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| More Pool Designs |
When the excavation is finished, and when whatever drainage and
overflow facilities you desire are in place, spread the cinders or stone
and tamp them into a 3- to 4-inch layer, upon both floor and sloping
walls.
Reinforcing steel is even more important in a puddled pool than it
is in a poured concrete shell. Spread the steel upon the tamped
cinders, as shown in Drawing 19. Short lengths of wire can be fashioned into huge hairpins which are quite effective in pinning the steel
into place and holding it in position so the concrete will envelop it
evenly.
Unless you remember a great deal more solid geometry than I do,
you will probably have trouble working out the volume of concrete required for any pool of irregular shape. The easiest thing to do is have
a dealer in mixed concrete take a look at your ready-to-pour excavation, and then order according to his specifications.
If you plan to mix your own concrete, estimate your needed volume
as best you can, and keep the estimate on the high side.
Pour the floor first, working the concrete in well around the reinforcing steel and lifting the steel back into position from time to time as the
concrete pushes it down. Tamp the wet mass in with special care at all
corners.
Move around the perimeter of the pool as you build up the walls,
depositing 6 to 8 inches of concrete each time around.
Here again, the natural finish of the pool floor will be smooth enough
for all practical purposes. If you want a smoother finish for walls and
rim, finish them off with a wooden float when the concrete has begun
to set.
The concrete should set well enough overnight for you to spread a
few planks over it next day. Walk out on the planks, spread burlap,
straw, or canvas over all the concrete surface, and keep it wet with the
garden hose for ten days.
Safe Pools for Children
A number of water gardeners have written me to ask if there is any
way of constructing an attractive pool around which toddling children
can play in safety. Happily, there are a couple of types which I can
recommend.
The Raised Pool
One of them is the raised pool. This pool is constructed like the
sunken reinforced concrete pool, with two modifications. A complete
set of inside and outside wall forms are required to shape the concrete
shell, and the foundation of cinders or stone for it is made a few inches
thicker and tamped with special vigor to give the pool a solid footing.
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