Planning to construct a swimming pool on the space of your backyard? You probably thinking of different factors for a picture-perfect water oasis. Most of the homeowners consider pool construction’s durability for long-lasting usability and the aesthetic beauty that it can add to your home over-all appearance.
What is a gunite swimming pool? Gunite is composed of sand and cement or dry concrete. An exemption with the traditional concrete that is water is mixed at the nozzle then poured by section into steel frames, gunite is applied in layers using a specialized spray gun. Using a compressed hose, swimming pool builders can spray concrete on vertical surfaces or curves, making the application an easy task in any pool shape.
The trend in swimming pool construction continues with its wide array of innovative designs and ways of construction. In searching for your future swimming pool or a renovation for your existing in-ground swimming pool, you will frequently encounter a gunite swimming pool. Due to the unparalleled level of its design flexibility and pool appearance, the gunite swimming pool represents the high-end of the swimming pool industry that holds up their appearance, safety, and durability.
We will take a look and prove why gunite is now a trend in the pool industry. We will check its construction capability that offers an extremely strong and luxurious swimming experience. Lastly, how it is associated with a shotcrete pool. Let us start the article in everything we need to know about a gunite swimming pool.
Gunite swimming pools are one of the top choices for pool owners. Now, due to its versatility in shape and extreme durability. Gunite is a common pool with commercial resorts and today, in the comfort of your own backyard.
The Popularity of the Gunite Swimming Pool
Gunite swimming pools take its popularity lately and become one of the top choices in pool construction. It became a standard for both commercial and residential swimming pool builders. Providing visual appeal, fitness, fun, and relaxation in a residential backyard are some of the reasons for making a gunite a pop? We are listing the other factor you should know that leads you to consider adding a gunite pool to your backyard.
Easier to construct. Concrete swimming pools take a long time to build, depends on some factors and constraints that are out of control such as temperature over the construction period. In the gunite swimming pool, a rebar framework is sprayed with a concrete and sand mixtures, creating a shorter construction time and less variability.
Flexibility of design. The options for pool designs and shapes cross the full spectrum. You can choose with pools with smooth curves or sharp angles or a combination of two, you can do it with gunite. Boosting your overall style and beauty with the configuration that works and fits your style, available space, budget and lifestyle preferences. There is no need to redesign your landscaping around the pool area, you can design your pool that fits in with your existing landscaping.
Built to last. One of the best reasons that there is a more and more constructed gunite pool is its durability. Gunite can provide enduring pool stability, it has a steel-reinforced concrete structure that holds water and stands the test of time. The key for its durable performance is its tensile strength or its ability to endure external force until it is compromised. Flexibility is another feature makes gunite perform even better in a swimming pool. It contracts and expands from factors like compaction, freezing, water intrusion and softening or even of dry conditions. The structure is tough and solid that can move and expand without cracking.
Personalize finishing touches and added amenities. With its amendable custom designs, it is limitless in terms of choices for your pool finishing. You can choose finishes created from pebbles or glass for a high-end look. You can explore your creativity when it comes to amenities. Gunite pools also give you the flexibility to add colossal vessels like streams, waterfalls, and spa, adding a natural appearance to your swimming pool. Gunite pools are the only pool type that you can create a beach entry. A beach entry is a gradual slope, starting at the edge of the deck and slowly slopes to the deep end of the pool. It adds comfort in entering or going out of the pool and safety with every swimmer.
Installing a Gunite Swimming Pool
Gunite is really dependable in structural strength. It is a dry concrete made of sand and cement that is applied through a high-pressure hose mix with water. When it dries or cures, gunite becomes a hard-forming, thick rock, solid structure. Gunite produces flowing lines, various contours, depths, size and shapes forming a cohesive and visually appealing structure.
Installation of your new pool begins with the digging of your pool shape and the installation of the iron rebar. The rebar is carefully placed at specific intervals and this framework creates a grid around the perimeter of your pool to reinforce the structure. Extra steel goes into areas requiring an additional level of reinforcement. The cage is suspended several inches in the air so it does not touch the soil underneath it and that space remains to be filled in by gunite materials. Then the pool builders spray the heavy coating of gunite around the rebar at high velocity, creating a dense pool wall and floor. The gunite is then smoothed and wait to cure or dry to set.
