May 18, 2008

Free advice, for what it’s worth. A swimming pool is not a house. A house is easy to build, it is not filled with water on both sides, with no interaction allowed. I think that’s the main mistake Carlos the builder made. In case someone who reads this decides to build a pool, here are a few things I have learned.
First, get your level and install the skimmer, returns with tubes, and drain with tubes. You don’t need the pump, but get all the tubes installed up to the pump. This will allow a better seal around the drain, skimmer, and returns, as they will be in the original pour, or parging. Lay the rebar in a criss cross pattern going the length and width of the pool, and include enough length to be able to bend the bars at the top of the wall, so as to include the sidewalk in the same pour. Leave the last row and a half of block empty, and fill that with the sidewalk pour. Attach mesh to the rebar for the sidewalk. That way if the soil sinks, the sidewalk won’t.
Parge the blocks inside and out with a fine concrete mixed with a waterproofing chemical. There will, at times, be water trying to get into the blocks from the ground, and of course, the water in the pool wants out. The fill you use around the pool, under the sidewalk will make a big difference too. Good gravel compacts well and encourages drainage away from the walls of the pool.
Finally, tile it! It may be cheaper to paint the first time, but you will have to paint again. When you paint, there is an extra fine coat of concrete on the floor and walls that you don’t need if you tile. Any extra coat has a tendency to come off. If the concrete isn’t kept wet enough while curing, if there isn’t enough cement in the concrete, or if the concrete wasn’t dry or clean enough when it was painted, it will need repainting sooner, rather than later. As soon as you repaint, you have used up the savings you got by not using ceramic tile. Maybe this is a little obvious, but remember, if you want warmer water, use darker tiles.
A couple of old sayings I use as guides in my life might help you to understand this entry.
A smart person doesn’t need advice, a stupid person won’t take it.
Never let a lack of knowledge interfere with having a strong opinion.
I missed the most exciting event in Cocorocas this year. I was out shopping and paying bills, when a column of army ants came through the back of Jose’s house. Jose and his brother, Martin, walked ahead of them and watched as they devoured and insects, and even a couple of birds they caught up with. They watched on of the big cockroaches climb a twig to get away, and it was followed by a swarm that did it in quickly, and carried on. It sounds like it was fantastic to watch, better than tv. They had never seen it before. Wish I had been here to see it too.