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Gavin Wills
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat 28 Nov, 2009 17:01
My Pool: verification was 100% wrong it asked me is there a P
in pH but it is clearly not a P it is a p. The 2nd one asked me the colour of a nice clean pool, I was wrong again! there are many different colors it could be.A black epoxy coating will change from dark blue to greeny blue to bluey gray greeny gray ect it all depends on the colour of the sky and the angle you look at it. anyway I'll get the next one right, I will just be a robot and answer the way I am supposed too
Location: Australia

Welcome aboard

Postby Gavin Wills » Sat 05 Dec, 2009 03:54

Hello to Everybody
My name is Gavin Wills I live on the Mid North coast of NSW Australia
and am here to help anyboby who has a concrete pool problem
36 years experience + 10 more on renovating and building
olympic size pools


Bostonian

Welcome aboard

Postby Bostonian » Sat 05 Dec, 2009 14:56

Gavin Wills wrote:Hello to Everybody
My name is Gavin Wills I live on the Mid North coast of NSW Australia
and am here to help anyboby who has a concrete pool problem
36 years experience + 10 more on renovating and building
olympic size pools


Gavin,
What would you recommend as the best procedure to re-plaster old 36 x 18 gunite diving pool with Diamond Brite, including the procedure of the aggregate exposure?
Thanks
Mike
Gavin Wills
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat 28 Nov, 2009 17:01
My Pool: verification was 100% wrong it asked me is there a P
in pH but it is clearly not a P it is a p. The 2nd one asked me the colour of a nice clean pool, I was wrong again! there are many different colors it could be.A black epoxy coating will change from dark blue to greeny blue to bluey gray greeny gray ect it all depends on the colour of the sky and the angle you look at it. anyway I'll get the next one right, I will just be a robot and answer the way I am supposed too
Location: Australia

Welcome aboard

Postby Gavin Wills » Mon 07 Dec, 2009 07:47

Mike , Diving pool,how deep is it ,how old is it,why does it need resurfacing.We do not use gunnite in Australia
we use sprayed concrete it is wet going into the concrete pump from the concrete agitator truck and at the nosel has the high pressure air.But any way back to your pool, let me know the answer to the Qs GW
Bostonian

Welcome aboard

Postby Bostonian » Mon 07 Dec, 2009 15:33

Gavin Wills wrote:Mike , Diving pool,how deep is it ,how old is it,why does it need resurfacing.We do not use gunnite in Australia
we use sprayed concrete it is wet going into the concrete pump from the concrete agitator truck and at the nosel has the high pressure air.But any way back to your pool, let me know the answer to the Qs GW


The wet concrete applied under air pressure is called a gunite here in the US.
The plaster is 20 years old and needs resurfacing with a new layer.
I need to know the stages so I can see who is going to it correctly.
Gavin Wills
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat 28 Nov, 2009 17:01
My Pool: verification was 100% wrong it asked me is there a P
in pH but it is clearly not a P it is a p. The 2nd one asked me the colour of a nice clean pool, I was wrong again! there are many different colors it could be.A black epoxy coating will change from dark blue to greeny blue to bluey gray greeny gray ect it all depends on the colour of the sky and the angle you look at it. anyway I'll get the next one right, I will just be a robot and answer the way I am supposed too
Location: Australia

Welcome aboard

Postby Gavin Wills » Tue 08 Dec, 2009 17:21

Sorry Mike ,the best way to resurface an older pool is to use small jackhammers to remove the old plaster, but if it just looks a little ugly,a lite hydrocloric acid wash scrubbed with a stiff broom will brighten it up,washed down and pumped out,you could get a few more years out of it this way.
But if you do want to resurface,if there are no drummy patches,I have acid washed pressure washed pumped out the mess then a lite sodium bi-carbonate rinse to neutralise acid residue and wash out again/pump out.This way you can go straight over the old plaster.
There needs to be no drummy patches, that is if you gently tap with a small hammer it sounds hollow. To remove the drummy sections,tap gently,mark 1" past the hollow sound in every direction with a pencil,cut the mark with a diamond tipped 4"angle grinder [windy days are best because you can direct the dust completely away from yourself, old mans trick] Remove the sections with a small jackhammer.If you don't cut around the sections it will just get bigger and bigger until you have to take it all off.
There are many variables to this,but if you start let me know whats going on,you can save yourself a lot of money preparing the job for the contractors as it is just a 1day job. GW from Australia
czechmate
Swimming Pool Superstar
Swimming Pool Superstar
Posts: 401
Joined: Sat 16 May, 2009 09:20
My Pool: 16 x 32 gunite21000 gal., Diamond Brite Blue, Swimquip XL pump, DE36
Location: Texas

