Self build pool

[mirage]

Hello, so I have had a Intex above ground pool now for more than 2 years and use it almost every day. I am now thinking of building a in-ground pool with the help of my local builder friend. When I say in-ground I want it to be 60 cm below ground and 30 cm above pool size 2 meter by 6 meter. That will be 2 meters longer than mu current pool. That way the water pipes can be at ground level if ever I have to do maintenance. I want to keep it simple, just 1 inlet, 1 outlet & a skimmer. I have never had to drain my pool, so if I ever have to I can pump the water out. MY QUESTIONS to you all. Has anybody built your own pool ?. What if any problems did you have ?. Any advice will be grateful. Is there an inlet that I can fix the pool vacuum to the same  as the Intex system.

Edited May 31, 2022 by mirage

[KhunLA]

I did, sort of, but not really ????

 

Use my contractor who built a very nice, largish waterfall feature for the yard.  So asked if he could do a pool.  3 X 5 meter, 2+ / 1 meter split, deep / shallow end.  2+ for treading water / therapy & exercise.  1 meter with built in seating, for chillin'.

 

Actually did an excellent job (< 60k baht), except, did need a patch.  Which he did no charge.  Hole dug, no prob, block laid, no prob, cement, waterproofing with pool paint, all no prob.

 

Problem was lack of understanding, just how much water weighs, especially 16-20k liters.  So the floor seam to the walls, cracked/slight separation, barely visible.  Patch job was easy enough, simply another layer of rebar & concrete, attached to the floor/walls.

https://goo.gl/photos/R97hK6Avk5TfpWhf8

 

https://goo.gl/photos/B7Uo41JKbHdYitLG8

 

 

Edited May 31, 2022 by KhunLA

[mirage]

Thanks, looks good. I was thinking to make the hole larger than the pool cement and rebar across the floor. Begin the bricks on top of the cement floor. Rebar across every layer of bricks then backfill with cement mix for added strength. Lots of sealer before rendering, then more sealer and ceramic tiles.

The other way I have seen is to lay the rebar inside the brickwork as in the photo below but without all the pipework. That may be stronger.

How thick was the total floor cement after the repair ?

Edited May 31, 2022 by mirage

[sezze]

3 hours ago, KhunLA said:

 

 

Problem was lack of understanding, just how much water weighs, especially 16-20k liters.  So the floor seam to the walls, cracked/slight separation, barely

 

 

If you use metric system it is all so easy , instead of 2 fingers and 1 coffeecup and 2 fridges , you can use the very simple metric system .

1l of water is 1 kg , 1m3 is 1000l is 1 ton . You can even widen it to pressures , 10m of water equal 1 bar . and also equals the barometric pressure ( so you can't suck water higher then 10m , that is impossible ) .

So back to the topic , yes a pool of water does create some pressure on the soil , 16-20 ton in your case , equal of about 10pickup trucks ( in imperial system ... just joking )

[KhunLA]

2 minutes ago, sezze said:

If you use metric system it is all so easy , instead of 2 fingers and 1 coffeecup and 2 fridges , you can use the very simple metric system .

1l of water is 1 kg , 1m3 is 1000l is 1 ton . You can even widen it to pressures , 10m of water equal 1 bar . and also equals the barometric pressure ( so you can't suck water higher then 10m , that is impossible ) .

So back to the topic , yes a pool of water does create some pressure on the soil , 16-20 ton in your case , equal of about 10pickup trucks ( in imperial system ... just joking )

Hence his ignorance, as never built anything deep before.  I was skeptical and pointed out to him, it may not be enough rebar.  He only had minor regret though, as it really didn't take much to correct.  Hairline separation, and without dye in the water, you couldn't really see it.

[mirage]

Hopefully as my pool is only going to be 90 cm deep, the weight will not be so much.

[Saanim]

5 hours ago, mirage said:

Thanks, looks good. I was thinking to make the hole larger than the pool cement and rebar across the floor. Begin the bricks on top of the cement floor. Rebar across every layer of bricks then backfill with cement mix for added strength. Lots of sealer before rendering, then more sealer and ceramic tiles.

The other way I have seen is to lay the rebar inside the brickwork as in the photo below but without all the pipework. That may be stronger.

If you looked few threads back you will find my pictures when no such huge rebar system is needed, saving considerable amount of money on material and the workmanship. The pool holding over 17 years and surviving 2 earthquakes.  

The pressure on the walls and the floor at a swimming pool is the same as on any other vessel of the same height (1.4m) whether it is 1 m or 100 m wide. 

For a better compactness of the wall (whether by single or double blocks) a steel wire 3 - 5 mm can be inserted horizontally under the block layers. 

 

A proper backfilling behind each block layer is recommended.

 

All made with village brick layers by a simple cement mortar and common "kitchen tiles" ???? ...  

 

[mirage]

Can you send me a link to that please.

 

[mirage]

1 hour ago, Saanim said:

If you looked few threads back you will find my pictures when no such huge rebar system is needed, saving considerable amount of money on material and the workmanship. The pool holding over 17 years and surviving 2 earthquakes.  

