Hi Andrew69, just stumbled across this as im also contemplating building a Lautner edge pool myself at our place in Sydney and am super impressed with your skills and posts. Did it ever get finished?
Marcel
Marcel
Lautner Edge Pool, Australia - Finally complete!
- Thread starter Andrew69
- Start date
G'day from Melbourne, just across the border, I've also just found this great thread - how's your build going Andrew?
Hi All!
Been a while since I posted in this thread!
Pool is still under construction. Not much to go really (finish polishing pool surrounds, interior and pool equipment), Im just too busy to get it finished.
While try to get some more photos up soon
Been a while since I posted in this thread!
Pool is still under construction. Not much to go really (finish polishing pool surrounds, interior and pool equipment), Im just too busy to get it finished.
While try to get some more photos up soon
Oh wow! I was hoping you'd come back and not leave us hanging!
Welcome back. I'm seriously looking forward to more pictures!
Welcome back. I'm seriously looking forward to more pictures!
Merry Christmas to all at TFP!
Surprise, surprise.....pool is still not finished!
Began a new business some time ago, so all my time (and money) has been devoted to getting that off the ground.
Now its up and running and actually making me money, pool is back on the agenda
Stay tuned for more photos in the next few months!
Surprise, surprise.....pool is still not finished!
Began a new business some time ago, so all my time (and money) has been devoted to getting that off the ground.
Now its up and running and actually making me money, pool is back on the agenda
Stay tuned for more photos in the next few months!
Hi Andrew - Impressive build - Just stumbled on your thread due to your post above - Will keep an eye out for updates - Awesome work....!
Here we are in mid 2019 and.....still no pool!
Actually working on it today.
Cutting around the Launter edge to get it dead straight.
Yes it was "straight" before, but I want it straighter
Ive been told in no uncertain terms by the Boss that the pool MUST be finished this year so we can swim in it this summer.
Had some technical issues to overcome which I have now found a solution for, so the build can progress.
Will post pictures soon
Actually working on it today.
Cutting around the Launter edge to get it dead straight.
Yes it was "straight" before, but I want it straighter
Ive been told in no uncertain terms by the Boss that the pool MUST be finished this year so we can swim in it this summer.
Had some technical issues to overcome which I have now found a solution for, so the build can progress.
Will post pictures soon
Here we are in mid 2019 and.....still no pool!
Actually working on it today.
Cutting around the Launter edge to get it dead straight.
Yes it was "straight" before, but I want it straighter
Ive been told in no uncertain terms by the Boss that the pool MUST be finished this year so we can swim in it this summer.
Had some technical issues to overcome which I have now found a solution for, so the build can progress.
Will post pictures soon
Please do post pictures. Its been awhile and we'd love to follow this build to the end!
Hello all!
Still going
Plan is to be swimming for Christmas
Will post pictures of the works progressing in a few days.
Currently have a fairly major supplier issue with some pool parts (in-floor cleaning nozzles) that is giving me sleepless nights so will post a seperate thread to see if someone knows someone that could help out.
Still going
Plan is to be swimming for Christmas
Will post pictures of the works progressing in a few days.
Currently have a fairly major supplier issue with some pool parts (in-floor cleaning nozzles) that is giving me sleepless nights so will post a seperate thread to see if someone knows someone that could help out.
So an update as there where we're at.
I did manage to source the body for the inflow cleaning nozzles. Astral Australia told my supplier half a dozen times that they no longer imported the nozzles into Australia, only for us to be told this week that they do have them in stock and that they have another 500 due early in the new year.
So, I now have the nozzles on the way, in Sky Blue (rather than white), but at a rather exorbitant price. Unfortunately, we dont have a choice at this stage, so just have to cop it.
Have made significant progress over the last few weeks, although it looks like we have done almost nothing.
I had a major issue with the drains around the pool in that the PVC formwork that I had installed had started to come away from the pool surrounds and was full of debris. This also meant that any water that flowed from the pool deck back towards the pool was caught by the PVC and directed under the pool deck back under the house. Not an ideal situation.
So the wife and I spent several weekends clearing away all the debris and gluing the PVC back up to the concrete to make it watertight again.
A very slow process when you only have a maximum of 1/2" gap to play with.