Welcome aboard

Postby czechmate » Tue 08 Dec, 2009 21:30

Bostonian wrote:[windy days are best because you can direct the dust completely away from yourself, old mans trick]


Gavin, you cracking me up!
It does not get too windy at the bottom of empty 9 ft deep pool.
And when its get windy down there, it whirls every which way.
You should know that, if you ever been there.
You should also know, that all you need to do, is to use the side grinders own strong cooling fan to keep the dust away from your face.
But little dust in a face did not hurt anybody. Loss of new plaster job is of course different matter.
On the other hand your idea for a re-plaster job on plain acid-washed plaster is a recipe for a disaster.
Seems like the modern technologies and applications of today's new aggregate plasters and respective bonding agents did not quite arrive in Australia yet.
I do not know how to say this gently without hurting your ego, but you may be an ace in the olympic size pools, but in the world of renovation you sound like "jack of all trades" dabbing in a totally unknown territory.
Good day, mate!
Bostonian

Welcome aboard

Postby Bostonian » Wed 09 Dec, 2009 10:11

No need to trumpet to the world how long we worked in a trade.
Posting few suggestion will show ,how much we learned in all those years.
Some people tend to forget, that lot of true experts read these posts and watch for these jokers, to expose them in the correct light. :thumbup:
Guest

Welcome aboard

Postby Guest » Wed 09 Dec, 2009 10:49

We are involved in the building and restoration of concrete ponds and pools from 20m2 up to 1,250m2. I visit these forums often and enjoy reading the posts. Now and then I add my comment though I prefer to remain silent.

We all appreciate professional input, but technical lingo and jargon may present itself as a hindrance in these forums, where the average visitor is looking for simple advice in plain English.

Joe
Gavin Wills
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat 28 Nov, 2009 17:01
My Pool: verification was 100% wrong it asked me is there a P
in pH but it is clearly not a P it is a p. The 2nd one asked me the colour of a nice clean pool, I was wrong again! there are many different colors it could be.A black epoxy coating will change from dark blue to greeny blue to bluey gray greeny gray ect it all depends on the colour of the sky and the angle you look at it. anyway I'll get the next one right, I will just be a robot and answer the way I am supposed too
Location: Australia

Welcome aboard

Postby Gavin Wills » Tue 15 Dec, 2009 01:10

Hey there checkmate, only trying to help the man out,why take off any surface in a concrete pool that has been there for 20/30/40 years, if it has been there that long it is there for ever,and I didn't tell him that he had to paint on with a large soft broom,out of a wheelbarrow,a mix of polymer/cement slurry, and that it has to be still wet when the plaster goes on' thats the contractors job.In Australia if you renovate an older pool you have to guarantee the workmanship and materials used for 3 years.If in all these years I would have had 1 failure,I would have taken the entire material off from then on but it never happened. But I have renovated one pool I did build, it was 25 years old and looked a bit sad. So we roughened up the tiles with a diamond grinding wheel,on 4"grinders,straight acid washed the interior, and it had better be a windy day when you do that,washed down pumped out and bicarbed the whole interior, wash down again and pumpout. Then when it was dry painted on to all walls straight cement/polymer slurry mixed with 2mm filter sand,and let that dry.
We do this because old marblesheen pool walls where still a bit slippery even after a straight acid wash.Then we mix 2/1 straight cement mixed with 4-5mm graded river pebbles trowel it on up over the top and down the back edge by hand get it nice and smooth them pressure wash to expose the stone, all the while the pump in the hydro valve is removeing the slurry.Next day 10/1 acid wash pump out install all fittings, put the plug in and fill. We do alot of all pebble natural looking pools in Australia= very economical 10 days start to finish. GW
Gavin Wills
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat 28 Nov, 2009 17:01
My Pool: verification was 100% wrong it asked me is there a P
in pH but it is clearly not a P it is a p. The 2nd one asked me the colour of a nice clean pool, I was wrong again! there are many different colors it could be.A black epoxy coating will change from dark blue to greeny blue to bluey gray greeny gray ect it all depends on the colour of the sky and the angle you look at it. anyway I'll get the next one right, I will just be a robot and answer the way I am supposed too
Location: Australia

