Shooting the Shell….

Shooting the Shell….

No, this isn’t about shooting guns or water pistols.

No, this isn’t about shelling, although I love to roam the beaches here in Florida and pick up shells.

This is about shooting a gunnite mixture that looks like cement…. out of a large hose that looks like a fireman’s hose…. and filling in the sides and bottom of a pool dig.

We are talking the making of a pool that the Captain and I are putting in at one of our Flip houses.

Several of our friends are fascinated with this process and I thought I would share it with you, my dear readers.

This is what the pool looked like at Flip 3 last week. The big earth mover dug the hole.

Then, the workers put up the framework and sides for the molded shape of the pool, bracing every few feet, and adding rebar.

And this is what “shooting the shell” looks like. 

The gentleman holding the nozzle and hose controls the amount of mixture to water and the pressure, etc. 

Their feet feel like lead as they “wade” around in this thick concrete mixture.

The workers smooth and shape the top and sides and this is called “working in the hole”.

They also shape the steps and benches that will be underwater.

This is what it looks like when it is all smoothed out.

The pool is allowed to dry before the forms are removed and the bobcat comes in and back-fills the pool with the dirt and smooths the area out.

You may be asking why there is water in the bottom of the pool…..actually it is dirty water but it is necessary none-the-less!

You see as the pool drys, it must be kept sitting where it was dug.  If there were no water in the pool…it would “Pop the Shell”. …which in simple language means it would bounce up out of the ground as if it were in water itself.

This would not be a good thing. So the water anchors the shell and “holds” it in place. 

In case you are wondering about the size of this pool….It is 28 feet long, 12 feet wide and almost 6 feet deep.

I will post pics later, of the next process, ….before this pool can be filled with water and ready for a “dip”.

Meanwhile, I have to show you the Limes growing on several lime trees on this property. I told the workers to take as many as they liked, which I am sure ended up in the long neck of a bottle of Corona!

I took some home and made Limeade…..she says tongue in cheek! 😉

And that my friends, is shooting the shell. 

Have you ever watched this process of building an inground pool?

Have a great Friday!