Shooting The Pool

Believe it or not, the process of building a backyard swimming pool has its own special science and lingo. Of course, every weekend builder knows to begin with digging a hole. In this case, Folly’s pool will be 15 ft wide by 50 ft long, so it was beyond the scope of the shovel and wheelbarrow. It took some serious earthmoving equipment to dig the hole. These dimensions allow us to swim laps – both wonderful exercise and necessary therapy for arthritis. Perhaps it will also be the site for water aerobics for the local Golden Girls!

Building the pool takes six steps:

           

1. Once the hole is big enough, a wood form is built of the right dimension.

2. The form is lined with metal bars, both vertical and horizontal. At every point where a horizontal meets a vertical, a ring is inserted and fastened to hold that joint in place. You can imagine how many joints are required for a pool!

3. It’s a happy day when the day to “shoot the pool” arrives. The cement truck drives onto the site to great expectation because a big change will take place on this one day. The truck is NOT the kind one ordinarily sees rolling down the highway with a large drum turning to mix the cement as it travels from garage to worksite. Pool cement is quite different. The truck has two sections – both stationary. The larger section holds sand; the smaller holds cement. Both are drawn into a special hose equipped to add water to the dry material only at the last minute – at the nozzle. The result is that the cement sets in a much shorter time. 

4. It takes someone with considerable strength and skill to manage the pressurized hose.

5. The final step is to smooth the interior surface of the pool.

6. Admire the work.

Final painting and tile work waits until the pool deck is finished. Until then, Folly is one dream away from a swim-able pool.