Let's build some pools!

Frenzied Wombat said:

TheBeagle What are your thoughts on these? Obviously not as profitable from an installer/contractor standpoint since the pool is basically pre-fab, but from a consumer standpoint? Epoxy and polyaspartic finish is pretty indestructible— I’ve got it in my carport and have dropped power tools on it without a scratch.

Trek Pools

Shipping container pools and spas built right here in the US. Trek Pools are built to run life's journey with you.

www.trekpools.com

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Have you seen those pre-fabbed fiberglass pool shells that are advertised and displayed all over our highways from one end of the state to the next? Forget the name, but there's one right off I-35 just south of the metroplex that I see everytime I drive south. These shipping container things seem like the same thing to me but with extra steps (and extra $$$$). My impression is it's something that looks cool on social media and Pinterest and probably has a few niche cases where it would be the right choice over a traditional pool but in general isn't something that can compete with a normal, back yard, in ground pool.

The pool industry is littered with companies trying to reinvent the wheel. Our company got involved with one of those new, plaster - free finishes for a decade. Built hundreds of pools with it. Looked great brand new, it was like picking out a paint color in how uniform and perfect it looked. Offered a lifetime guarantee on it. But it's just not as reliable as good old fashioned plaster. We're going to be stuck repairing and patching that shit on all those pools forever. We stopped using it a couple years ago and went back to being exclusively plaster/pebble. Water chemistry is a real bitch and when you have a synthetic surface you have to keep it dialed in all the time or it will get away from you really quick. A plaster pool is much more forgiving in regards to chemistry and actually helps to buffer the water. There's probably 10 pool guys in DFW that know how to properly take care of these new synthetic surfaces and I left that side of the biz a few years ago, so maybe 9 .

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be happy with any kind of pre-fabbed pool.

Been building a higher level difficulty one. It's on the side of a very steep hill on a lake shore. Pool is 32' long and had 6' of drop from one end to the other. Compounded by the fact the hill is solid rock so we had to use the hammer. Forms on the back side are 6' out of the ground.

When we shot the gunite we had to strip the forms on the sides so we could shoot a ledge on the outside for the rock veneer. Stripping forms when you have a 6' wall of fresh gunite is something that doesn't happen very often. Pretty hair raising. If the wall were to collapse....big fucking oops. To mitigate that we put in a double mat of 1/2" rebar on 6" centers. That's what they put in highways. It worked.

OU Ariakas said:

OK team, we are finally done. Pool starter went in yesterday but we have to upgrade the gas meter before we can use the heater or outdoor kitchen. I called to schedule and it wont happen until DECEMBER FUCKING NINETEENTH. Well at least it looks good, right?
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Nice work. Your plaster needs to cure for three weeks before running the heater anyway.