Concrete pool up north

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Hard to tell from the pictures - how is the counter top attached to the wall underneath it? I see that there is a bunch of rebar in the counter, is that fastened to any rebar in the wall, or is it just sitting on top of the wall?

If you have the counter rebar attached to whatever rebar is in the wall, or have some other solid attachment to the wall, I wouldn't worry about the strength all that much, as in order to collapse the counter, you'd have to topple the wall - which doesn't look likely. Your counter doesn't stick out from the wall that far, so there isn't a lot of leverage there that would move the wall...

Another option that might be worth thinking about is to put some sort of shelf brackets under the counter on the inside, essentially replacing those angle iron brackets you had holding up the forms with something fancier - I'd probably look for something in a black wrought or cast iron w/ scrollwork or other such decoration on it - make it look like it was a deliberate design...

Gooserider
 
Hi Gooserider!
No the counter isn't attached to the wall on the top beacuse of all the electrical tubes that runs under the first layer of concrete. I coulden't drill down any rebars beacuse of that. So it's just the bonding of the concrete that holds the counter. What I should have done was to extend the overhang on the outside. I can't belive I didn't do that. I will as I wrote in the last post, brick up a wall on the outside that will work as an counter weight aswell. But after laying sleepless tonight I decided that I will extend the countertop on the outside with additional 4".
With tha being done can I use 8" thick "clinkerblock" instead of a 4" that will cover the joint so it will be invisible. That extension will be attached both in the counter and the wall with rebars. That way can I have the whole neighborhood here dancing :cool:

This is probabaly the most stupid thing I have done since I started this build a loooong time ago :hammer: But there is no one to blame more than myself..... and I can't really leave it this way after have done the rest of the construction "sturdy" as someone earlier in the thread named it. One day of extra work what is that when all comes around....

Thanks dldivuall :wave: I think the black concrete looks better than I thought it would. It will lighten up a bit after it has dried but I think the sealent will restore it to the look it has at the moment. About the dancing ... you're probably right, if/when it happens I promise to post a pic of the embarassment here :cool:

//Mats
 
Matts, How about if you make a wooden form similar in size to the temp metal knee braces and pour the same material into them that you used on the counter-top to make matching knee braces. Perhaps you could leave a triangular hole in the middle of them to lighten them up a bit and make them look nicer. Then you could bond/glue them to the bottom of the new top and fasten them to the back wall providing strengh and at the same time they would not look like an afterthought. You could probalby even put a triangular bent re-bar inside each one.

Regarding the use of rigid PVC pipe and fittings on our underground pool piping. Here in Cancun we have limited availability of products and we must do with whatever can get the job done. Your idea about flexible heavy duty hose is good, but probably could not be obtained here. If your interested I have a complete album of photos (167) of my pool build on WebShots. You might find how they do things here in a 3rd world country interesting.

Here is the link: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/562927287Nqumkq

Good luck with your counter-top revisions. :goodjob:
 
Hi Tom! You made my evening by posting that link to your build.
I'm just up after a bad experience in the restaurang. Bad fish soup served from a snorky waitress, can't you excpect a waitress to atleast pretend that she have a somewhat good day??
So now when I'm here alone you pictures coulden't come more timely.

About making own brackets from concrete is an idea I haven't thought of actually. But I think it is more job and Eva prefer to have the counter without anything that hold it underneath.
Women Tom! Can't live with them or without them :twisted:

//Mats
 
Mats,

I have to say I'm totally amazed by your pool and your work!

I have a few questions and sorry if you have already answered them in previous posts. I read most of your posts in between chasing my 2 year old and emailing athletic profiles to different colleges for my teenager.

When did you start this pool build? Are you doing it all on your own?!?
 
Hi there Jenny :wave:
I know this sounds insane! I began to dig the hole in the end of august 2008 and it's still not finished. So tell you the truth Jenny there are really not much to be impressed by. Everything I have done is very doable for a DIY project, I mean no task are complicated but some requires quite some efforts speaking of times that need to be spent. I have done everything myself except for the digging. If I look back with the knowledge that I have today I'm pretty sure I woulden't start all over again. Forming and reinforce a pool the way I have done for one man takes a while :oops:
But now when the actually pool is finished I have all the energy in the world to spend on the poolarea as it seems. I can't help it but I think it's so inspiringly(as you can see on all the pictures I post). I'm very much aware of how pathetic some users think my posts are, putting up more pictures on a counter top than most posters do on a whole freeform pool that is soooo much more worth of showing. But since some seems to enjoy it and I really enjoy it myself I will continue to the bitter end :cool:
The poolarea is less hard labour and more fun to plan and see come along than it was to build the pool in the end, so today I'm more than inspired to finsih this project the best I can.
If it goes the way I hope, most of my plans gonna be fulfilled by the end of april. That forecast is of course dependig on the weather this winter will show us, since I have much concrete work left, but somewhere around there anyway..
Until then I will continue to post in this never ending log :cheers:

