cracking
In the course of my watershaping career, I've come to divide remodeling projects into two distinct categories. The first is what I call cosmetic refurbishing. Here, all a homeowner usually wants is a superficial updating of a pool's or spa's appearance or performance through application of a new interior finish, some fresh waterline tile, maybe new coping and decking and, often, new equipment or perhaps a poolside waterfeature. I avoid these projects as energetically as possible because, typically, the challenges are thin and there's little room for creativity. The second category encompasses what I call
Lots of pools built in the 1960s and '70s and even through the '80s were surrounded by ribbons of concrete decking of uniform width, all the way around. Frequently, those decks were too narrow to make them of much use for more than walking around the pool: lounge chairs are too long to be set up facing the water, and a poolside table and chairs cover far too much ground to be included. The solution that runs through the heads of lots of homeowners is simply to
I had a college professor who was fond of saying, "There are only two types of concrete in this world: The first is concrete that is cracked, and the second is concrete that is going to crack." That's a good laugh line, but the tough thing about it is that it's also true. This is why the engineering design procedures for all reinforced concrete (pursuant to ACI 318 and 350, which are the key American Concrete Institute standards for concrete structures) allow for
There's no room for guesswork when it comes to structural engineering, says Ron Lacher of Pool Engineering, Inc., and that's especially true when it comes to concrete structures designed to contain water. Here, he opens a series on structural fundamentals related to watershapes by defining the need for precise structural planning and careful attention to workmanship - the keys, he says, to achieving a project's aesthetic and functional goals. Despite the apparent intricacy of any good set of engineering drawings and contrary to what many people think, structural plans for concrete watershapes are pretty cut and dried. At the most basic level, the art and science of structural engineering deals with predictable forces placed upon structures and with the construction techniques and materials required to counteract those forces. The basic mathematic calculations are straightforward stuff, and everything runs in accordance with building codes that
