I was wanting to know has any pool builder had any experience with a gunite pool build next to a rock quarry that does blasting. How did it affect the pool?
Has anyone had experience?
- Thread starter jenflowers75
- Start date
Actually yes, within about 3 miles of a rock quarry. They do blasting but not very often, I think the owner said about once a month. It’s not open land in between, a freeway and lots of other housing tracks.
Have not heard about anything from the owner and it’s been a good 10 years since the completion of the project.
Have not heard about anything from the owner and it’s been a good 10 years since the completion of the project.
I am right beside the quarry. They blast at least twice a week . I have a vinyl pool that I want to turn into a gunite. A total renovation. They removed the old liner , they are no cracks in it. Is the material under liner stronger than gunite? Thank you.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,684
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
No, and that may be a good thing.
Buildings that are flexible and can sway without breaking survive the shock of earthquakes. Rigid structures crack under the stress of an earthquake shock.
Your gunite pool shell needs to be engineered for the shocks from the blasting. You cannot use a generic pool engineering plan that many builders use.
You probably need a structural engineer and a geotechnical engineer to design the proper pool shell as well as the ground support.
Can you feel the vibrations from the blasts?
Soil can have many different properties and vibrations add a whole new dimension to the soil stability.
Soil can actually "Liquify" due to strong vibrations and cause structures to sink.
Do you have any structural foundation issues with the house like sinking?
Have you had a geotechnical analysis done showing the soil properties including where bedrock is?
Can you feel the vibrations from the blasts?
Soil can have many different properties and vibrations add a whole new dimension to the soil stability.
Soil can actually "Liquify" due to strong vibrations and cause structures to sink.
Do you have any structural foundation issues with the house like sinking?
Have you had a geotechnical analysis done showing the soil properties including where bedrock is?
That's what I've been wondering.
Was the home foundation / slab built differently ? If not, how's it doing to the best of your knowledge? How old is the home ?
The home is a generational home. The foundation over time has cracked. Wow. You guys are really smart!! No I have not consulted anyone.
What is the cost of a struct
Yes, it sometimes rattles the windows and house.
I would suggest 5,000 psi, #4 rebar and 10" thickness for the shotcrete.
I would suggest that you have a structural engineer and a geotechnical engineer to design the proper pool shell as well as the ground support.
What is the warranty on the gunite/shotcrete shell?
I would suggest that you have a structural engineer and a geotechnical engineer to design the proper pool shell as well as the ground support.
What is the warranty on the gunite/shotcrete shell?
The blast creates shock waves that travel out and the energy is attenuated by an inverse square law.
The strength of the shock wave diminishes by the square of the distance.
For example, if the energy is 36,000 units at 100 feet, then it will be 9,000 units at 200 feet or 4,000 units at 300 feet etc.
Your engineer should know the strength of the blast and the distance.
The type of soil also affects the propagation of the shock wave.
If you have bedrock that is close to the surface, you can get reflections of the energy and this can create a second shock wave.
Do you get just one shock wave or do you get a second weaker wave?
If you get the second wave, how much is the time delay?
We do not know enough about the actual conditions to give you good specific advice.
You might need piles or piers to help support the pool depending on the soil conditions.
How far away is the blasting?
How much and what type of explosives are used?
What is being blasted?
The strength of the shock wave diminishes by the square of the distance.
For example, if the energy is 36,000 units at 100 feet, then it will be 9,000 units at 200 feet or 4,000 units at 300 feet etc.
Your engineer should know the strength of the blast and the distance.
The type of soil also affects the propagation of the shock wave.
If you have bedrock that is close to the surface, you can get reflections of the energy and this can create a second shock wave.
Do you get just one shock wave or do you get a second weaker wave?
If you get the second wave, how much is the time delay?
We do not know enough about the actual conditions to give you good specific advice.
You might need piles or piers to help support the pool depending on the soil conditions.
How far away is the blasting?
How much and what type of explosives are used?
What is being blasted?
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The 6" centers for the rebar might be a little bit tight.
The problem is something called "Shadowing", which is when the shotcrete gets blocked by the rebar and it is not properly encapsulated.
How will the new pool be built?
