BIRMINGHAM AQUARIUM COMPANY for Better Home Products — Birmingham, Ala. 
more in diameter. Larger varieties must have a pool at least six-feet wide. 
Depth depends on the type of planting. For water lilies, a depth of at: 
least 22 inches is desirable. 
Garden pools may be combined with rock gardens, often with a minia¬ 
ture waterfall running down a rocky course into the pool. 
BUILDING THE POOL 
Excavate to the required depth including the thickness of the floor. 
Pools with vertical sides are built with forms. If the soil is firm, no out¬ 
side form is needed. 
Pools with sloping sides often are built by “plastering” a stiff concrete 
in place. Wire mesh reinforcement is used. Natural rock may be set in 
the concrete. Pools having curved or irregular shaped walls are made with 
forms of 20 gauge galvanized iron, readily bent to the desired shape. 
REINFORCEMENT 
Support the interior wall forms across the top of the excavation so 
that the bottom hangs six inches from the bottom of the pit. Spreaders, 
or braces, extending across the pool from one form to the other, prevent 
bulging when the forms are filled with concrete. 
PLACING THE CONCRETE 
Oil the inside of the forms so that concrete will not stick to them. 
First place the concrete for the floors. Then deposit the concrete for the. 
walls in 6 or 8 inch layers all around the pool, spading each layer as it is 
placed. A garden hoe, straightened out, makes a good spading tool. 
Often pools are built partly above grade. A foundation two or three 
feet deep should be used. 
WATER SUPPLY 
The pool may be filled with a garden hose or connected with the regu¬ 
lar water supply. It may be emptied with pail or a built-in drain. 
Make any plumbing connection before the concrete is placed. 
MAKING THE CONCRETE 
Strong, durable, watertight concrete is easly made. Most important, 
is the amount of water used per sack of cement. 
Use about 4 J /2 to 5 gallons of water per sack. 
The correct mix (determined by a trial batch) should be plastic, hold¬ 
ing its shape well but not crumbly; if too stiff, use slightly less sand and 
gravel; if “runny,” add sand and gravel until the proper proportion is ob¬ 
tained. 
(1) Make a dry mixture of about one part cement, two parts clean sharp- 
sand, two and a half to three parts clean gravel. Mix thoroughly until 
the color is uniform, no gray or brown streaks. 
(2) Add correct amount of water and mix until sand and pebbles are thor¬ 
oughly coated with cement paste. 
The concrete should be placed within thirty minutes. 
CURING 
Do not permit newly placed concrete to dry out. Protect it from the 
sun and drying wind for a week to ten days. A covering of burlap or can¬ 
vas, sprinkled often enough to keep it moist, is a satisfactory covering- 
while curing. 
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