Welcome aboard

Postby Gavin Wills » Tue 15 Dec, 2009 01:28

Guess what else chechmate. 25 years ago the white marblesheen interiors,which were white marble dust and chips mixed 2/1 with white cement and trowelled really smooth were put on without any special bonding,we just made sure the concrete was never really smoothed up while spraying and that it was damp when troweled on : :wave: :crazy:
Gavin Wills
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat 28 Nov, 2009 17:01
My Pool: verification was 100% wrong it asked me is there a P
in pH but it is clearly not a P it is a p. The 2nd one asked me the colour of a nice clean pool, I was wrong again! there are many different colors it could be.A black epoxy coating will change from dark blue to greeny blue to bluey gray greeny gray ect it all depends on the colour of the sky and the angle you look at it. anyway I'll get the next one right, I will just be a robot and answer the way I am supposed too
Location: Australia

Welcome aboard

Postby Gavin Wills » Tue 15 Dec, 2009 01:39

I have now seen youtube videos of gunnite, it is dry sand,cement and gravel,pushed all the way down the line with air and only water mixed at the nossle. Sprayed concrete comes in the truck wet is wet all the way to the pool,retainingwall ,water tank, fish pond, with only air at the nossle GW
czechmate
Swimming Pool Superstar
Swimming Pool Superstar
Posts: 401
Joined: Sat 16 May, 2009 09:20
My Pool: 16 x 32 gunite21000 gal., Diamond Brite Blue, Swimquip XL pump, DE36
Location: Texas

Welcome aboard

Postby czechmate » Tue 15 Dec, 2009 10:14

Gunite if properly mixed and applied has 6000-7000 PSI, about double of poured concrete.
The density of a finished cured product is far superior to conventional application.
Moisture trapped in the wet mix has to evaporate and get out during the curing process and will present voids, not readily visible to the eye.
There is a concrete tile on the market for a large paved surfaces and when you picked it up you feel the difference. When you start cutting one it moves slow under granite rated blade.
The cut side looks as if polished stone due to its density.
As always, the results in the individual pool application directly depends on the men, equipment and experience.
I have never seen any crew to shovel rebound out of the pool as it should be.
It is common practice to pack it in the pool steps and overshoot with a final layer.
As long, as the floor below was shot first it will not present a problem so it is widely accepted shortcut to circumvent messy removal from the property.
Some layman jokers in forums sometimes try to deny the advantages of a gunite, with the argument that it is not used in powerhouse dam building.
Anyone, who spend any time in construction and has even slight clue about concrete pour in such a vast application has only grin for answer.
BTW, it is the only material frequently reapplied at the rocket launching pad on the Kennedy's Cap Canaveral.
(The only substance that will not melt, but only crystallize. So there must be something good about it).
czechmate
Swimming Pool Superstar
Swimming Pool Superstar
Posts: 401
Joined: Sat 16 May, 2009 09:20
My Pool: 16 x 32 gunite21000 gal., Diamond Brite Blue, Swimquip XL pump, DE36
Location: Texas

Welcome aboard

Postby czechmate » Tue 15 Dec, 2009 20:18

Somehow I have forgot to mention one important thing about newly shot gunite.
It is the importance of spraying the new surface with water several times a day, thus allowing more natural and slower curing of concrete. It is specially necessary during hot summer weather in the South.
It may seem like a nuisance do it for a whole week, but it will pay of in the long run.

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