Once that was completed, I still wasn't happy as I was concerned that the PVC could still come away over time and I was also concerned that heavy splashing in the pool could lead to water being forced into the drains and it could possibly flow over the back of the drain if there was any point where the water stop between the pool shell and the pool deck had been compromised, and unfortunately, there was no way of knowing.
So the wife came up with a idea to use a flashing that would cover the PVC and divert any splashed water so that it was unlikely to cause any issue.
I had a 316 stainless steel flashing bent up to suit. This flashing was then inserted into the drain and glued using an expoxy to the concrete pool deck. It also covers the top edge of the PVC so it cant come away from the pool deck.
We have had several storms as well as we have flooded the area and it works perfectly!
The previous leaks I had are gone and the flashing also stops you looking into the drain so you cant see anything so everything looks really neat.
While it was a time consuming and costly exercise, we're really happy with the result.
I did manage to source the body for the inflow cleaning nozzles. Astral Australia told my supplier half a dozen times that they no longer imported the nozzles into Australia, only for us to be told this week that they do have them in stock and that they have another 500 due early in the new year.
So, I now have the nozzles on the way, in Sky Blue (rather than white), but at a rather exorbitant price. Unfortunately, we dont have a choice at this stage, so just have to cop it.
Have made significant progress over the last few weeks, although it looks like we have done almost nothing.
I had a major issue with the drains around the pool in that the PVC formwork that I had installed had started to come away from the pool surrounds and was full of debris. This also meant that any water that flowed from the pool deck back towards the pool was caught by the PVC and directed under the pool deck back under the house. Not an ideal situation.
So the wife and I spent several weekends clearing away all the debris and gluing the PVC back up to the concrete to make it watertight again.
A very slow process when you only have a maximum of 1/2" gap to play with.
Once that was completed, I still wasn't happy as I was concerned that the PVC could still come away over time and I was also concerned that heavy splashing in the pool could lead to water being forced into the drains and it could possibly flow over the back of the drain if there was any point where the water stop between the pool shell and the pool deck had been compromised, and unfortunately, there was no way of knowing.
So the wife came up with a idea to use a flashing that would cover the PVC and divert any splashed water so that it was unlikely to cause any issue.
I had a 316 stainless steel flashing bent up to suit. This flashing was then inserted into the drain and glued using an expoxy to the concrete pool deck. It also covers the top edge of the PVC so it cant come away from the pool deck.
We have had several storms as well as we have flooded the area and it works perfectly!
The previous leaks I had are gone and the flashing also stops you looking into the drain so you cant see anything so everything looks really neat.
While it was a time consuming and costly exercise, we're really happy with the result.
Biggest job left before completing the pool itself now is cladding of the bridge over the pool.
Cladding is an Australian made composite aluminium cladding that is non combustible.
I am bending the sheets so that they form the soffit of the underside of the bridge as well cover the stringers of the stairs in one sheet.
Manufacture isn't hard once you have ridiculously accurate measurements. The old adage of measure twice, cut once has never been more accurate!
Except its more like measure 10 times and cut once, because if you get it wrong, the sheet is pretty much scrap as they're too small to be remanufactured to be used elsewhere.
So working all day yesterday, I made and installed 2 sheets.
I will make another sheet today, but I won't install it yet (the sheets are bonded and secret screwed) as Im waiting for a couple of sacrificial anodes to be delivered so I can fix them to the structure of the bridge before I finish the cladding.
Sheets are temporarily propped until the adhesive cures, but I peeled off some of the protective plastic just to score some points with the wife
Cladding is an Australian made composite aluminium cladding that is non combustible.
I am bending the sheets so that they form the soffit of the underside of the bridge as well cover the stringers of the stairs in one sheet.
Manufacture isn't hard once you have ridiculously accurate measurements. The old adage of measure twice, cut once has never been more accurate!
Except its more like measure 10 times and cut once, because if you get it wrong, the sheet is pretty much scrap as they're too small to be remanufactured to be used elsewhere.
So working all day yesterday, I made and installed 2 sheets.
I will make another sheet today, but I won't install it yet (the sheets are bonded and secret screwed) as Im waiting for a couple of sacrificial anodes to be delivered so I can fix them to the structure of the bridge before I finish the cladding.
