . I guess you wife are satisfied with the result :wave:
 
Thank you all for your kind words. This has been a VERY interesting project. We wanted a VERY small pool on a VERY small budget. In fact, our budget was around $10k. We actually came in pretty close to our original budget. However..... the toll on my body was pretty incredible. The only thing I hired was the actual pouring of the concrete, except the stairs and bench.... I did that. I did all the excavation, plumbing, electrical, slab forms, coping forms, rebar, tile, concrete finishing and paint. There is over a 1/2 mile of rebar in this thing. When the "Big One" comes, I want to be in the pool. I knew it would be a big project, but this was way more than I thought. I am 57 years old and I found out that I was 57 years old on this project... Ibuprofen became my best friend. However, I am glad I put the push on because we are going to have record breaking heat this coming week and I can't believe how much I am enjoy spending time in this little pool. It is VERY relaxing and I really need that right now. (Especially with a nice blended margarita in our new plastic pool glasses.....)

As far as the "tiny bubble" problem I am having, I posted over in the SWG forum and got some great help. It is the SWG and the bubbles are hydrogen. I did make a small adjustment to my inlets to increase the flow and it appears that it is less of a problem.

Oh.... and yes! The CFO is VERY happy. It has added a whole new dimension to our home.

Thanks to all,
Greg
 

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GregJ said:
I found out that I was 57 years old on this project... Ibuprofen became my best friend. However, .....
Click to expand...

Oh do I hear you!

I'm 41 and since 17 was an avid "gym rat", martial arts... you name it. After a shoulder surgery in 98 and again in 2002 my heavy lifting days were pretty much over. Nursing a "slightly worn" rotator cuff, I began my pool build last year starting with the Trac hoe and the Bobcat earth mover.

Boy do I feel old!. My joints hurt but I'm in the home stretch now. I've had to ease up at the gym so I don't destroy what's left of my joints. I tell my wife:

When this project is all done . . . . you can push me out in my wheel-chair and I can admire everything that I've done! :cheers:

Great work!
 
Well.... We just got out of the pool after 4 neighbors dropped by. A margarita and 90 degree pool temp is just right for the Pacific NorthWET. We have enjoyed this a lot. A pool this small heats up with the heat pump very fast. I am fairly confident the energy bill won't be too bad. So far no problems with any of the mechanics and I really like the SWC. The water is crystal clear and great on our skin. I did buy a PoolBlaster Catfish for cleaning and so far I am not that impressed with it. It gets the big stuff, but just redistributes the fine sand. I guess I'm going to have to keep looking. I just need something simple that will get the fine stuff.

Mermaid Queen, the shakes on that building are 30 years old and were lousy to begin with. That is my shop and an adjoining storage building. We do have heavy shakes on the house that are in much better shape and almost 30 years old as well. Unfortunately I am going to have to replace the shop roof very soon and since I blew our budget on a pool..... I guess it's gonna be cheap composition..... :(

Thanks,
Greg
 
Glad you posted your comment about the catfish. I was thinking about getting one for those quick cleanups. I don't really get that much big stuff. (Perhaps a leaf or 2). I do get some fine "stuff" and i was thinking about getting one. Maybe I should re-consider.
 
Pool4me,
I do have to admit that I haven't even read the manual yet..... I guess I am gender challenged in that.. :oops: . I am going to do that right now and see if there is a finer filter or solution they recommend. If there is anything significant, I'll post it.

Greg

OK... I read the 32 page manual.... 3 pages of English :roll: .... and they spoke of a sand and silt filter available at PoolBlaster.com. So I went to their site. Uhmmmm, I had a bit of trouble getting off of their home page... Dang, blondes like that can be a REAL distraction... ok back on topic... here is the link: http://store.watertechcorp.com/-strse-108/Catfish-Sand-and-Silt/Detail.bok Although you have to go to their home page to see the blonde.....
 
I have the PoolBlaster but I think the filter mechanism is very similar. What I do is use a skimmer sock inside the regular filter bag thing. I just cuff the sock opening over the cup part and the whole thing still goes together quite nicely.
 
You know,

I was wondering the same thing. I was thinking about the possiblility of using a skimmer sock in the catfish. (Love the way it works in my skimmer!)

I too saw the blonde. Kind of forgot what I was looking for on the site after that. Have to go back.... :mrgreen:
 
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