Finally installing. A few random questions:

[badutahboy]

Bump.. Dennis? got any advice?

[hrsdennis]

Hi, I am off today to build a 15 x 30. I will get a few detailed photos for you. I only use a string on one side and a center point as a guide. From there I space with the bottom rails and connecting straps.

With a tape measure I make sure the distance apart is the same at the front and rear of the braces. I also check the entire brace assembly for square before backfilling.

I hope I can post more this evening, Dennis

[badutahboy]

Hi, I am off today to build a 15 x 30. I will get a few detailed photos for you. I only use a string on one side and a center point as a guide. From there I space with the bottom rails and connecting straps.

With a tape measure I make sure the distance apart is the same at the front and rear of the braces. I also check the entire brace assembly for square before backfilling.

I hope I can post more this evening, Dennis

Awesome... That's pretty close to what I was anticipating doing myself... I'd appreciate the pics!

Thanks a ton for all your advice. Without folks like you, the entire web would be a useless collection of porn and news sites.

[waste]

Bad, not all the porn is useless

[hrsdennis]

OK Ted, just because I had an uncontrollable laugh at your last comment, that doesn’t make me guilty of anything.

So I got to work today, I had my camera but forgot the batteries. I had my cheap backup however, it always travels with me. When I get to a job I just want to know four things. I need to know where one end of the pool will be and where one side will be. I also ask where you want the vegetation piled and where you want the filter located.

In this case the pool was to run parallel with the house, not the back fence. I measured off the house to set the stakes for my side string. If you look close you will see my stakes are just screwdrivers, they work best for me. I came in 15’ from my end point and I have a center. With a center point and a side string I am set to go. This picture shows my first brace set against the string and point directly at my center stake.



From that one brace assembly I can use the bottom rails and straps to correctly position the rest of the braces. With all of this laid out you need to check for square before you begin to dig. Make a rectangle out or the six braces. Crisscross a tape measure from the outside brace on one side to the opposing outside brace on the other side. Adjust all three braces on one side or the other, side to side, until they measure perfectly square. If one side is just a touch off the string and it measures square you are set to mark your trenches. Once marked simply move the brace assemblies aside and dig.



This is where my laser level works its magic. The bottom channel is 3”. If I have determined the ground level to be a one I set all of the brace channels and the tops of all of the blocks at a four. I then move the brace assemblies back into place. I line up with the string, check for square and then recheck the top level of the front and back of each brace. I may have to tap one down a bit or raise one a hair, but I make them all prefect. I then backfill and pack the trenches and the braces are set.

Hope that helps a little, Dennis

[badutahboy]

OK Ted, just because I had an uncontrollable laugh at your last comment, that doesn’t make me guilty of anything.

So I got to work today, I had my camera but forgot the batteries. I had my cheap backup however, it always travels with me. When I get to a job I just want to know four things. I need to know where one end of the pool will be and where one side will be. I also ask where you want the vegetation piled and where you want the filter located.

In this case the pool was to run parallel with the house, not the back fence. I measured off the house to set the stakes for my side string. If you look close you will see my stakes are just screwdrivers, they work best for me. I came in 15’ from my end point and I have a center. With a center point and a side string I am set to go. This picture shows my first brace set against the string and point directly at my center stake.
From that one brace assembly I can use the bottom rails and straps to correctly position the rest of the braces. With all of this laid out you need to check for square before you begin to dig. Make a rectangle out or the six braces. Crisscross a tape measure from the outside brace on one side to the opposing outside brace on the other side. Adjust all three braces on one side or the other, side to side, until they measure perfectly square. If one side is just a touch off the string and it measures square you are set to mark your trenches. Once marked simply move the brace assemblies aside and dig.


This is where my laser level works its magic. The bottom channel is 3”. If I have determined the ground level to be a one I set all of the brace channels and the tops of all of the blocks at a four. I then move the brace assemblies back into place. I line up with the string, check for square and then recheck the top level of the front and back of each brace. I may have to tap one down a bit or raise one a hair, but I make them all prefect. I then backfill and pack the trenches and the braces are set.

Hope that helps a little, Dennis

Will you explain your last paragraph a little more? What do you mean by "a one" and "a four"... are these references on your laser level (presumably in inches)?

Do you set your braces perfectly level in the trenches, or do you angle them toward the pool by the width of your block? If you angle them, do you backfill with dirt or gravel underneath the braces before setting them, or set them and let nature backfill the gaps? My instructions call for the trenches to be 5 1/2" deep, with a little backfilled crusher run, an angled area which the brace sits on, etc... I'm just wondering if all those steps are truly necessary.

Any chance you've got pictures of the next few steps of the process? Trenches, braces dropped into the trenches, stabilizing plates installed, etc?

Thanks again for your help. I think I'm starting to get it... We did basically the same thing you do today, but we did it the hard way.. we strung the whole thing, brought it into square, marked the trenches and started digging.. Got one trench dug, but not "perfected".. it's still a little high in a few spots and might be low in 1-2 others. I'll be digging the other two trenches tomorrow and hopefully getting the braces all set... In fact, I'd like to get the pool most of the way complete tomorrow.. I have all day to work on it, and it's supposed to be a nice 75ish degrees (it was over 90 today).

[hrsdennis]

Hi again, yes the numbers are just a reference point. The bottom channel is three inches deep. If I have determined my outside, ground level will be say 3 ½ on my level stick, then I want the front part of my trenches to be set at a 6 ½. The top of the blocks should also be a 6 ½, no slope. When the brace assembly is set into the hole the front should read a 3 ½ and the back should read a 3 ½.

I do slope slightly, front to rear, only to ensure there are no high spots between the front of the channel and the block the rear is resting on. I am sorry I do not have photos to illustrate this. It is important that the front of the channel read the same as the rear.

As for packing, I use the dirt that came out of the trenches and foot stomp it. This is however Arizona, the instructions were written for all of the other areas where the soil is much different. This is where you need to decide if your soil will pack OK, or if screenings, or crusher run would work better.

I will check back as often as possible tomorrow, maybe be of some more help.

Dennis