Sheets are temporarily propped until the adhesive cures, but I peeled off some of the protective plastic just to score some points with the wife
Pool interior has also arrived and it sitting in my garage on 4 pallets.
We decided on Quartzon
Colour is called Pacific Star. Its mid blue colour.
Not looking forward to carrying 210, 44lb bags upstairs though!
We decided on Quartzon
Colour is called Pacific Star. Its mid blue colour.
Not looking forward to carrying 210, 44lb bags upstairs though!
Work has been overwhelming this silly season so we are behind with the pool
Cladding will have to wait.
Found a bow in one wall of the pool. Its only 1/2 inch, but that more than enough to annoy me when each side should have been dead straight.
Have started to build out the bow with render so that the Quartzon goes on at 3/8" as per manufacturer specs.
Pool equipment is almost all here are well.
2x Astral Viron P520XT pumps for filtering
2x Astral Viron P320XT pumps for inflow cleaning.
2 x 36" Waterco Media Filters with Glass Media
Viron Connect 10 controller controlling EQ45 salt chlorinator, pH dosing, lighting, solar heating, etc
Still waiting for the inflow cleaning nozzles and distribution valves (2 of as we have 10 in floor cleaning circuits with a total of 34 nozzles)
Original design called for a single P520XT running both distribution valves but I wasn't happy with the way it was designed as it had the first distribution valve running for 4 circuits and the final 2 outlets of the valve running the second distribution valve which meant that the last 6 circuits would only be getting 33% of the total pump output so either the pump had to run for much longer to ensure that all circuits got enough water which also meant the first 4 circuits were being over cleaned, or the last 6 circuits would not be cleaned properly.
I wasn't happy with that so now I have a P320XT pump running each distribution valve separately. As I only need 5 circuits per valve (put they are built with six), I will plumb the last circuit to go through the filter to help speed up the water turnover.
Also received my permit to fill the pool from the local water authority.
As other Aussies will know, we are currently suffering through an incredibly tough drought and have water restrictions in place.
You need a permit to fill any pool over 500 L in capacity.
My wife and I both feel pretty Dang bad about using so much water to fill a pool when farmers even 15 minutes drive away are struggling to feed their livestock, but we have done as much as we can to make the pool water efficient.
I have a 10kL (2640 gal) catch tank that will store rainwater than falls in the pool and then reuse it as evaporation lowers the pool level.
We also have a 27kL (7100 gal) rainwater tank that is fed off almost all of our house so any little bit of rain fall means we harvest a lot of water and store in onsite for reuse.
And as part of the permit, we are required to install a pool cover to minimise evaporation.
More photos to come this weekend
Plan now is to fill between Christmas and New Years and sit and enjoy a drink during New Years in our pool!
Cladding will have to wait.
Found a bow in one wall of the pool. Its only 1/2 inch, but that more than enough to annoy me when each side should have been dead straight.
Have started to build out the bow with render so that the Quartzon goes on at 3/8" as per manufacturer specs.
Pool equipment is almost all here are well.
2x Astral Viron P520XT pumps for filtering
2x Astral Viron P320XT pumps for inflow cleaning.
2 x 36" Waterco Media Filters with Glass Media
Viron Connect 10 controller controlling EQ45 salt chlorinator, pH dosing, lighting, solar heating, etc
Still waiting for the inflow cleaning nozzles and distribution valves (2 of as we have 10 in floor cleaning circuits with a total of 34 nozzles)
Original design called for a single P520XT running both distribution valves but I wasn't happy with the way it was designed as it had the first distribution valve running for 4 circuits and the final 2 outlets of the valve running the second distribution valve which meant that the last 6 circuits would only be getting 33% of the total pump output so either the pump had to run for much longer to ensure that all circuits got enough water which also meant the first 4 circuits were being over cleaned, or the last 6 circuits would not be cleaned properly.
I wasn't happy with that so now I have a P320XT pump running each distribution valve separately. As I only need 5 circuits per valve (put they are built with six), I will plumb the last circuit to go through the filter to help speed up the water turnover.
Also received my permit to fill the pool from the local water authority.
As other Aussies will know, we are currently suffering through an incredibly tough drought and have water restrictions in place.
You need a permit to fill any pool over 500 L in capacity.