Is the old pool being completely removed?
What will the size and shape be for the pool?
What type of soil do you have?
The problem is something called "Shadowing", which is when the shotcrete gets blocked by the rebar and it is not properly encapsulated.
How will the new pool be built?
Is the old pool being completely removed?
What will the size and shape be for the pool?
What type of soil do you have?
- May 23, 2015
- 24,510
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Anything posted here is, at best, guesswork. As @JamesW stated, you need to PAY for a structural and geotechnical engineer to do the design based on specific knowledge of your local ground conditions. Your pool builder is not going to do that and he is basically giving you a generic proposal. It’s not sufficient. You can go with that generic proposal but it’s basically anyone’s guess if the pool will survive. Constant shock waves from blasting could eventually crack and destroy the pool shell. It’s like hitting a brick wall with a hammer … one blow here and there won’t matter but constant hammering will eventually destroy the wall.
Hopefully, the shock waves are not strong enough to damage the gunite/shotcrete, but we don't know for sure.
Maybe talk the the company that does the blasting to see what they can tell you.
They have engineers onsite that have to know what the issues are related to anything you want to build.
You can have your engineer contact the company to inquire about the issues.
Maybe talk the the company that does the blasting to see what they can tell you.
They have engineers onsite that have to know what the issues are related to anything you want to build.
You can have your engineer contact the company to inquire about the issues.
The quarry will probably be subject to many city, state and federal regulations including the maximum size of the blasts and requirements for recordkeeping like when and where the blasts happen and the amount of explosives used.
They will also probably need to measure and document the blast shockwaves at different point to document the blast energy radiated from the blast.
It is likely that at least some of the records will be available as public records.
The blasts might be a single blast or a timed array of individual blasts with millisecond delays between blasts.
Does the blast seem to be a single shock wave or a series of closely spaced shockwaves?
The energy dissipates pretty quickly.
For example, if the energy is 1,000,000 (1 Million) units at 100 feet, below is a chart of the energy at different distances.
Feet.........Energy.........Fraction.
100....... 1,000,000..........1
316...........100,000.......1/10
500.............40,000........1/25
1,000..........10,000........1/100
1,500............4,444........1/225
2,000............2,500.......1/400
3,000............1,111........1/900
4,000...............625........1/1,600
5,000..............400........1/2,500
10,000............100.......1/10,000
They will also probably need to measure and document the blast shockwaves at different point to document the blast energy radiated from the blast.
It is likely that at least some of the records will be available as public records.
The blasts might be a single blast or a timed array of individual blasts with millisecond delays between blasts.
Does the blast seem to be a single shock wave or a series of closely spaced shockwaves?
The energy dissipates pretty quickly.
For example, if the energy is 1,000,000 (1 Million) units at 100 feet, below is a chart of the energy at different distances.
Feet.........Energy.........Fraction.
100....... 1,000,000..........1
316...........100,000.......1/10
500.............40,000........1/25
1,000..........10,000........1/100
1,500............4,444........1/225
2,000............2,500.......1/400
3,000............1,111........1/900
4,000...............625........1/1,600
5,000..............400........1/2,500
10,000............100.......1/10,000
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That's 15,840 feet, which is pretty far.
Of course, it depends on the size of the blast.
The amount of energy at 3 miles will be approximately 1/25,000 compared to the energy at 100 feet.
So, that is a pretty big reduction.
If the energy is 1 Million units at 100 feet, then the energy at 3 miles will be about 40 units.
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Elevation changes, other structures in the ground such as vaults and utilities, I would think absorb some of the shock wave energy prior to getting to the final location?
It seems unlikely to me that the quarry would be allowed to send shockwaves out past their property that could crack concrete.
Unless they are doing underground nuclear testing, that much energy is unlikely.
I would be more worried about settling/sinking if the soil is sandy, low density or wet because vibrations can make heavy things sink in lower density soils.
In any case, an engineer is the best person to consult for a proper design.
Unless they are doing underground nuclear testing, that much energy is unlikely.
I would be more worried about settling/sinking if the soil is sandy, low density or wet because vibrations can make heavy things sink in lower density soils.
In any case, an engineer is the best person to consult for a proper design.
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