Nudura ICF's Construction Technique

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winesalot

Member
Jun 16, 2019
19
Lake Chelan, WA
I am at in the beginning of a new pool build research phase and will be my own builder. Our main pool will be an 18x36 4' deep rectangle with a 12" deep shallow shelf leading to an infinity edge off one long side and full length steps leading to a beach access off the other long side. After spending many hours with my best friend Google I came across the idea of building the pool using ICF's. There is a youtube video called "Nudura Pool Timelapse" that shows the basics and if you go to Nudura Pools you can see a slideshow of pools constructed this way.

I'd love to get a conversation started on this topic so feel free to jump in with your thoughts.
 

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Welcome to TFP! Interesting idea although the biggest benefit seems to be insulation and interlocking faster construction and I don't think either of these will help much compared to gunite construction. By the way your link isn't working without fiddling so here's the repaired version. I'll be looking forward to see what other's think.

Good luck!

Chris
 
Thanks for the reply and link repair. My first post had a link deleted so I thought I wasn't allowed to post links on this forum. I see now how I can do that and fixed my original post.

I think the biggest benefit to me is I am able to place the forms and rebar plus pour the concrete myself. This the gunite the rebar work is much more complicated and I do not have nor can I rent the gunite spraying equipment. I do like the idea of the insulation value too.

Alan
 
theres have been a few pools built with ICFs it is alot of work regardless. your drawing is very ambitious, beach access, infinity edge, attached spa, thats alot of work and requires extensive planning and plumbing design. Yes you can pour the concrete yourself but you will need help and you need a vibrator as well when using ICFs, ive been on jobs where they were used for foundations, they work well
 
jimmythegreek said:
theres have been a few pools built with ICFs it is alot of work regardless. your drawing is very ambitious, beach access, infinity edge, attached spa, thats alot of work and requires extensive planning and plumbing design. Yes you can pour the concrete yourself but you will need help and you need a vibrator as well when using ICFs, ive been on jobs where they were used for foundations, they work well
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Thanks for the reply.

I am interested in how the icf's are coated to get a finished pool surface. Do you have any insight on this?
 
They have a scratch coat with mesh a top coat with mesh and then a waterproofing coat to get ready to TILE that pool. You could have a gunite shell sprayed and plastered for less than they spent on material alone and just sub the whole thing out and take over for plumbing and electrical.


ICF would be good for a simple square pool that someone wants to DIY and keep it kinda small. What you have planned only makes sense with gunite
 
jimmythegreek said:
They have a scratch coat with mesh a top coat with mesh and then a waterproofing coat to get ready to TILE that pool. You could have a gunite shell sprayed and plastered for less than they spent on material alone and just sub the whole thing out and take over for plumbing and electrical.


ICF would be good for a simple square pool that someone wants to DIY and keep it kinda small. What you have planned only makes sense with gunite
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It was just a video for reference. The big problem with gunite is I cannot do that myself. I want to build my own pool and hire out as little as possible.

I spoke with a rep from Nudura and they turned me on to a company called Sider-Crete which makes a product line specifically designed to create a quality pool surface from the ICF's. It look extremely interesting. I have emailed them about the quantities and cost for my pool. Check out the link at Sider-Crete
 
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Honest question here. Saying you wanna do it yourself means you actually wanna build it for a project or you wanna save the money paying someone? Who's gonna dig it and do all the machine work? Who is gonna help with all the mortar work the pumping of the Crete and the heavy work? How about materials cost? I'm asking because from experience with concrete pools and especially what you have planned you are gonna have a tremendous amount of hours into this just to get to a shell with no finishes. Your time is still worth money somewhere. I would DIY where you can and have the shell shot by somebody its actually not that expensive. You can plumb yourself do your own rebar electrical and all the finishes which is 80% of the job. That is a huge pool job for a DIY unless you have a couple buddies or kids who are working for free and you guys have experience with construction and concrete. That's my line of work and I'm just offering advice. The shell is just a small piece of the puzzle but without it you fight the weather and the excavated hole
 
jimmythegreek said:
Honest question here. Saying you wanna do it yourself means you actually wanna build it for a project or you wanna save the money paying someone? Who's gonna dig it and do all the machine work? Who is gonna help with all the mortar work the pumping of the Crete and the heavy work? How about materials cost? I'm asking because from experience with concrete pools and especially what you have planned you are gonna have a tremendous amount of hours into this just to get to a shell with no finishes. Your time is still worth money somewhere. I would DIY where you can and have the shell shot by somebody its actually not that expensive. You can plumb yourself do your own rebar electrical and all the finishes which is 80% of the job. That is a huge pool job for a DIY unless you have a couple buddies or kids who are working for free and you guys have experience with construction and concrete. That's my line of work and I'm just offering advice. The shell is just a small piece of the puzzle but without it you fight the weather and the excavated hole
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I appreciate your input and the spirit it is intended.

I own my own excavator, have quite a bit of construction experience, and am not afraid of taking on new tasks. I am currently doing all of the trenching, forming, and rebar work for an 8100 sqft winery with 630 feet of footings. I have a concrete contractor who comes in on pour day and helps with that part of the work. This about more than saving money. I enjoy exploring new challenges and, even if paying someone a bit of money would save me some time, I would, in nearly every case, choose to do the work myself if at all possible. I also like to push the envelope and choose less conventional methods. Not many people build a pool using ICF's which make it even more intriguing to me.

I hope this conversation can turn more towards how to accomplish the task rather than why I shouldn't.
 
Should have said so from the beginning. The majority who DIY do it to save money and alot of them spend alot more than budgeted. The beach access I'm of no help never seen one built. The rest is straight forward as you would expect. Depending on your municipality the engineering may be costly and you may have a hard time with inspectors who dont know what they are looking at. Post some pics of the yard and what your working with. Obviously you know that the soils play a huge part in how you build and i see you are in a freeze zone that plays in too. How far have you gotten with exploring getting permits and signoffs


The link to pics is gone but I saw what they were doing. I'd be concerned with the wall to floor connection. If I remember correctly the average slab for an icf pool is reinforced and 10". In other countries they build pools out of local masonry products and skim coat then waterproof membrane the pool and old school plaster mix it. If you had enough build up in layers of mesh I think you could use a variety of products available commonly
 
I haven't explored that at all. I am shoulder deep in the winery building for the next 9-12 months then the home/pool build starts. For now I am just exploring my options and this one seems like a good one for me. I have our area's building inspector coming out early next week for a stem wall inspection so I'll ask him about the local issues with pools. There are a lot of them going in so I am sure he will have some good feedback.
 
We just finished our 'diy' ICF pool build and would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

A great place to start is with working with the design team at "Pool And Spa Designs" out of Phoenix to get a formal custom drawing. I can't provide a direct link to the site because I'm a new member,) iirc the cost was fairly reasonable given the overall costs of the project. In the end you will get a structure and plumbing drawings (to include placements of inlets, skimmers, main drain etc.). They also work with you to put together an pool equipment list and quote. You can choose to purchase the equipment through them or just get the drawing. I do believe you can also purchase the ICF blocks through them as well. While we did not purchase ICF through them (we already had a vendor) we did get the equipment as we could not find anyone close to their prices.

Some challenges we faced:
1. Weather (sooo much rain) made various stages difficult (to include digging the hole, applying the power base, and cider-crete).
2. The cider crete product claims to be a roll on plaster where you use a paint roller to apply and a 'magic trowel' to blade smooth. This was not our experience. Rolling the plaster on applied it too thick. We ended up troweling it on. Vendor was available and helpful whenever we needed.
 
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