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We have (had) an oval above ground pool, with internal swim-out steps that were made out of large styrofoam blocks and sat under the liner.
Our yard was flooded in February and water came up under the outside of the pool coping. This resulted in the foam blocks floating and destroying the pool.
I have completely dismantled the pool and purchased new wall, liner, posts, etc. that were damaged.
I plan to replace the swim-out steps with concrete, so they won't float if we ever have as much water in our yard again.
I'm comfortable with basic concreting and have done a number of small to medium slabs. But I am not sure about how to go about forming up an object of this size and shape.
The foam steps have coreflute sheets on top, then an EVA foam blanket over the top and it all fits in under a liner which is fitted to the size and shape of the steps.
The supplier of the pool said concrete steps was the old-school way but hasn't been able to produce any real advice.
The wall is not strong enough to be the formwork for the curved back. I am not sure how or what to use to form up the curved rear of the steps. Maybe I could use several shorter flat pieces to make like a hexagonal curved rear.
I could just use 17mm form-ply for the flat front faces, but another thought was cement sheet, possibly the thick stuff they use for bathroom floors. Another idea was to use besser blocks for the front face.
So, I'm a bit lost in all this, with lots of thoughts, but no real idea.
I have included some pictures of how the foam block steps go together and the final look.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Greg
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @TekBoffin. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about creating pool steps.
Do you think you could use the rear wall as the formwork if it was adequately propped up from the outside and you poured the steps in several batches instead of all at one time?
Could you partially use the foam block as the rear formwork? Or, I wonder how much weight would be required to counteract the foam's buoyancy? Could you cut the centre out of it and fill that with concrete?
Let me mention one of our knowledgeable members, @TedBear, to see if he has any thoughts.
Mitchell
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @mattjbuilding. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for jumping into the conversation.
It's great to see that @TekBoffin has updated us on their project.
Whilst I have you here, you might have something to add to this discussion on Any ideas on coating pool's internal wall and floor?
It's great to have someone as knowledgeable as yourself join the community. I'm sure you'll get plenty of pool-related questions from our members.
Please reach out anytime you need assistance with a project around the home or garden or have something to share with the community.
Mitchell
A reciprocating saw and long blade should make short work of the foam @TekBoffin. You won't be able to cut the full depth in one pass as the blade is only 300mm long, but it will remove material quickly.
Mitchell
So, I got there in the end. I tried heating up a flat spade in my wood fired pizza oven. It cut in nicely but cooled way too quickly, meaning running back a forth to the oven and letting it reheat. I tried an old hand saw: hard work but somewhat effective. I have an old *WW2?) machette. I sharpened it up and it worked ok too (and I only nicked myself a couple of times). In the end I used my chainsaw: worked a treat but made a hell of a mess. I cut vertically down into the foam blocks. The length of the bar was almost deep enough. Then I broke all the pieces away and tidied up with the handsaw and machette. I'm not sure if there is an easy way to do this, but I got there in the end and just pray that I never have to do it again!
I have put some photos below to show the progress. Hopefully if/when next time it floods, my pool steps won't float up and wreck this pool.
