DIY inground kit- DIY on the Poolkrete?

[hoffmans]

Hello all
Hoffmans here.
Well sounds like we are in the same boat as a few others on the forum. Contimplating the inground pool, getting our ducks in order, working out the numbers yadda yadda yadda.

My DH Tom is a real DIY'er and we were wondering if we can do the pool Krete bottom ourselves. Does anyone know if that is possible? He has done concrete in the past.
Pool size would be a 20x40 kit 8'deep end w/ the Hydra Pinnacle Polymer walls from nationalpoolwholesalers.com


Thank You
~Hoffmans

[duraleigh]

It can certainly be DIY but it's not easy. It's quite a bit different than concrete....closer to smoothing out cookie dough than concrete.

There are lots and lots of little tricks that you only pick up from experience. Probably the two most difficult things are getting consistent batches with every load and being somewhat of an artisan with a trowel.

Whether you pay someone or DIY, it is impossible to get a perfect finish. When you turn on the pool light at night, it will look similar to the moons surface....it's the nature of the beast.

[hsdancer]

We did everythying except the the vermiculite/cement (DIY poolcrete), but that was only because my husband did not the week he would have needed to get the job done. (It was already October and we needed to get the liner in before it got too cold here in Maryland). We hired someone experienced who, with his two-man crew, did the job in 1 1/2 days.

It was a pretty big job. Our pool is "L" shaped. The long side is 20 x 44, 10.5' deep end, 4.5' play area. The bottom of the "L" is the entrance/shallow area, 16 x 16, 3.5' deep.

On the advice of another DIY'er, before we installed the liner, DH went over the entire sides and bottom of the pool with a flat edge and sandpaper to take off the trowel marks (ridges) smooth out the surface. Afterwards, we vacuumed and, last, cleaned it with damp towels. That took about 4 solid hours, and it was probably the best four hours we spent.

Our pool bottom is smooth as silk. There is one minor dip and a single footprint from when Ronnie got out of the pool, but you really have to be looking for them when the light is on.

It is possible to get a smooth bottom, but you have have a good poolcrete base and be willing to make it smooth yourself after the poolcrete cures. Jo

[hoffmans]

Oh my goodness,
Thank you so much for the info. We really need it!
We will be doing it ourselves.
I will provide photos of our entire DIY install of the Hydra Polymer Inground 20x40.
We are waiting for the video to come.

Thanks again
~Hoffmans

[ReddyK]

Hello Hoffmans! I'm also looking to install a 20x40 polymer wall pool from nationalpoolwholesalers, not until next summer/fall. I plan on doing most of it myself except the excavation and the vermiculite. I'm looking forward to hearing more on how your pool installation goes.