Building own pool... Floor not smooth, what next?

[moyerj26]

Hello,

ISSUE: Finished my sand/cement floor and there are high spots and areas where my troweling didn't end up perfectly leaving edges on the floor.

CONCERN: I will feel the bumps or edges after the liner/water are in.

NOTES: I'm putting 1/8in foam on the level spots, but not on the slopes.

QUESTION: How crucial is small trowel edges or high spots? What can I do to smooth the floor and fix high spots?

Thank you for your help. I'm doing the work myself for my first ever pool build.

 

[kimkats]

How high is high? edges- smoothish or pointy? The liner with water in it will emphasis every imperfection so..........you need to fix them the best you can.

Ideas on how to do it follow. I tend to throw ideas out there to see what will stick so here goes:

-grinder-play with different kinds of disk to see what works if it works at all

-if they are big enough a large, metal file to knock the tops off

I do worry about your idea of foam on only part of the bottom. I cannot think of a way to stop the edge from showing where it stops.

I hope this helps even a tiny bit. Let us know what you end up doing. We would LOVE to see some pics. That might give us some more ideas.

Kim

 

[moyerj26]

Thank you Kim..

I will post photos tomorrow morning.

High spot is about 1/2 high, but smooth.

I'm going to take a grinder with flexible disk, 24 grit to it tomorrow.

My pool kit company told me foam on the floor is really nice, but not to put it on the slope because it might slide.

I have a play bottom. Ends of the pool are 3'6", center deep part is 4'8". So it's only a 14 inch drop.

 

[kimkats]

Foam on the floor you will have to triple tape the seams to keep them from sliding apart. Several people use it on above ground pools. I have not seen any use it on inground pools. You will have to play around with it.

Oh a flexible disk! I like that idea.

Husband said to use care using that rough of a grit as it could cause gouges where what you want to do is smooth it. I would start with a smaller size (larger number) grit and see what it does. Better safe than sorry after all of your work. You do not want to cause more harm than good.

Kim

 

[xyz]

I assume this is a liner pool, so I assume you have mostly flat areas or sloped but flat facets you are talking about.

Did you use vermiculite mix? If yes, you have more and better options than below. If it is cement...

You want to diamond grind cured cement. If you have large areas that are supposed to be flat, I'd suggest you rent a cement floor grinding machine. Home depo has them. This will not work well

If if it is smaller local areas, you want to check out the DIY Brunswick Canada project--that guys setup seems pretty nice. But that takes a decent compressor so if you don't have one, this may be too costly, so, then I'd suggest 4" diamond wheels on an angle grinder, or a 7" diamond wheel on a polisher.

 

[moyerj26]

Thank you for you advice. Hope this will help you give me next steps.



After I grind it would I be able to use a concrete leveling mix to spread very thin to raise the low spots?

Here is what I'm working with. It is 5:1 ratio Sand to Cement.

 

[xyz]

Yup. Grind as flat and smooth as you can, and then fill the low spots. There is an epoxy-based repair cement you may want to look into. Plaster would work too if you are only filling small areas.

- - - Updated - - -

Yup. Grind as flat and smooth as you can, and then fill the low spots. There is an epoxy-based repair cement you may want to look into. Plaster would work too if you are only filling small areas.

I found the link to the guy that did what you are doing---the grinder he used.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/130326-Smoothing-hardened-vermiculite-base

 

[kimkats]

JON! That is the purrfect link for him to see! THANKS! I hope you find one to use!

Kim

 

[moyerj26]

I found the link to the guy that did what you are doing---the grinder he used.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/130326-Smoothing-hardened-vermiculite-base[/QUOTE]

Thank you XYZ, that was a perfect link and explanation of possible solution!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Jeremy- welcome to TFP neighbor! We'd love to see more pics of the pool's progress and more details about the build. Tell us how you decided to build your own?

About 5 more months till pool season begins!

Yippee