My wife and I both feel pretty Dang bad about using so much water to fill a pool when farmers even 15 minutes drive away are struggling to feed their livestock, but we have done as much as we can to make the pool water efficient.
I have a 10kL (2640 gal) catch tank that will store rainwater than falls in the pool and then reuse it as evaporation lowers the pool level.
We also have a 27kL (7100 gal) rainwater tank that is fed off almost all of our house so any little bit of rain fall means we harvest a lot of water and store in onsite for reuse.
And as part of the permit, we are required to install a pool cover to minimise evaporation.
More photos to come this weekend
Plan now is to fill between Christmas and New Years and sit and enjoy a drink during New Years in our pool!
You have been busy! Good job finding the bow and taking care of it!
Glad you do the permit to fill the pool. Sad your area is going through the water shortage NOT a fun time for sure. Hope it ends soon.
New Years IN the pool would be awesome!!!
Kim
Glad you do the permit to fill the pool. Sad your area is going through the water shortage
NOT a fun time for sure. Hope it ends soon.New Years IN the pool would be awesome!!!
Kim
Its NYE hear in Australia and we didn't quite make it
Still waiting on some pool equipment (inflow cleaning distribution valves which were supposed to be in stock at my supplier on the 10th of December), but otherwise we have everything else and the missing parts won't hold up the progress of the build.
FINALLY finished work for a couple of weeks so now working on the pool full time.
Been spending a couple of hours each night on the pool plumbing and that's getting close to finished.
Depending on the weather tomorrow (ie if its really hot) I will finish off the plumbing otherwise its prepping the pool shell for the Quartzon interior
Hope everyone has a safe and joyous NYE and see you all next decade!
Still waiting on some pool equipment (inflow cleaning distribution valves which were supposed to be in stock at my supplier on the 10th of December), but otherwise we have everything else and the missing parts won't hold up the progress of the build.
FINALLY finished work for a couple of weeks so now working on the pool full time.
Been spending a couple of hours each night on the pool plumbing and that's getting close to finished.
Depending on the weather tomorrow (ie if its really hot) I will finish off the plumbing otherwise its prepping the pool shell for the Quartzon interior
Hope everyone has a safe and joyous NYE and see you all next decade!
Man those valves have been a pain for this build! Here is hoping they show up and are what you need!!!
Here is hoping 2020 is a great year for you and your pool!!
Kim
Here is hoping 2020 is a great year for you and your pool!!
Kim
Wow this is an intense build. Thank you so much for sharing. Love the detail. We built a nearly net zero house and then a after pool and we would of killed to have someone with your level of detail involved.
G'Day from Australia!
Pool is FINALLY complete!
My gosh, what a drama filled effort that was!
Pool was filled and then emptied , then party re-filled about 6 times and now finally full!
After all that effort, I was let down by the advice (and workmanship) of others and....we had a major leak...leaks actually!
We were losing about 2000L per day...all of it ending up under our house
Grab some popcorn or a beer (or both)...because this is going to be long!
We have an expansion joint half way along the pool due to its length.
Was recommended that we use a rear water stop during the build
A rear water stop is a formed seal that sits on the outside of the shell and the concrete is blasted into it (leaving a centre section empty for the actual expansion joint) that should form a watertight seal but still allowing each side of the pool to expand and contract.
The concrete was not correctly shot into the seal leaving me with voids through which the water could escape.
Then I was advised to use an expanding cork as a backing for the actual silicon seal
Because the shotcrete was done poorly, the joint was not even and the cork wasn't totally tight in a couple of spots. Strike two
Applied a special epoxy primer for the silicon, only to realise it was out of date after I applied it.
This was three days before Christmas last year and everything was already closed and the Mrs was adamant the pool had to be full for Christmas as we had family coming over (we were lucky like that in Australia, Covid didn't disrupt us much at all)
So I risked it and applied the silicon and started filling the pool the next day
Filled the pool and by the time it was full it was leaking like a sieve
My only saving grace is that because of the way my house is built, I had a fair idea where the water was coming from.
Swum on Christmas Day and Boxing day and then emptied the pool
While emptying I check every penetration with dye to look for leaks. Didnt find anything
Cut open the expansion joint and it was soaked all behind so I thought I had found the issue and was good to go.
