2021 Pool “Restoration”

During the Summer of 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing and Becky and I were noticing that the shallow end of our pool was significantly lower than it had been the year before. There was about a 4” or 5” difference in water level between the deep end and shallow end because the walls of our on-ground pool were sinking.

After much discussion and back-and-forth we made the decision to keep the pool and invest the time and money into fixing it.

This page documents our adventure through photos and commentary as the pool techs came in and returned our pool to factory settings.

Step 1 - Deck Demolition

On September 11, 2021 my cousin, my parents, my sister and brother-in-law all showed up to help us remove the deck around the pool. With all hands on deck (no pun intended!) it took only one day to remove the decking and patio stones!

Since all of the boards were rotten and unsalvageable we ordered a large dumpster bin. Although the bin was quite big we cut all the boards into smaller chunks to save room. I’m glad we took the extra time to do this as it really helped pack the bin nice and tight.

... nothing to hold on to, railings are gone ...

... look out, the floor is disappearing... and believe it or not the kids are helping out!

... notice how hard grandpa is working ...

... time for the stairs (and cleaning the pool ?!?!) ...

Step 2 - What’s behind the curtain?

The Monday after we took down the deck, the pool experts called us and asked if they could start that same day!

The original plan at this point was to have them come in and raise the one end panel about 4 inches, put in some stairs, and replace the liner.

After they removed the liner and measured the trueness of the pool’s levelness, there was a lot more work that needed to be done…

DIY 'Leveling' the pool sides using pressure treated lumber. (Notice the taper in the wood that runs left to right!)

Discovery #1 - the sides of the pool were out of level much much more than what we could see from the waterline!

Discovery #2 - The pool bottom was not done correctly and is "in the worst condition [the pool experts] have ever seen".

Discovery #3 - Instead of fixing the cause of the sinking, the prior owner simply filled in the sunken shallow end with filter sand, raised the sides with pressure treated lumber, and put a new liner in.

After all was revealed the sides were out of level from one end to the other by about 16 1/2 inches!

The cracks shown in the floor are caused because the wrong type/mixture of concrete was used.

Step 3 - Dig Deep

The next step in our adventure was to dig around the sides of the pool so they could be levelled and a proper concrete base could be pored. Unfortunately there is no access to our backyard for any small machinery so all of the digging had to be done by hand.

(Left) Logan thought it would be a good time to go for a swim!

Sides have been revealed all around the pool. You can really see the slope of that front panel as it dips from left to right.

There was only a little bit of concrete poured at each end of the side panel. It should be poured all the way along.

Again, there was a little bit of concrete on some of the supports and at the corners of the sides, but not nearly as much as will be there shortly!

Step 4 - Levelling Up

After digging out the sides the pool experts levelled each side to within an inch or two of level.

Step 5 - Goodbye Floor

This was very hard labour… for the pool experts as they jackhammered the pool floor and had to carry out the pieces in buckets to the trailer. We live on the side of a hill and so they had to climb the equivalent of 2 to 3 flights of stairs to remove this cement - not including the distance from the pool bottom itself!

They started by jackhammering the floor into small 'manageable' pieces that could be lofted over the side of the pool and carried out of the yard.

Notice the hole in the ground. We think that was an old fence post hole that they just didn't bother to fill before pouring the floor.

Step 6 - New Stairs!

One of the original goals of this project was to install a set of built-in stairs in the pool. This was an exciting day watching them install these stairs.

Arrival of the stairs via the Ford chariot!

The shallow end was levelled up with gravel and the end panel was removed ready for stair installation!

Those two silvery panels will flank either side of the stairs when they are installed.

Alternative view of the short "stair panels" and also the temporary reinforcing bars.

Notice how much dirt was removed to uncover the supports that will ultimately be buried in concrete.

Close-up of stairs with supports underneath.

A look at the deep end after removing all the previous floor and reforming the soil foundation.

The orange plastic mesh has been installed to give the concrete something to stick to when it is poured - this was required given the large gaps below the sides after levelling.

Close up of the plastic mesh filling in the gaps ready for concrete.

View of the side supports ready for concrete.

The other side with supports and plastic mesh.

Step 7 - Solidify the foundation with lots of concrete!

