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Master Formation Pools and Spas - Gunite
Inspection: The Pre-Gunite Inspection is the first official inspection in the pool construction process. The building inspector will be checking out the steel construction, electrical bonding, plumbing, plumbing pressure, electrical and plumbing trenches, etc. Anything that is not up to code, he will flag for correction. Then you must arrange for a return visit of the red-flagged contractor to correct the error, followed by another inspection. (This really shouldn't happen too often. Those crews will want to be done with their part of the job just as badly as you want them to. Besides, return trips to fix mistakes will just cost them time and money.
Gunite: Gunite is a concrete mixture that is applied by high pressure sprayers to the unfinished surfaces of the pool. Gunite is sprayed out dry and mixed wet at the nozzle of the sprayer. Working from within the hole in the ground, the quick-setting concrete mixture is sprayed over the rough dirt surface. Once the gunite has been sprayed to the proper thickness, the gunite workers begin troweling down the rough, bumpy surface to create the smooth, flowing forms that make up your pool. Here is where the steps and benches are built and carefully shaped. The shaping must be exact; as these are the forms to which the chosen interior finish will be applied. Once the gunite crew has finished their work, the pool truly begins to take on its final shape.
After this phase, especially in warmer weather, be sure you keep the pool watered down regularly to keep the gunite from curing. Don't worry about the dirty water that collects in the bottom, there is no way around it. The plasterers will take care of its removal. The most important thing here is to allow the pool to cure slowly. You want to be sure you keep that drying gunite well-watered -- almost as if this were a brand new lawn. We have to be be diligent in this; if the surface of the pool cures too rapidly, the concrete underneath the surface will not set up properly and cracking could even result.
The finished shell needs to be kept well-watered over the course of a week or more. This will allow the concrete to cure slowly.