“Swimming Pool Construction” Basic Steps

When one thinks of home improvements, one usually focuses on the kitchen and the bathroom. When considering how to improve the outside of the home, the subject of swimming pools usually comes up. Before committing to putting one in, it is important for the homeowner to understand what exactly is involved in “swimming pool construction”.

In almost every case, the swimming pool goes in the back yard. It is essential that careful measurements be taken and careful thought be given to the size of the project making sure that there is enough room in the yard without encroaching on the neighbors property line. Also, it must be determined if the necessary heavy digging machinery can get access to the back yard and have enough room to dig and remove dirt.

The other important detail to pay attention to in the planning stage is what utility lines if any run through or next to the area where the hole is going to go. If there are gas, water, electric or phone lines in this area, arrangements will have to be made to move them before the excavation can begin.

To allow for the supports and the concrete, the hole must be a bit larger and deeper than the finished product. Almost all pools have a deep end and a shallow end ranging from about nine feet to about four feet.

After the dirt is removed to the required depth, a special type of fine rock is applied to the hole evenly about 6 inches deep. Since a type of concrete will be poured, a re-bar structure is arranged across the bottom and on the vertical walls of the hole for reinforcement. Once this is completed the plumbing that circulates the water is placed around the edge of the hole approximately 2 feet from the top. Other plumbing to take the water to and from the external pump and filter is also put into place.

Once the plumbing is done, the a combination of cement and gunnite is sprayed on the sides and bottom so it completely covers the re-bar structure to a depth of about a foot and a half. This mix dries rapidly which is important to maintain the consistency of the vertical walls. This mixture needs to set for about two days.

Then, a layer of a special white plaster is applied to the bottom and sides up to the water line. The water line is almost always tiled the entire circumference of the pool. Once this has been applied and has dried for at least 24 hours, the regular concrete for the deck is poured to desired dimensions.

The final component is the pump and filter. This is connected to the supply lines to and from the pool and is set up on a cement pad a short distance from the water. The filter is a large stainless steel drum which contains a special clean sand which the water filters through. The pump also has valve controls, a strong pump motor and back-flow valves. After this is connected, the pool is ready to be filled.