This was by far the most amazing day of the pool work. As I’ve mentioned before we live on the side of a hill and there is a flight of stairs from the driveway to the back yard and then the pool is a little further downhill. All the concrete had to be manually moved from the end of the driveway to the pool using wheelbarrows.

They used three wheelbarrows in total. One person would take a barrow full from the pump truck along the side of the house where they would pour it over the side of the ramp into a second wheelbarrow. This second person would then wheel it down the backyard, up the ramp to the shallow end, and pour it into a third wheelbarrow sitting in the shallow end of the pool. Finally this third person would wheel the barrow into the deep end where they would apply it to the pool floor.

Overall there was 9 cubic yards of concrete moved around and poured for the foundation and pool floor.

The start of the concrete 'fire-brigade' is the concrete truck at the end of the driveway. Person #1 (seen coming down the driveway) picks up the wheelbarrow and delivers the barrow full down the side of the house.

There were two wheelbarrows out front; when Person #1 was wheeling the full barrow down the side of the house, the truck-man would fill up a second wheelbarrow.

Transfer #1 - from the driveway level, over the side to the to Person #2.

Person #2 is off wheeling down the backyard ramps towards the pool...

Here Person #2 needs to decide, do I hang a right and fill in the foundation around the pool sides, or do I go straight up the ramp to the shallow end?

... straight through to the shallow end and transfer #2 to Person #3 in the shallow end.

... transfer #3, after wheeling the concrete to the deep end it is applied to the pool floor.

Filling in the gaps under the pool sides was a bit of a challenge but still no problem for the experts!

Overview of all progress showing the poured foundation around the outside of the pool, embedding the stairs. As well as the progress on the deep end walls.

Here you can see the concrete foundation around the outside of the pool sides.

... foundation on the far side of the pool.

This gives a good view of the support under the stairs.

Quick glimpse of the pool after the concrete foundation has been poured.

Step 8 - Plumbing and drainage

After the concrete was poured, weeping tile (the black tube in the pictures) was installed to help drain rain water away from the pool. It was buried in gravel to further help with drainage and help prevent the pool from sinking.

... weeping tile snaking it's way around the stairs...

... and around the back. Notice the new jet installed in the deep end. There are two jets now, diagonally opposite from each other, one in the shallow end and this one in the deep end.

Here you can see the shallow end jet supply and also the gravel backfill has started to be delivered.

Although it looks like a mess of pipes, there is really only three pipes: two delivery pipes and one return pipe. Here they have been roughed in.

Here you can see the new skimmer location, opposite the jet supply. The old skimmer hole (at the right side of the picture) needs to be filled in.

Gravel fill around and under the stairs, and around the sides...

Step 9 - Pool Flooring

The pool floor is composed of two layers. The foundation layer (see prior step) is concrete with a high slump value, and the topcoat which is a special ‘smoother’ mix of grout.

The grout floor was mixed using a concrete mixer in our driveway and then delivered using the ‘wheel barrow’ method similar to the concrete delivery method.

They started in the deep end and worked their way to the shallow. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a picture of the most important step… how did they apply mud to that last strip up the middle of the deep-end? (See pictures below.)

In the beginning there was just the deep end... with enough space for three people.

Eventually all the sides of the deep end was covered. (Shot taken from the deep end looking to the shallow end.)

Ok, how do they finish that last strip up the middle of the shallow end ramp?

Making sure the bottom is smooth... still wondering how he will get up the ramp and apply the grout.

Starting the shallow end and only a small path on that ramp.

... and it's done! A beautiful new floor!

Looks like a good place to check your phone...

Step 10 - Backfill

It’s starting to look like a pool again… it even has water!

With the walls all cemented in, the floor completed and all the plumbing done, it’s time to put all that dirt that was moved back.

Gravel was wheel barrowed in and covered the weeping tile that was laid down around the base of the pool and then was covered with landscape fabric. The dirt was then shoveled over top.

Step 11 - The Pool Liner

Finally the moment we’ve been waiting for, the pool liner.

The pool floor was still a little rough and needed to be sanded. Then the liner was installed. Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of the liner being installed.

The liner is connected and ‘sealed off’ at the top. Two very large fans suck the pool liner up against the floor and walls while the water is filled to avoid wrinkles etc.