Jenny I was thinking of your build today when I was driving home and came to conlusion that there are just as much difference between your build and mine. That it is between mine and a inflatable pool. But then I reminded myself about a old saying that Buddhistic munks tells about things that shorten your life. One of those thing is envy so I decided to be glad for what I have and not looking over my shoulder of what others have. But I will follow your build closely Jenny :goodjob: and I know the thought will cross my mind that one day when I grow up I also gonna have a freeform pool with a deepend in the middle, with a inbuild spa :cool: But until then concrete pool up north will have to do.
btw can you think of a more corny name than concrete pool up north!!!... hahahah sometimes my childishness amazes me :cool:

Sorry for the long post Jenny!

//Mats
 
I'm also a DIY'er and when I finished to build my home, clearly remember to say:

Henry Porter said:
If I look back with the knowledge that I have today I'm pretty sure I woulden't start all over again.
Click to expand...

That was 15 years ago. Now i have built a second house; again said "this is the last time", four years ago, tired of everything of construction.

In January I will start to build my own pool.

So, if you are a DIY like me (that seems to me) in a few years we will be reading about your second pool as you have said already

"and I know the thought will cross my mind that one day when I grow up I also gonna have a freeform pool with a deepend in the middle, with a inbuild spa"

Best regards

Gumaro

""
 
I'm very much aware of how pathetic some users think my posts are...
Click to expand...
Don't kid yourself. Not for a moment.

I doubt anyone thinks of your posts or your pool as pathetic. I figure that anyone who might not want to see or read about it will simply not click up this thread. Personally, I've followed every step of your build, and look forward to all the pics you post. Personally, I really like seeing "Concrete pool up north" show up on the 'new posts' list. It's kindof like getting an unexpected gift - I'm duly impressed by the caliber of your work, and I'm obviously not alone - this thread has close to 6 and a half thousand views.
 

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Henry Porter said:
Everything I have done is very doable for a DIY project [...]
Click to expand...
Well... I've seen your work. For those of us who felt high school 'shop' class would be our undoing and as adults continue to draw all of our homebuilding and mechanical expertise from flimsy how-to guides available at home centers and lumber yards (they're free, by the way -- I know this to be true!) your DIY project is only doable in the most abstract sense. Better qualify the audience as dedicated Do-It-YourSelfers with a few years in the construction trades... and the rest of us. :roll:
 
Mats,
I was going over some old posts and realized we hadn't heard from you in a while. Are you snowed in? It doesn't seem the same without your regular updates. Anyway, Happy Holidays to you and your family!
(and maybe some pictures of the winter in Sweden for those of us who will probably never make it there? :wink: )
Cheers!
 
Hi there West Virginian girl :cheers:
I have always looked at your signature like it said WW-girl, like wolkswagen girl. I found that a little odd :eek: but what the heck a girl can be interested in cars, nothing odd with that :goodjob: It was first today I made the connection between Wv and west virginia
hehehe I'm think I'm back on track again :cool:

Na I'm not snowed in, not yet anyway but it has started to snow here quite a bit the last couple of days. So if we're lucky there might be a chance for a white christmas this year, not something you're spoiled with if you live where I do.
I have been here on a daily basis lurking, I'm little surprised that even at this time a year there are quite some activity here. Great for a pool addicts like myself.
I will start to interact a little more just as soon as the holiday is over. You see this monts is the most hectic in our family with both of our daughter's birthdays as the months prime. So that's the reason for my abscence last couples of weeks.

Despite that have I cheated little with my build on sparetimes :lol: So I have reinforced my countertop so I don't have to spend the holiday thinking about that mistake anymore :hammer: I have also started to string toghether all the blocks on the wall with black concrete. That turned out really good if I may say it myself. I can't take any pics at the moment beacuse of all the snow.
Wv-girl see If i get a chance to come to Pippi longstockings home village when there still is snow here. I think that you can find that a little exotic.

I have only been in three states in the US! California, Nevada and saltlake city and our landscape is very much different from that. It's a long country and the climate varies very much from north to south. One thing is common for the whole country though and that is all the forrest. Just a hour and half from the west coast(where I live) in the land is the place where All of Astrid Lindgrens films and characters took place.
It's like getting into a fairytail even for myslef when I drive in there. That is also the part of sweden where many of the people that immigrate to the US came from.

