Waxahachie, TX Owner Build - A race to beat the baby!

Its not critical that the lines be pressurized like they were last night. In the morning, assuming things are warm enough, repressurize your system enough to get some sort of basepoint. Something getting damaged during the process would be very unlikely and very obvious.

Please make sure you meet the foreman that has the receiver for the laser and make him very aware of the depths you want and any other special features. He is the one that dictates what the rest of the crew does and the depths your pool will end up. Also have him ensure the bond beam forms are level and the skimmer is the correct height.

Place a small level on top of your skimmer while they shoot that area. Crooked skimmers make me crazy.

If you are actually getting gunite:
1.)Let the foreman and nozzleman know that you want the least amount of water added as possible for the driest mix
2.)Rebound is not accepted anywhere in the pool and you want to see a spoil pile of the rebound that was not used afterward (that they will haul away)
3.)If not already agreed, pay the cement company yourself and the contractor separate
4.)All rebar is spaced 3" from the dirt (min) and gets 3" of cover (min)
5.)All rebar ties are bent down and out of the way. No ties should protrude above the rebar
6.)The copper bond wires stubbed of from the rebar cage should be clearly marked and pulled as far as possible from the shell so they don't get lost in the gunite
7.)No water applied anywhere to the gunite until at least 4 -6 hours after it has set up
8.)Be certain there are no voids under the light niches, plumbing stubs and water features. Voids are very common in these areas

If you are getting shotcrete:
1.) No water should be added to the cement truck by the driver or the crew. If the mix needs water to flow through the pump, reject the load
2.) Same as #2 above but is much less of an occurrence with shotcrete, if at all
3.) Same as #3
4.) Same
5.) Same
6.) Same
7.) Same
8.) Same

Ask to have the forms removed at the end of the day or the following day. Leaving them in longer is unnecessary will make it VERY difficult to remove them.

Good luck!
 
Its not critical that the lines be pressurized like they were last night. In the morning, assuming things are warm enough, repressurize your system enough to get some sort of basepoint. Something getting damaged during the process would be very unlikely and very obvious.

Thanks, Brian, for all of this information. I've added my questions in red below:

Please make sure you meet the foreman that has the receiver for the laser and make him very aware of the depths you want and any other special features. He is the one that dictates what the rest of the crew does and the depths your pool will end up. Also have him ensure the bond beam forms are level and the skimmer is the correct height.

Place a small level on top of your skimmer while they shoot that area. Crooked skimmers make me crazy.

If you are actually getting gunite:
1.)Let the foreman and nozzleman know that you want the least amount of water added as possible for the driest mix
2.)Rebound is not accepted anywhere in the pool and you want to see a spoil pile of the rebound that was not used afterward (that they will haul away)
3.)If not already agreed, pay the cement company yourself and the contractor separate
Practically speaking, how would I do this? I've been given a quote by the contractor for the cost per yard of gunite and was told I would be charged based on how much was used. If I separate the payments between cement and contractor, how would that work?
4.)All rebar is spaced 3" from the dirt (min) and gets 3" of cover (min)
5.)All rebar ties are bent down and out of the way. No ties should protrude above the rebar
What exactly does this mean? Can I stipulate this to the contractor and they'll know what to do to fix any issues?
6.)The copper bond wires stubbed of from the rebar cage should be clearly marked and pulled as far as possible from the shell so they don't get lost in the gunite
7.)No water applied anywhere to the gunite until at least 4 -6 hours after it has set up
8.)Be certain there are no voids under the light niches, plumbing stubs and water features. Voids are very common in these areas
How do I ensure there are no voids? Is this before they start? If there are voids, what do I do about it?

Ask to have the forms removed at the end of the day or the following day. Leaving them in longer is unnecessary will make it VERY difficult to remove them.

Good luck!

There is a good sized puddle of water in the deep end, but not enough to cover my main drain. Should I make sure they pump it out before they start?

