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[cdnvic]

That's a lot for a titration kit. Is that average price in Thailand?

Be cheaper to mail me a water sample.  

[chrgrims]

Careful what u offer

we will see, i have time to look for different kits.

[chrgrims]

lots of pics today because the concrete arrived:

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[stgrhe]

The concrete mix looks very wet to me and it appears merely to be a mix of cement and water only. I do not see any gravel, nor do I see any vibrator in use getting rid of the air pockets in the concrete, or have you ordered self compacting concrete? It is not so common here in Thailand as it is more expensive. Also, how many steng is the concrete?

[cdnvic]

The aggregate is clearly visible where the concrete is being poured.

[chrgrims]

I dont know the answer to those questions, so i forwarded the comment to the company. thanks for asking! everything went according to plan, and the workers seemed happy about it all. It is waterproof concrete and in the contract it says it must dry a long time, so now waiting is the next project

cheers, chr

[chrgrims]

Answer from u-tai pools:

"Steng 240 KSC slump test 12 +-3-5 cm with water resistant chemical

Here is Thailand and hot. Water is gone faster. It looks wet to get rid of air bubble also. Tom (the foreman) will cure with water."

[stgrhe]

chrgrims, on 2009-09-16 11:07:27, said:

Answer from u-tai pools:

"Steng 240 KSC slump test 12 +-3-5 cm with water resistant chemical

Here is Thailand and hot. Water is gone faster. It looks wet to get rid of air bubble also. Tom (the foreman) will cure with water."

240 steng is good but if the concrete wasn't vibrated you will most likely have air bubbles and that will make the concrete less strong.

Actually, curing in the concrete is a chemical process and it takes years before the process is finished and for that water is needed. That is why one should keep the concrete wet for up to a month and preferably also cover it from direct sunshine.

[chrgrims]

Here are some pictures from the last few days. The work is going very fast, 4-5 workers come at 7-8 in the morning and leave at 5pm every day.


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[splitlid]

hope the skydiver didnt impale himself on the steel.

[Valentine]

Just wondering why the formwork is blue. BTW job looks to be going really well which would have been pretty hard here in Phuket with all the recent rains although it has been OK this past couple of days.

[apetley]

Any update or has the bad weather slowed construction?

[chrgrims]

a lot has happened, but i have been too busy to update. Concrete for the frame arrived. We had 25 workers here that day, making a line from the car with concrete to the pool. The tiles have arrived. They have started making the stairs in the pool, looks great. I will put up some pics when i have time .

cheers, chr

Edited by chrgrims, 2009-10-06 06:40:48.

[chrgrims]

Hi all,

The work is going great and we think the pool will be finished within 4 weeks. The tiles are a bit darker than we had imagined. I guess this is what can happen with handmade tiles, it can be difficult to get exactly the correct color. Either way, we are happy with the color as it is now.

I also did some testing of the tap water:

ph 7,5-7,6
total alkalinity 80
calsium 450

So, i think we can use the tap water for the pool. I am yet to test for copper and iron, but i had a meeting with the state water analysis center in pitsanulok. they said that they test the water for our area often, and there is never excess of copper or iron. We will give them a sample for test for lead, they said this can sometimes be an issue here.

cheers, chr

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[cdnvic]

Don't forget that there's a waiting time until you should use your salt generator with newly tiled pools.

http://www.thaivisa....ut-t147460.html

[chrgrims]

ok, just read that link, thanks. its a white powder that comes off the grout, right? i guess vacuuming will be important in the beginning.

[cdnvic]

You may need to soften the water a lot at first as there will be a lot of dissolved mineral in the water that can't be vacuumed. Also, remember to backwash immediately after vacuuming as you don't want that stuff mixing long term with the sand causing early calcification.

If possible, find a storage solution for gathering rainwater from your roof. The rainwater is very soft and can be used as a top-up to dilute the hard water.

[chrgrims]

When you say soften the water, do you mean add water with lower level of calcium? or are there other ways too? great idea with the rainwater.

[cdnvic]

You will always need to add some water with lower calcium as 450ppm is a bit too high. 300ppm is what I like, maybe a bit higher on older pools. The water in outdoor pools always gets progressively harder as minerals are left behind due to evaporation. That's why you need to use soft water to dilute the existing water. Normal fill water won't work as it is already too hard, that's why a water softener is a good idea. You might already have one for the house. No reason why you can't use that water.

There are sequestering agents that help precipitate the calcium so it can be vacuumed up but I'm not really a fan as you are asking your filter to remove the calcium and calcium and sand don't get along well. best thing is to remove the excess before it even gets into the pool.

[chrgrims]

thank you very much for that reply, very helpful

[chrgrims]

i misread the calcium test. the correct reading is 45, not 450! so, thats a lot better.

[cdnvic]

In that case,forget what I said and buy a bag of Calcium Chloride.  

[chrgrims]

yes. i also read that calcium goes up a bit over time by itself, so we will see what happens.

[nakachalet]

"Steng 240 KSC slump test 12 +-3-5 cm with water resistant chemical

Here is Thailand and hot. Water is gone faster. It looks wet to get rid of air bubble also. Tom (the foreman) will cure with water."[/quote]

240 steng is good but if the concrete wasn't vibrated you will most likely have air bubbles and that will make the concrete less strong.
--------

CONGRATS CHRGRIMS.... FINALLY U R BUILDING....

rigorous vibration is a must to rid air bubbles, wonder why utai spares that expense?

also, just wonder, several contractors suggest using 300 rather than 240....?

does u-tai propose anything other than 240... pls?

[chrgrims]

i just got the answers from u-tai.

he uses 3 machines to get the bubbles out. This is no problem. It might be better to ask than to assume that no vibrator machine has been used.

he gave a long explanation on steng, ksc etc, why he uses what he uses etc. He is an engineer, and he says he can give a full explanation to anyone. The problem is that most will not understand the explanation. This is me included. But if you want, send me a PM, and i will forward his email.

Edited by chrgrims, 2009-10-14 10:00:49.