The pressure on the walls and the floor at a swimming pool is the same as on any other vessel of the same height (1.4m) whether it is 1 m or 100 m wide. 

For a better compactness of the wall (whether by single or double blocks) a steel wire 3 - 5 mm can be inserted horizontally under the block layers. 

 

A proper backfilling behind each block layer is recommended.

 

All made with village brick layers by a simple cement mortar and common "kitchen tiles" ???? ...  

 

Ok found your posts, looks like you think like me. Why buy expensive special tiles, when normal tiles will do the job. Your brickworks looks quite thick, did you make 2 layers ?. do you have any more construction photos ?. Can I use a skimmer as an overflow when it rains ?. What area do you live in.

[Saanim]

3 hours ago, mirage said:

Ok found your posts, looks like you think like me. Why buy expensive special tiles, when normal tiles will do the job. Your brickworks looks quite thick, did you make 2 layers ?. do you have any more construction photos ?. Can I use a skimmer as an overflow when it rains ?. What area do you live in.

Actually, even single blocks would too do, double blacks with distance ca. 2 cm are better, they are so cheap here.

And if you implement the floor reinforcement grid into the wall construction, you will get a compact concrete vessel.

 

There are many advantages of OF pools against skimmer, the biggest one is a swimming without water in your nose. Then of course an easy and fast cleaning of the water surface with much lower pump power than for the skimmer.

 

If you spent time reading posts (not only mine) you will get more knowledge. Then, you can consider what is the best for you. With simple solutions and simple equipment you will get a fair functioning pool for your daily exercise with easy maintenance.

 

 

 

[KhunLA]

10 hours ago, mirage said:

Hopefully as my pool is only going to be 90 cm deep, the weight will not be so much.

60 cm in ground & 40 cm above, you may not need rebar at all.  Mine was close to 2.5 meter deep.  That's a lot of downward pressure.

[sezze]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

60 cm in ground & 40 cm above, you may not need rebar at all.  Mine was close to 2.5 meter deep.  That's a lot of downward pressure.

The rebar is not needed for outside to inside pressure . Yes , certainly not so many rebar or concrete needed for a 1m pool vs a 2.5m pool , but being completely in ground or not does not make a lot of difference because it needs to keep the water in . You can use a steel freme , this way you do not need rebar , because the strength comes from the steel , not from the concrete . Concrete impact strength is low , so the pressure makes it crack without rebar . Concrete however is cheaper then steel , especially is you want a nice finish and a deeper then 1.2m pool . Steel structure pools are build with a liner , not ( i never seen or heard it) with tiles or similar .

[Saanim]

Th

10 hours ago, sezze said:

Concrete impact strength is low , so the pressure makes it crack without rebar .

As mentioned before the hydrostatic pressure of the pool is almost neglectable: In the depth 1 m it is 10 kg/dm², i.e. 100 gr/cm². That' why you can see many water tanks made by single cinder block, with or w/o some reinforcement, the round ones in villages sometimes 4 m high, the thickness of the concrete rings is 5 cm, reinforced by a steel wire 3 mm.

 

Then, it does not mater whether it is for swimming pool or for a fish pond, the pressure on the walls is the same. I had made few of them, also for my ground water treatment, very strong iron content (see the difference of the water input and the result), the red bricks outside are actually just for show, dry glued in.

 

      

 

    

[Rv Hawee]

@mirage : i am sorry to answer late but if you hadn't start any work i would advise to keep the Intex pool !

 

I  know how  "real" pool are much better but i also own an Intex for a little more than 2 year (juste before the pandemic) and i never regret it ! This is a smaller model without metal holder; 4.5 ù diameter and 1.22 meter high. I loose at least 20 kgs while using it "almost" every days with static swim; jog and other exercises  i can adapt in the water.

 

Other pool were out of my budget; even  the DIY model i could find. 

If you already start the digging; then good luck to you. if not; think again.

I have to figure out for the cleaning; my garden is full of leaves and my cats love to rest by the pool for all the protein they can get but since it's not a burden to take care i have really great time with it. All included; it cost me about 12 bahts a day since i bough it and the cost is lowering. (next one, in 1,2 or 3 years; will be a bigger model  like yours.)

[mirage]

I decided to go ahead with the cement pool. So much better than the pool in a bag.

I have a few construction photos and cost breakdown if any one is interested.

Edited February 12, 2023 by mirage

[Yellowtail]

On 2/12/2023 at 6:16 PM, mirage said:

I decided to go ahead with the cement pool. So much better than the pool in a bag.

I have a few construction photos and cost breakdown if any one is interested.

 

I'm interested...

[DRD123]

On 2/12/2023 at 6:16 PM, mirage said:

I decided to go ahead with the cement pool. So much better than the pool in a bag.

I have a few construction photos and cost breakdown if any one is interested.

Well done --looks great any details would be great, time,costs and materials etc thanks

[mirage]

Filled all the bricks with cement and used a lot of steel.

[Yellowtail]

Nice work, thanks!