Once set, your pool finish will be applied based on your preferred design. Plaster, composed of cement and marble dust, is the most common finishing with its wide range of color options to match your pool surroundings. The plaster actually waterproofs a gunite swimming pool and gleams the pool interior surface. Another option for finishing is having a pebbled or tiled finish for a high-end and unique look. You can also add you are natural look amenities to improve the pool aesthetic.
Shotcrete vs Gunite: What’s the Difference?
Many of the homeowners are confused with the difference between a gunite pool and shotcrete. Others think gunite and shotcrete are just regular concrete. Technically speaking, concrete is a mix of sand, cement, some aggregates, and water. While the term shotcrete generally refers to either wet or dry mix concrete that is applied through a hose, so gunite is just a variation of shotcrete.
In the swimming pool industry, we take a different story in using these terminologies. Gunite and shotcrete are both types of concrete. The only difference between them is the preparation of the materials with water and the placement method for pneumatically placing concrete materials at high velocity. Gunite is concretely applied with the dry-mix process, the water is applied at the nozzle of the high-velocity hose when the builders applied it. Shotcrete is the wet mix of concrete. The mixture of cement, sand, and aggregates are already mixed with water when it delivers into your backyard and ready to be applied using the concrete sprayer.
Let discuss a more detailed gunite pool building to see its difference with shotcrete. The gunite truck will deliver the dry load of sand and cement to your backyard. Then, the materials will pour into a container called a hopper. The hopper feeds the dry concrete into the mixing system or the auger. The auger feeds the gunite mix into a high-velocity hose. Using an additional separate tip and line which is connected to the gunite hose, it adds the water to the dry mix as its exit s the hose. Now the dry mix is blended with water and it is ready to be applied to your pool construction.
It is time to focus on shotcrete. It is a combination of cement, sand, aggregates, and water is already mixed. This material is ready to use as soon the delivery arrives at your backyard. Same with gunite, a high-pressure hose is needed to spray into the pool hole to create a durable structure.
Either the two ways of spraying concrete materials, gunite and shotcrete are both homeowners’ top choice for swimming pool construction. Both are ideal in creating a solid structure with supreme durability and quality pool design.
Gunite Swimming Pool Maintenance
With every other pool, you’ll need to consider the swimming pool care and maintenance. As a gunite pool owner, there are specific things you need to remember to maintain your pool an inviting part of your backyard.
- Gunite and shotcrete have a permeable surface, so your pool will be more prone to the growth of algae. Regular brushing of your swimming pool is needed. You also need proper pool chemicals application and active filtration. Clear away debris from the surface and the bottom of the pool for proper circulation of the pool.
- Gunite and shotcrete swimming pool surfaces may need refinished maintenance. Unlike other kinds of swimming pools like fiberglass or vinyl liner pool, gunite and shotcrete will eventually show signs of wear. To maintain the visual appeal and smooth surface, you needed a regularly to refinish your pool’s surface by adding a fresh layer. A good thing in refinishing, the shape of the pool will never lose.
- Regular inspection for a leak in filters and pumps to minimize the chances of the possible leak if you usually use the pool.
- Maintain the water level to make sure to rebalance the chemicals and keep the filters freely clean your pool.
Like every other pool type, a gunite swimming pool has some downside in the pool construction process. The gunite process requires a skilled operator or the nozzleman that is in-charge in the sand, cement and water ratio. An error in the mixture can ruin the quality of the concrete. You should also avoid clogged dry mixture in the hose pipe. Gunite produces a lot of over-spray or rebound materials that making a mess in construction. You can reuse it to prevent converting it as just a waste.
Gunite swimming construction has held a special place in the industry for almost a decade. This is due to the composition of a gunite pool, the gunite, steel and plaster. This trio provides the incredible durability and versatility of the design of a gunite swimming pool. Prepare your home for a beautiful and enduring aquatic upgrade in your backyard. Experience a resort or hotel like swimming experience and build your own gunite swimming pool that works best and provides the most value.
