Pool Project - Today We Built the Forms for Walls

 

This is Henry - fitting forms all day

The pool is 15 x 35 x 4 feet. 

The rebar will be sawed off
after the concrete sets,

Today a crew of 4 men worked from 8 AM to 8 PM - building the forms for the concrete walls. Tomorrow - Friday - at 6 AM - they will be back to pour the concrete between the forms and the ground. The walls will end up 8 to 14 inches thick of concrete poured over a lattice of rebar. 

The weather was good to us - no rain today - so we got a lot done. Tomorrow - we expect the same weather. Once the outer walls are poured - we can relax a little. We will leave the forms on over the weekend for the walls to cure. Also - the pipes for the drains - water jets - and skimmer are in the forms - along with the wiring for the pool light. 

What is left after the big pour tomorrow? We will pour a pool deck around the pool that will be 35 by 60 feet. We will run the pipes and the electric work to the garage. Don't forget the gas line for the fire pit. We will set up the pool pump - salter - sand filter - and heat pump in the garage. Don''t forget a fence. Then we come back and do the tile around the perimeter and place the travertine cap on the top of the walls. Last - we plaster the pool bottom and sides with about an inch of Marcite. Marcite is a special mixture of marble and plaster - it makes the smooth finish. 

Then you put water in. 

Sunday Lulu is going to England for 3 weeks - leaving me here to babysit the site. When I use the world "we" above - I do not do anything but watch - and clean up a little. The site is messy - but the workers are struggling under hot and humid conditions. We have been hampered by heavy rains - that slowed our schedule down. 

They scheduled the concrete delivery for 6 AM. We must take it then or wait another week for a delivery. We are pleased with the results so far. 

The walls are 8 to 14 inches wide.

The braces keep the walls from collapsing
when full of concrete.

The tent keeps the hot sun out. 

The wall goes to the top of the 2x4. 

That is Lulu's swim lane. 

The concrete bottom will
be shaped and covered with Marcite.

Lots of big screws hold the forms in place

When the concrete dries -
all the wood is taken out of the hole. 

the tarps kept water out of the hole.

Notice the forms have a shiny side. 

Lots of concrete goes in there.

The forms were used on our old pool 
15 years ago. 

The tent will be used for a wedding
in 2 months - Henry's wedding. 

This is the back - west side of our home. 

This is looking south.