Christmas is for me the best holiday of the year! No doubt. Nothing beats christmas eve with all the good food and presents to the kids. everyone here eats what you call a "smorgos board" but a little modified, we call it christmas board when it's served to christmas but it reminds a lot of the regular smorgos board with a lot of herrings in all different flavours and shapes. I Love herrings you have to love it otherwis you're not a real swede :cool: It's a lot of fat and heavy food that you really get tired of as soon as the christmas is over. Problem is with all the leftovers that you get after every christmas. you save it a couple of days but it always ends with that you through it away eventually. So this year we have decided to shrink the amount of food of every dish a little so we don't have to waste all this food.


And last!!! Thanks to all of you that show interest in this little poolbuilder toiling in blood and sweat up there in the north somewhere, trying for the best of his ability to finish what he once started a long time ago :wave:.......... I told you WV I'm back :oops: hehehe :wave:
Happy christmas to all of you

Best regards
Mats

And no! I'm not drunk for you that wonders.
 
Oh, come on... not even a wee bit tipsy? :cheers:

All I know about Sweden is from Ingmar Bergman! But I think he lived on an island in the north of Sweden and I don't know which locations he used to film all of those wonderful movies. But everytime I see a Bergman film it makes me want to visit Sweden, with hopes of seeing a summer cottage and fields of strawberries, or an urban enclave featuring a mid-19th century theatre house, cobblestone streets and wicked lanterns (Fanny & Alexander.)
 
Hi Matts,

I found a few moments to catch up on your posts. I'm now one of your followers and can't wait to see things start up again for you when the ground thaws. It really is amazing what you have done.

I'm right there with you on the busy December month. Two of my children's b-days fall this month as well as mine on xmas eve. I really love the holiday season but this year I'm looking forward to January! This month is full of birthdays, holiday parties and shopping. I'm spending most of my time making changes to the pool and landscaping instead of enjoying the month :shock:

Keep us posted and please do post winter pics! It's been a long time since I have seen snow and I miss the beauty of it.
 
Cheers Drew!
right away I've found myself looking for tickets to Florida :cheers: What beer do you serve..Miller or Bud. I'm polite and drink them both so don't let that give you headace :cool:
Something that have been very popular here last couples of summers is rosé wine, do you fancy that?. Every person on a beer garden seems to drink it, so even we. Served well chilled with a few icecubes can even compete with an ice cold, at occasions. .
If you comes to our latitudes don't hesitate. Would be a pleasure showing tfp members around. And remeber that Halmstad is the place to be in the summer time if you visit Sweden. And when we get tired of the grog can we always take a swim in the longest building project in history, if it finished by then.
If we go back to the beers I think we have a few brands that can competet with lager from the big producers in europe like the Check republic for example! They are probably my favourite country If I have to choose one. Falcon beers have you them over there! if not try them if you stumble upon them. They are just as good as the famous danish brands like carlsberg and Tuborg.

If i got to choose one beer of the many I've tried it would probably be Thoeys dry from OZ. Can't get them here unfortunately so I haven't had them for many years now. In my memory is that beer the best. I drank tons of them when I was there but I guess I will be dissapointed next time I get them. To high of expectations. That is always the case with wines for example. If you have a great bottle on a vacations somewhere and want to experience that lovely taste again and spend a good amount of money just to get the same year and bottle again, you always end up dissapointed. I like wine but I'm lending more and more that wine experience is just as much depending on company and the moment itself as it is on the content in the bottle.
I've found an article about the two buch chuck that you have in the state and how that brand have turned around the wine business. Is it any good??
Do you know that if you pour white wine in one bottle and red in another and give it to people to try without pouring it up in a glass not many can tell white from red. Something to think about.

Polyvue what a movie! That should be a compulsory around christmas! Ingmar lived on Fårö on Gotland which is an island on the east coast.
He lived there among all the local farmers as neighbours( mostly old goat farmers). They protected him so he could live there without getting disturbed by the many admires that wanted to see him. No one of his neighbours talked about him or gave out his adress for outsiders. There is something likeable about that, that they lived together side by side with an total respect for each others. I think he had many good friends among his neighbours even if they where "just" regular farmers or perhaps beacuse of that.

Jenny you sweet thing
You have to go in to December with a thick wallet if you live under our circumstances don't you.... Mine is now thin as automn leave :hammer:
But again it so much worth it! I wonder when you pass the line in life when it gives you a better feeling to give than to get. Can that be the the real benchmark of getting old :wink:
Jenny! If I don't stop typing bad spelled words now we will end up with the situation that you will know more about me than myself. So this is good enough for now :goodjob:

Cýa
//Mats
 
Henry Porter said:
Polyvue what a movie! That should be a compulsory around christmas!
Click to expand...
Mats, I so much agree with you. Fanny och Alexander is a truly great movie. I think I like the 3 hour film version a little better than the longer TV version, but either one should rank as one of the best films of all time. And during this time of the year I watch it together with Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1951 British film, with Alastair Sim.) I'll be flying on Christmas eve this year -- both of these movies will be with me on the flight.
 

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