DIY Cement Block IG New project

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Any post-tension slab work being done down there? Would that be appropriate for a pool base? I don't know what's involved, construction-wise, but don't the tensioned slabs resist cracking and movement?
 
Hi 'pushin g',

I appreciate your in depth reply and I have started to work my way through your 2017 renovation project to see what more I can glean from there too. RE rectangle versus irregular, I have a limited amount of level space and the kidney/irregular shape will both utilize what I do have and blend well with the mountain above and below the pool I think, but as you say, I'm sure a rectangle would be easier :) The main dig is almost complete and I hope to post photos soon. Please do pitch in with any further suggestions as things progress.
 
Another thing you might consider is placing french drains at the bottom of your footers all around your pool, or at least on the uphill side. Of course that depends on your soils and how much rain you get in your area. I don't think most gunite pools are done this way, and I'm not sure if my pool has them as I did not build it, but house foundations, particularly those with basements usually have french drains placed around them for a number of reasons that may also benefit an in ground concrete block pool. Just a thought.
 
pushin glass said:
Another thing you might consider is placing french drains at the bottom of your footers all around your pool, or at least on the uphill side. Of course that depends on your soils and how much rain you get in your area. I don't think most gunite pools are done this way, and I'm not sure if my pool has them as I did not build it, but house foundations, particularly those with basements usually have french drains placed around them for a number of reasons that may also benefit an in ground concrete block pool. Just a thought.
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Fortunately drainage is not an issue here - there are muliple drainage canals already in place deflecting rain water from the mountain and it shouldn't be a concern in my particular situation, but thank you anyway :)
 

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GerryUK said:
As soon as admin upgrade my membership I will be happy to upload some....it's been a while since I paid.... I have received a receipt from Paypal but I'm still limited to 256kb of attachments
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01. Ironwork.jpg02. Floor poured & building walls.jpg03. Sun shelf floor - walls completed.jpg04. Two coats of waterproofing, rendering then tile.jpg05. Border stones and wait 2 weeks to cure.jpg06. Fill and finish cement deck.jpg07. Landscaping and pump housing left to complete.jpg08. Night with light.jpg These were the basic stages of construction. As a DIY project the outside labour costs were minimal and materials here in Colombia are more or less the same as in the US - including pump,filter and all construction materials used, the total cost was apprximately US$8,000. If anyone has any specific questions regarding block pool construction, I am by no means an expert, but I'm happy to share what I have learnt.
 
Your handy work would come in handy to one of our other posters. They bought a piece of property that came with a block wall pool that had a liner at one time. They were trying to figure out if they could plaster over the block, or would they have to do another liner.
I’m on my phone right now, but when I’m on my laptop I’ll try and find the thread.
 
If they have the block work already, as in photo 2 of my project, the next step was to apply two coats of a waterproof coating to the walls and floor. I used something called Sika-101 Mortar which is "a waterproof coating, made with cement and modified polymers that improve its manageability, strength and power adherence" and it goes on with a large brush, almost like a paint. Photo 3 shows the waterproofing applied. Once that was done, the walls and floor were rendered with cement plus a waterproof additive. I used Sika-1 which is "a white liquid additive improved with synthetic polymers that acts as an integral waterproofing by plugging pores and capillaries in mortars" to get the smooth finish as in photo 4. You are then ready to tile. I used Astral mosaic tile, manufactured in Spain and specifically for pools. For the tile adhesive, I used Corona Pegacor Flex and for the grout, I used Corona Concolor Max, both high quality products specifically for pools. The pool has been up and running for a month now and there is no water loss other than evaporation (confirmed by doing the bucket test).
 
I thought it was determined that building a block wall pool was one thing (and possible), but converting a liner pool, that utilized a block wall structure, into a block wall pool was something else again (and not likely possible). Did I misunderstand?
 
Arizonarob said:
Don’t know, that’s why I linked it. With his knowledge in this area, he may be able to offer up some advice.
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With the aforementined caveat, 'I am no expert', in my experience I see no reason why, when you have a pre-constructed cement block pool that has already shown that it can withstand the pressures etc with a liner, a comprehensive waterproofing process as described in my earlier post would not serve to complete the job, as it did for me.
 

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