DIY Pool Time (Again)

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i_am_fubar

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Long time since I posted here. Finished the renovation of Death House and got married and had a kid, and now she's in school and wanted a paddling pool that I put a heater in, and I love it, but want it bigger.... Long story short, I want to make a pool. But this time I have budget (y).

Provisional plan:
  • 1/3 submerged above ground pool
  • Aprox. 4.5x2m and 0.9 - 1m deep [rectangle]
  • Concrete block construction, 440x215 blocks laid flat with a reinforced concrete base
  • Rendered inside(?)
  • Epoxy/Rubber paint
  • Actually design it this time, in full, including all plumbing, wiring... etc
  • Fire pit heater
  • Retractable decking to use the space out of season
Before I get into the design, can anyone see any immediate red flags (other than this being a fools errand that I will hate a year down the line :p)?

Next question (if allowed here, didn't really see the point of making a separate thread), can you pool paint concrete blocks directly or do they NEED rendering. And would there be any advantage/risks using aerated concrete blocks for it?

Cheers all, I've got the wife and kid rooting for me this time around so it may happen :cautious:

Fubar
 
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would aerated blocks not leak?

also might be a bit scratchy, would tiling the innards of the pool not be a good idea?
 
The paint should sort the leakiness. Am thinking maybe a Chlorinated Rubber paint that has a guild build up. Would also deal with the scratchiness, but damage would be an issue possibly.
 
Would your local authority require drainage arrangements?
If/when the water gets contaminated, how will you deal with it?
 
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The area of the garden floods quite readly so I'm planning some form of soak away / turf area for that. Pool chemically laden water I can either pump through 2" hose to the manhole cover in front garden or run an extra 4" soil pipe from foul drain round into back garden. The falls all work for it.

Although, that said, I will look into legal requirements.
 
Clearance has started. Slow going at the moment as I need space to work. But giant brick pillar is down and sleepers are out the way. Going to pull back the remainder of the raised bed in front of the fence by hand and get it grab-bagged away. Then move the fence behind wood shed back another meter.

Once below grade digging begins, I'll hire in a mini digger.



 
Small gain, well, reasonable gains. Got another 1m of back garden. Still behind front elevation of house though.

The in-ground pool dream is evaporating a little and I'm focusing on making the area a usable space as big as possible. Then get an above ground pool for a couple of years to, ehem, test the water.





Going to finish the retaining wall return and then a lot of soil swapping (remove clay from raised bed and replace with old chicken coop top soil)
 
Looks like my garden... only neater
Keep the pics coming.
 
It's been 4 years since I started this wall.... Today (well, yesterday) I cut the last sleepers (BY HAND o_O) and fitted them all together. Got to gravel in-fill and back fill and we're away.






Seriously, don't recommend cutting Azobe sleepers by hand. Although, I am getting some big arms now :) Also, if you do, tennon saw round the edge for neatness then a bow saw seems to be the fastest way.
 
You are a glutton for punishment. :D

Tenon saw... hardcore. What’s wrong with circular saw and finish by hand?
Or are you Going all eco and saving the electricity.

Good effort fella.
If it makes you feel better, I’ve been renovating for the last 6 years. :eek:
 
Mr Chibs said:
Tenon saw... hardcore. What’s wrong with circular saw and finish by hand?
Or are you Going all eco and saving the electricity.
Click to expand...

Yea, I'm having to do all this in stealth mode because my DIY time is after dinner and putting the tiny human to bed. Then I've got to do hard landscaping literally outside her window...

So the lovely slab on concrete is flush with the house DPC... So the bottom of this hole is where I need to top of the patio to be.... So only another 4-6" of digging there. and then expand hte hole across the whole area, but then back filling the hole with loose soil for a grab lorry... And no digger :unsure:

And the concrete is coming out, but I've got old smashy out for that.

 
Well, after digging out about a ton of soil, I finally reached my finished level. So with grab bag in place, I'm now moving soil to its end location, not a temporary place.
Getting there...




It should hopefully be a case of dig out a square meter into one grab bag so I can put another grab bag down and then repeat 12 more times.
 
Are you keeping a log of weight lost with all this digging/moving:p

Have you decided what you are going to build the walls out of...

Was in a friends shed the other day, it's build like a dwarf wall out of hollow concrete blocks, which have then be filled with concrete... was thinking you could do similar construction (I don't know costs) when you lay the slab you could embed rods into slab and slide hollow blocks onto these.

Was looking at the size, and 4.5x2x1m is 9 ton of weight.:eek:

This type of thing https://www.frank-key.co.uk/215mm-9-hollow-concrete-blocks-7-3n
 
Last edited:
so, it's actually 6x2x1m now :) But that's just the pool (y).

Before I even get there I've got another 10-12tons to dig out just to level the area :rolleyes:.

Plan was to use Concrete Masonry Units (CMUs), or as you call them hollow blocks, for the pool. Mesh reinforced slab with protruding bar that the blocks will thread over, along with horizontal bars ever 1-2 courses. Then infill with concrete.

For now though, I'm just aiming at getting the site level, trench in my rain water and foul water drain, maybe run conduit for cable and get an access patio back round the house.

I'm not tracking my weight loss as I imagine I'll put more on in muscle that I'll loose in fat :p But I can see a difference already.
 
D

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