Inside the Pool Construction Process
Each phase of the pool construction process brings its own sense of excitement, but two steps are especially exciting for builders – laying out the pool and filling it with water. Following are some major phases in building your pool and be sure to ask your builder about all the phases.
1. Layout
This period involves drawing the actual size and shape of the pool in your yard. The builder will also draw beaches, benches, and the spa if you have included one. Don’t worry when the pool shape appears smaller than you originally thought it would. Resist trying to make it bigger and know that both you and the designer have made multiple decisions to get to this point.
2. Excavation
While pool builders try not to damage your yard, some damage to your front and back yards and irrigation is inevitable. Make sure to follow your builder’s instructions and clearly understand both your responsibilities and those that fall to the builder. Your yard is a construction area so be sure to keep pets, children, and adults from wandering around the area.
3. Taking shape
You will begin to see your pool getting bigger thanks to the installation of steel, plumbing, and gunite or shotcrete. Gunite and shotcrete are the two types of concrete used to build pools. Both are a mixture of cement, sand, and water applied through a pressure hose, producing a dense hard layer of concrete. Be sure to ask the builder if you have questions about the different advantages of each and which will work best in your area. Also ask about things you will be responsible to help out with, like watering the gunite for a week or two after it is sprayed, especially in the hotter summer months. Next comes the stone placed on top of the concrete wall, tile, and decking followed by the plaster.
4. Just add water
After the acid wash, start filling the pool with water using as many hoses as possible to quicken the process. First check with your water company to ensure you comply with any rules or guidelines they may have. Some areas require bringing in a truck to fill pools, which costs more money, but in Central Texas we need to conserve water. Now your water needs to be pH balanced. Ask your builder how this process will be handled.
While there are many more steps to turning your dream pool into a reality, and potential speed bumps along the way — like bad weather — trust that your builder is working hard to give you the best experience he or she can.
Have fun during this time. Your first cannon ball is right around the corner!
TexVet Custom Pools • Richard Coan • TexVetCustomPools.com • 512-745-9548
Professionals in residential construction, swimming pool design and construction, remodels, home additions, and outdoor living for over three decades.