Gunite Pool Curing question
 

I'm having a gunite pool built, and the gunite shell was installed today (what a messy and loud process!) From internet research, I learned that this shell needs to cure for about a week and needs to be watered at least twice daily for it to cure properly. I asked the pool company whether I needed to do this myself, or do they do this, and the response was that this is not necessary. I did more research, and from what I've gathered, this is actually more important down here in Florida during the summer as the sun/heat causes faster evaporation. Anyone here who can share their experience/knowledge on this?

Yes it’s highly recommended twice a day. We have a giant sprinkler and turned it on covering entire pool twice a day especially during hottest time of day. It’s slowly allowing shell to cure.

Our pool was done in December so twice a day was recommended. Then again the owner stopped everyday at our site. Just to make sure our pool was watered:1rotfl:

Good idea to do it yourself. Your best interest is the LONG TERM quality of your new pool. The pool company is concerned with the warranty period, beyond that it’s your problem.

Gunite is essentially shotcrete, but done in a less expensive way ... at the risk of reduced consistency and strength. I've done plenty of shotcrete work, but never gunite, for those reasons.

Your pool installers sound like hackers. Did they have a 3rd party testing firm, to test the installed product? Normally when using concrete of any sort, samples are taken by a 3rd party, to insure the mix meets standards. Some pool people shoot 2500 lb concrete ... 4000 lb is a much better product, especially for Florida (it's not much more expensive, but harder to work with). Do you have any clue what they claim for concrete strength? Did they do a"slump test" on the concrete (see attached)? If they didn't, you're dealing with idiots.

How long it should be "wet", is determined by the mix they used. 4000 lb will set much faster than 2500/3000.

When we test concrete, core samples are broken at 7 days, 14 days & 28 days. Concrete seldom reaches design strength before the 14 day break ... which means it's still "curing".

In other words, it's impossible to answer your question with the information provided, without generalizing. YES, the concrete should be kept wet, but for how long, depends on what the design strength/mix is and how good of a job did the "nozzle guy" did (shotcrete is applied wet, gunite is dry and water is added by the nozzle guy).

It's particularly important to keep concrete wet when it's poured in hot weather.

Before things go any further, I'd bring in a consulting engineer (structural) to review the plans and evaluate the concrete. I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear, but if your installer is as cavalier as he sounds, that pool shell is likely to crack ... and sooner, rather than later.

(Disclaimer: I don't build pools, but I've poured way more than 100,000 yards of concrete. Concrete is concrete.)

This is an interesting thread. I never had a pool put in, but I now know something to look for when choosing a builder.

Wow. Thank you for this info.
 

Thank you for this information! Definitely more than I was asking for. The company that did the gunite is Southern Gunite. I will reach out to them to ask some of these questions.

Attached is a sample cover page from a 3rd Party Verification. I would never pour concrete without a 3rd Party Inspection. It's too late in your case.

If I were in your situation, I'd have a concrete testing company do a "core" and test it. If you core before the pool finish goes on, the coring will be invisible.

Thanks for all the excellent advice regarding this type of pool finish installation. I'm sure you opened a few eyes for those considering a pool.

I'd reach out to someone of authority at Southern Unite or, if they have one, a technical rep/consultant. I'd show them the info (not the whole thread) you gathered and from here, too. It sounds to me like the installers "don't want to be bothered" coming back twice a day to insure a proper cure. Good luck.

Great reading
 

i learned a lot

One more thought from someone that had a large one of these pool in Texas. The plaster they put on the pool can take a couple of years to cure and during that time they will continually make the pool alkaline and you will need to keep jugs of acid handy to keep the pH in balance so it doesn't scale. I had to add about 1 gallon of acid each week year around to maintain the pH! Once the plaster gets scaling, brushing the scaling off is a major/impossible task, so don't let it go without monitoring and care.