This time I used a specific seal designed for swimming pool expansion joints
Was advised by the distributor that I only needed one layer, so I used two along with a layer of bentonite clay between the two seals, and then silicon on top of all that.
I did not want to repeat this repair again!
Started filling the pool, leak starts again...Dang it....but at least it was only minor, but still enough that it could not be left
Emptied again, scratched my head for a few days and decided that it could be the main drain as I had replaced the original main drain due to getting damaged while building the house and I couldn't remember if I had glued the bung for the hydrostatic valve or not (I dont need a hydrostatic valve as the pool is actually above ground and as you can tell by the leaks, any water underneath can escape without trying to lift the shell)
When I removed the old broken main drain I had to use a die grinder to clean out the last of the drain which was glued to a coupling and I thought that I had possibly ground slightly too much somewhere which allowed water to escape once the pressure was high enough.
So I cleaned out the pipe and used an epoxy putty to seal a slight gap between the drain and the pipe. Let it dry, and partially refilled and let sit for a few days.
No leaks so continued filling....and then it started to leak again. FML!
Drop the water level so I can reach the drain and then pressure test that pipe along with any other pipe that was under the waterline.
All held pressure perfectly fine so I thought I was golden...except that also meant that I didnt have another suspect and had no idea where it might be leaking from. Bummer
Started filling again, got past three pipes that flow out for the inflow cleaning and the Dang thing starts leaking again.
Wife has been nagging me the past two months that she thinks that its leaking around one of those pipes are the render was 100% perfect around it.
I preceded to tell her how she had no idea what she was talking about (that always goes down well!) and that it was impossible as all penetrations had been sealed with an expanding silicon that would self seal if it was leaking, but what the heck, I had nothing to lose and would test anyway, just to make her happy.
Im still not sure what emotions I felt when I checked with the dye and it was leaking ( a lot!) right where she said it was
I was excited to find the leak, but not excited to know that for the next few weeks (and possibly months) I would hear her retell the story of how she was right and I was wrong.
So , sealed that with an epoxy putty (and long with any other penetration that looked suspect) and filled the Dang thing again, hoping for the best, but somehow still expecting the worst
To say I was a broken man was a major understatement. I just dont think I could have handled another leak very well
But Im happy to say, all is well apart from one issue I never envisaged.
The beach entry forms perfect waves when you swim past and water crashes out of the pool there!
Not the biggest deal, but it does lead to some water loss and another leak due to me not yet finishing the expansion joint in the surrounding concrete deck.
At least I know what the issue is, so its not so bad
Pool is FINALLY complete!
My gosh, what a drama filled effort that was!
Pool was filled and then emptied , then party re-filled about 6 times and now finally full!
After all that effort, I was let down by the advice (and workmanship) of others and....we had a major leak...leaks actually!
We were losing about 2000L per day...all of it ending up under our house
Grab some popcorn or a beer (or both)...because this is going to be long!
We have an expansion joint half way along the pool due to its length.
Was recommended that we use a rear water stop during the build
A rear water stop is a formed seal that sits on the outside of the shell and the concrete is blasted into it (leaving a centre section empty for the actual expansion joint) that should form a watertight seal but still allowing each side of the pool to expand and contract.
The concrete was not correctly shot into the seal leaving me with voids through which the water could escape.
Then I was advised to use an expanding cork as a backing for the actual silicon seal
Because the shotcrete was done poorly, the joint was not even and the cork wasn't totally tight in a couple of spots. Strike two
Applied a special epoxy primer for the silicon, only to realise it was out of date after I applied it.
This was three days before Christmas last year and everything was already closed and the Mrs was adamant the pool had to be full for Christmas as we had family coming over (we were lucky like that in Australia, Covid didn't disrupt us much at all)
So I risked it and applied the silicon and started filling the pool the next day
Filled the pool and by the time it was full it was leaking like a sieve
My only saving grace is that because of the way my house is built, I had a fair idea where the water was coming from.
Swum on Christmas Day and Boxing day and then emptied the pool
While emptying I check every penetration with dye to look for leaks. Didnt find anything
Cut open the expansion joint and it was soaked all behind so I thought I had found the issue and was good to go.
