My New Old Pool Dig Out

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jimmythegreek said:
How big is the pool roughly? Theres mo need for 4 skimmers usually 2 is common a 3rd maybe on a huge pool.
For runoff get silt fence amd set it up the right way dug in with a pick or cover the bottom flap with dirt. If you got access to cheap haybales nearby they are best. If you can do flat work you can do this. Its fine to do small sections. Get some structural bonding epoxy and a hammer drill and pin it every foot max or equal to what was there. The old days 12x12 was common for everything on rebar grids. Chip and clean out anything that's loose or doeant look good. Make some primitive forms out of anything lying around amd paint brush on some binding agent before you pour it. I can't stress enough clean concrete. Like washed amd blown with a compressor or vacuumed dust is your enemy when bonding old amd new. An electric mixer is great for these jobs you can bang out 80 pounders fast. 5000 mix off the shelf is good for repairs and stronger than whats there. The skimmers are tricky but doable. Also dont fuss too much on transition from old to new being flush the plasterer will fudge variations so close is good enough in this application.
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Pool is 45x20
 
You can do alot of things but it's all expensive. I'm pretty sure hes looking to work off of the shell and make repairs then bite the bullet on plaster and a deck. Building a new pool inside it isnt worth it. The excavation isnt much work that's all he would gain
 
jimmythegreek said:
You can do alot of things but it's all expensive. I'm pretty sure hes looking to work off of the shell and make repairs then bite the bullet on plaster and a deck. Building a new pool inside it isnt worth it. The excavation isnt much work that's all he would gain
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Had another more experienced guy stop. Y yesterday and he said sawcut w a track saw that old beam off flush and put a key way in top of the sawcut. New rebar epoxied in and repour the bond beam. He said it would be a much better long term repair w the key way and there are some water stop products that can be used to prevent any issues w separation. Probably faster in the long run instead of chopping down to solid concrete all over. The sawcut would be below 12” from the top so I wouldn’t have to core drill for all my returns as well. I think I saw a video of someone who did this a long time ago - can’t find it anymore but it sounds like a good plan. Thoughts.
 
anyone have any ideas on the plan to sawcut the bond beam out on the old pool. Sawcut a keyway into the top of the pool and drill / epoxy new rebar bond beam? Want to make sure I am not making a mistake on this. It seems like it would be a good plan rather than chipping away at old concrete with a "jagged" edge.
 
making a keyway is a nice repair. its tricky to do. with epoxy pinning properly done and clean concrete, bonding agents and the right mix will make it very strong. jagged concrete actually has more bite, clean cut concrete has less surface area. its just like ice, crushed ice cools faster theres more surface area than cubes, same theory applies to concrete. You can just as easily make the bond beam very fat like double wall thickness and pour it down the back below the existing wall and tie in the rear too with epoxy, this prevents pushing from sides. just have to really inspect the existing shell for condition, you wont know til its cleaned up well how the surface and core is
 
Just stopping it to say HI!!! and good luck with all of this. I think you could have a fantastic pool when it's all said and done. You have much more stamina that me...that's for sure!
 

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cboeger1974 said:
It seems like it would be a good plan rather than chipping away at old concrete with a "jagged" edge.
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I think I would still be leaning towards repairing existing the beam. As Jimmy noted you would have the advantage of a stronger bond with the jagged concrete as well as tying into the original pool rebar. For the money you would spend for all that concrete cutting and pinning it would probably be cheaper to get a mobile sandblasting unit out there or rent one and do it yourself that would clean up the rebar as well. That would give you an extremely clean and rough surface to bond too.
 
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Ok, this may be the coolest thread I have ever seen! Please keep the updates and photos coming, and what an awesome old house!
 
ComputerGuyInNOLA said:
Does anyone know if a gunite shell could be blown into the existing shell? It would be a somewhat smaller pool but it is already huge.
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A gunite pool within a pool is definitely possible. It would likely still need to be the full shell thickness. Or a fiberglass pool sized to fit inside the existing shell. Both would be a little costly (basically the primary saving is the hole digout).
 
Met with a representative from Sika yesterday onsite and they have product (SikaCrete 211 SCC Plus) which is a little thicker than water, reaches 7500 psi with extreme bonding capabilities and with its consistency it will bond in all the crevices of the existing beam. It is a structural product for parking garages, concrete pillar repairs, etc and should do the trick. I will have to form and pour the entire beam but I think that is best for my talents as I am not a free form kind of guy. Now I have to figure out how to get the new skimmers installed and what size I should drill my holes in the walls for returns, vacuum line, and lighting (I plan on using small led's that screw into a standard 1.5" threaded pvc pipe). Any help on what size holes to drill and what to do with the skimmers would be appreciated.

I have my work cut out for me on the bond beam but at least I have a plan in place. Dustless blasting to start on Weds to make sure the shell is 100% in good enough shape to move forward.
 
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I would just chip a hole into the shell for the pipes and lighting. The problem with drilling is the hole is very smooth so there isn't much for the new concrete to bite into and will be challenging to get good coverage around the pipe. Err on the side of bigger rather than smaller.
 
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I'm guessing that sika stuff is pricey. The concrete you have now is 4000 max. Cheapest easiest way is bonding agent and forms after epoxy pinning rebar or even a small cage if needed. You could do a delivery if there is site access. Otherwise grab pallets and run them back with a skidsteer to a 2 bag mixer. If you add a littlen plasticizer to 5k bagged mix amd use no more than specified water yiu have very strong concrete.......and its cheap
 
Dustless glass blasting completed on the shell today. Guy said it was one of the hardest shells he has ever worked on. Said normally small pieces of concrete and stone come off with the paint removal on normal shells - not on this one. Doesn't appear to be any major cracks. Some slight surface cracking but nothing that appears to be all the way through the shell. He blasted the top of the shell as well to remove any loose concrete. I will go through and continue with a rock hammer to remove any additional loose pieces. Now for some plumbing work.
 
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