Thanks again for all the help. I'll be up bright and early tomorrow to stay on top of these guys!
 
#3) Ask for a price per yard for labor only (you will handle the payment for the gunite) or ask to pay the cement company's balance yourself and pay the contractor the difference. I say this because time and time and time again I see people getting leans put on their houses by the cement companies. They don't mess around, gunite contractors do (with prompt payments). This isn't critical but will avoid future headache. Hopefully you are using a sub that will give prompt payment. They may or may not be open to doing this though.

#5)This refers to the rebar tie wire (that secures the pieces together). This is easily something you can do yourself. It will prevent future rust spots from bleeding through the plaster.

#8)This is after that area is shot. You'd get in the pool and look under the niche to make sure there wasn't any sloughing of the material. This is very important where pool lights are in shallow areas and can easily be missed by the contractor.

In regards to the puddles, absolutely pump them out. That water being there is not a good thing. I'd suggest getting it out as soon as possible.
 
#3. I just messaged the gunite guy about this. We'll see what he says.

#5. I can see the benefit of this. Too bad it's dark already. Should be fun! :)

#8. How soon can I get in there to check? Before they leave so they have a chance to fix it?

I don't have any way of getting the puddle out, but in my message to the gunite guy I told him that I would like it pumped out before his guys start, and to please have them come prepared to do that. Isn't it common that they take care of something like that? It's sitting on rock, and the gravel I have around my main drain, and is not going anywhere.
 
You are good then. The gunite is walkable almost as soon as it hits the dirt, or stone in your case. You'll see tomorrow when they begin working. They may not want you in there but you are writing the check after all.

Good point! I'll have to be sure to be especially observant tomorrow. I took notes from what you said and printed them out to make sure I've got everything covered when I talk to the guys. Thanks!
 
My gunite guy also had his own setup with his own trucks and all.

One not ideal thing on mine was that the width of the Gunite shell was supposed to be 11" because my coping was 12" but ended up varying greatly between 11 and 14 inches (it's not a huge deal since we're covering all sides of the pool with concrete or river rock). I trusted my friends gunite crew to be exact since I told them the size multiple times and it's my friends company. I should have been out measuring their work a bit more. There were a couple tweaks we had them do (like this bench is not completely vertical). Id get out your own level and tape measure and verify their work a bit.

My tile and coping guy put it well: in this whole process, most of the contractors like the steel guys and gunite guys are approximate, but the tile and coping guys have to make up for everyone else's approximations.

The other thing that I recently read on howibuiltmyownpool.com was that he didn't realize how much the shape of the gunite mattered to the contour of the pool. That is, he was expecting that the plaster phase could make up for subtle differences in contour (like the edge of your beach), but it's really thin. The advice was just to make sure that the edges, shapes, etc are how you want them. The gunite will not be perfectly smooth, but you want it to be close to how you want it. I read that after they did mine but it worked out well as I really like the way that the did the curves, edges, and ledges.

One final thing: my consultant guy said that when he's building a pool, he's out there the whole time with the gunite crew telling them everything that's not perfect. I had the tendency to not speak up, but I'd recommend that you don't hold back. That being said, you could get them breakfast tacos to make them feel better. :) (by the way, breakfast tacos is what we have in Austin - just like a breakfast burrito but open like a taco - I guess just because we're weird)

remembered one more thing: do not walk on steps for the first day of gunite and make sure that the kids do NOT walk barefoot on gunite as that lime stuff can really burn.
 

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My gunite guy also had his own setup with his own trucks and all.

One not ideal thing on mine was that the width of the Gunite shell was supposed to be 11" because my coping was 12" but ended up varying greatly between 11 and 14 inches (it's not a huge deal since we're covering all sides of the pool with concrete or river rock). I trusted my friends gunite crew to be exact since I told them the size multiple times and it's my friends company. I should have been out measuring their work a bit more. There were a couple tweaks we had them do (like this bench is not completely vertical). Id get out your own level and tape measure and verify their work a bit.