This time I used a specific seal designed for swimming pool expansion joints
Was advised by the distributor that I only needed one layer, so I used two along with a layer of bentonite clay between the two seals, and then silicon on top of all that.
I did not want to repeat this repair again!
Started filling the pool, leak starts again...Dang it....but at least it was only minor, but still enough that it could not be left
Emptied again, scratched my head for a few days and decided that it could be the main drain as I had replaced the original main drain due to getting damaged while building the house and I couldn't remember if I had glued the bung for the hydrostatic valve or not (I dont need a hydrostatic valve as the pool is actually above ground and as you can tell by the leaks, any water underneath can escape without trying to lift the shell)
When I removed the old broken main drain I had to use a die grinder to clean out the last of the drain which was glued to a coupling and I thought that I had possibly ground slightly too much somewhere which allowed water to escape once the pressure was high enough.
So I cleaned out the pipe and used an epoxy putty to seal a slight gap between the drain and the pipe. Let it dry, and partially refilled and let sit for a few days.
No leaks so continued filling....and then it started to leak again. FML!
Drop the water level so I can reach the drain and then pressure test that pipe along with any other pipe that was under the waterline.
All held pressure perfectly fine so I thought I was golden...except that also meant that I didnt have another suspect and had no idea where it might be leaking from. Bummer
Started filling again, got past three pipes that flow out for the inflow cleaning and the Dang thing starts leaking again.
Wife has been nagging me the past two months that she thinks that its leaking around one of those pipes are the render was 100% perfect around it.
I preceded to tell her how she had no idea what she was talking about (that always goes down well!) and that it was impossible as all penetrations had been sealed with an expanding silicon that would self seal if it was leaking, but what the heck, I had nothing to lose and would test anyway, just to make her happy.
Im still not sure what emotions I felt when I checked with the dye and it was leaking ( a lot!) right where she said it was
I was excited to find the leak, but not excited to know that for the next few weeks (and possibly months) I would hear her retell the story of how she was right and I was wrong.
So , sealed that with an epoxy putty (and long with any other penetration that looked suspect) and filled the Dang thing again, hoping for the best, but somehow still expecting the worst
To say I was a broken man was a major understatement. I just dont think I could have handled another leak very well
But Im happy to say, all is well apart from one issue I never envisaged.
The beach entry forms perfect waves when you swim past and water crashes out of the pool there!
Not the biggest deal, but it does lead to some water loss and another leak due to me not yet finishing the expansion joint in the surrounding concrete deck.
At least I know what the issue is, so its not so bad
Attachments
All I have to do now it to "fix" the solar heating
I had the evacuated tube solar heating designed by arguably the largest supplier of evacuated tube hot water systems in Australia and they stuffed it up.
Heat exchanger is only 30% of the size it is supposed to be so the hot water coming from the roof isnt being transferred into the pool
Even with only 2 of the 8 panels uncovered, it still easily reached 120 deg C on a clear day and the pool water temp is lucky to rise 0.5 deg C, even with a pool cover
They have claimed they have never designed my system (but acknowledge it is still under warranty!) so without any proof (which I no longer have their design report), Im SOL.
I have ordered another titanium heat exchanger which should arrive this coming week and the two in series should be more than enough to cope and heat the pool efficiently
Having said that, I am concerned it will be overheated in summer, but I guess we will see. Nothing keeping a couple panels covered in summer wont fix
Anyway, that's my life story in a nutshell
I had the evacuated tube solar heating designed by arguably the largest supplier of evacuated tube hot water systems in Australia and they stuffed it up.
Heat exchanger is only 30% of the size it is supposed to be so the hot water coming from the roof isnt being transferred into the pool
Even with only 2 of the 8 panels uncovered, it still easily reached 120 deg C on a clear day and the pool water temp is lucky to rise 0.5 deg C, even with a pool cover
They have claimed they have never designed my system (but acknowledge it is still under warranty!) so without any proof (which I no longer have their design report), Im SOL.
I have ordered another titanium heat exchanger which should arrive this coming week and the two in series should be more than enough to cope and heat the pool efficiently
Having said that, I am concerned it will be overheated in summer, but I guess we will see. Nothing keeping a couple panels covered in summer wont fix
Anyway, that's my life story in a nutshell