My tile and coping guy put it well: in this whole process, most of the contractors like the steel guys and gunite guys are approximate, but the tile and coping guys have to make up for everyone else's approximations.

The other thing that I recently read on howibuiltmyownpool.com was that he didn't realize how much the shape of the gunite mattered to the contour of the pool. That is, he was expecting that the plaster phase could make up for subtle differences in contour (like the edge of your beach), but it's really thin. The advice was just to make sure that the edges, shapes, etc are how you want them. The gunite will not be perfectly smooth, but you want it to be close to how you want it. I read that after they did mine but it worked out well as I really like the way that the did the curves, edges, and ledges.

One final thing: my consultant guy said that when he's building a pool, he's out there the whole time with the gunite crew telling them everything that's not perfect. I had the tendency to not speak up, but I'd recommend that you don't hold back. That being said, you could get them breakfast tacos to make them feel better. :) (by the way, breakfast tacos is what we have in Austin - just like a breakfast burrito but open like a taco - I guess just because we're weird)

remembered one more thing: do not walk on steps for the first day of gunite and make sure that the kids do NOT walk barefoot on gunite as that lime stuff can really burn.

This is great help! Thanks!

If I see something is off, can they just go back with more gunite to fix it, or to take some away, as the case may be? Is there a particular way they are supposed to fix things that I point out?

I'll be sure to keep the kids out of the pool, but if I'm supposed to check for voids in certain spots as Brian suggested, will it be ok to go down the steps? Or how do I get in the pool? How do the gunite guys do it?
 
This is great help! Thanks!

If I see something is off, can they just go back with more gunite to fix it, or to take some away, as the case may be? Is there a particular way they are supposed to fix things that I point out?

I'll be sure to keep the kids out of the pool, but if I'm supposed to check for voids in certain spots as Brian suggested, will it be ok to go down the steps? Or how do I get in the pool? How do the gunite guys do it?

They can and will move that gunite around all over and it can be done any time while they're still working in there. It's a similar thing to shaping concrete or mortar. They have a trough for smoothing things out. They have a shovel for scooping some up where there's too much and moving it around.

I don't know that you'll have to be in the pool to supervise things, but I don't think its a big deal if you get in there. It is like concrete though so don't wear anything you dont mind having dried concrete on.
 
If I see something is off, can they just go back with more gunite to fix it, or to take some away, as the case may be? Is there a particular way they are supposed to fix things that I point out?

Yes to the above. As long as the gunite is still workable anything can be done.

I'll be sure to keep the kids out of the pool, but if I'm supposed to check for voids in certain spots as Brian suggested, will it be ok to go down the steps? Or how do I get in the pool? How do the gunite guys do it?

They wear anti gravity boots that use the molar mass of the moon's rotational speed to levitate...:D Jamie, its concrete and its very dry right out of the nozzle. It can be walked on very soon after being applied. Gunite and shotcrete are self supporting within a matter of minutes and begin to lose their workability very quickly.
 
Yes to the above. As long as the gunite is still workable anything can be done.

They wear anti gravity boots that use the molar mass of the moon's rotational speed to levitate...:D Jamie, its concrete and its very dry right out of the nozzle. It can be walked on very soon after being applied. Gunite and shotcrete are self supporting within a matter of minutes and begin to lose their workability very quickly.

Thanks Brian. Don't tell my kids about those boots, or they will surely start begging me for some! ;-)

It's Gunite Day! I'm going to make some homemade breakfast burritos as Andy suggested. Can't leave the house to go buy any, so these will have to do. Hopefully they will placate anyone who thinks I'm being too demanding today! (Nice, but demanding :) )
 
Thanks Marla! Just finished passing them out. More guys are here now and they are getting out the pegboard and plastic. Not sure if more are coming. It seems I made plenty so I took some back inside for my kids' breakfast! :)
 

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