The Aquatic Standard · The record in full

WHAT THE AQUATIC RECORD CAPTURES.

The full technical layer behind PSIP Aquatic. What the record holds at each of the eleven stages, what the batch ticket photograph shows, how the conditions at the shell are recorded, and how the pool record differs from flatwork.

The problem in full

WHAT BROKE, AND WHY POOLS FAIL.

What ASR actually is
Alkali-silica reaction is a reaction between alkali hydroxides in cement paste and reactive silica in aggregates. It produces a reaction product that precipitates in confined space, generating solidification pressure that fractures the concrete from within. By the time it shows at the surface, often as map cracking, the concrete is already failing.
What fly ash was doing
ASTM C1778, the standard guide for reducing the risk of alkali aggregate reaction, lists supplementary cementitious materials, Class F fly ash among them, as preventive measures where the aggregate is reactive. As coal plants closed, supply shrank and mixes changed. The concrete looked identical.
Why pools are uniquely vulnerable
Shells are in permanent contact with water, the catalyst for gel expansion. Vertical shotcrete dries unevenly, creating hydration gradients that accelerate the reaction at the most vulnerable zones, and residential pools have had no documentation standard for what went into the shell.
Memory against the record
When a shell fails, a builder with no batch ticket and no record of the shoot is answering with memory instead of records. PSIP Aquatic is that record, built stage by stage as the shell goes in.
The record, stage by stage

ELEVEN STAGES. THE MINIMUM EVERY RECORD HOLDS.

Version 1 of the PSIP protocol sets 8 stages for concrete and 11 for pools. They are the main points of a job that every PSIP record holds at a minimum. They are not a construction sequence, and they do not tell a contractor how to build.

The contractor is the professional on the job. At any stage, the contractor may add more photographs and notes, as the contractor sees fit. Notes are recorded as the contractor's own statement.

The stages will change as PSIP develops. Every change is published with its date before it applies, and a record is always read against the stages in force on the day it was captured.

01 Excavation and Subgrade
The dig and the subgrade, captured before any steel goes in.
02 Plumbing Pressure
The work documented, with the inspection report attached or a note that none was required.
03 Steel, Bond and Blockouts
The work documented, with the inspection report attached or a note that none was required.
04 Electrical Bonding
The work documented, with the inspection report attached or a note that none was required.
05 Gas Line Pressure
The work documented, with the inspection report attached or a note that none was required. Recorded as not applicable where the pool has no gas line, and that entry appears on the record.
06 Pre Shoot Conditions
The conditions at the shell, recorded before the shoot.
07 Shoot Day Record
The batch tickets for each shoot day, photographed, with the builder's notes on the load. The delivery method, wet shotcrete or dry gunite. The nozzle operator by name, as the builder states it. How rebound was handled, discarded or reincorporated.
08 Shell Thickness, Trowel and Compaction
The shell thickness at each point measured, with a photograph at each point, on each wall documented. The number of walls and points documented appears on the record. PSIP sets no thickness value.
09 Curing
Twenty eight calendar days from each shoot day. A post cure treatment, if applied, is recorded by type. None is required.
10 Finish Prep
May be recorded as carried out by others, and that entry appears on the record.
11 Final Shell Record
Closes the record.

Stages two to five close on the document, not on the result. PSIP holds the report and does not restate it or state that the work passed.

In the PSIP app, coming in App Version 1, each stage is captured live, and a photograph cannot be edited or replaced after capture. A builder returning to a stage adds to the record and never overwrites it.

Who does what. The pool builder attests once, at project creation, that all work documented in the record is performed by the pool builder or under the pool builder's license and responsibility. The record carries no license or credential number for any other trade. PSIP records the work and certifies that it was recorded. The contractor is responsible for local building codes, permits and licensing. PSIP certification is not an inspection, a code approval or a warranty.

The batch ticket

WHAT THE BATCH TICKET SHOWS.

The batch ticket for every delivery is photographed, on each shoot day. The photograph records what the ticket shows. Tickets vary, and many do not list everything in the load. PSIP does not pull values out of the photograph. The builder adds what he knows about the load in the notes, recorded as his own statement, and where the ticket and the specified mix disagree, he records the difference.

Recorded
The Cement
Portland cement under ASTM C150/C150M, or Type IL, portland-limestone cement, under ASTM C595/C595M. The type is on the ticket or in the builder's notes.
Recorded
Fly Ash and Natural Pozzolan
ASTM C618 covers Class F and Class C fly ash and Class N natural pozzolan. Many tickets do not name the class, so the builder adds what he knows in the notes. Where the ticket says Class C, the photograph shows Class C.
Recorded
Slag Cement
Slag cement under ASTM C989/C989M, as the ticket or the builder's notes show it.
Recorded
Admixtures
Colloidal nano silica, accelerators and other admixtures are on the record only as the ticket shows them, or as the builder records them in the notes, as his own statement.
Recorded
A Blank Line
If the SCM line is blank and the builder has nothing to add, that is what the record says. PSIP does not stop a shoot.

PSIP does not rank these materials or tell a builder which one to use. That choice belongs to the builder and the mix design.

Conditions at the shell

WHAT COLD WEATHER PUTS ON THE RECORD.

PSIP sets no temperature trigger, no accelerator dose and no reschedule line. Whether and how to shoot in the cold is the pool builder's call under the contract documents. The conditions at the shell are recorded at stage six, before the shoot, and anything the builder did about them goes in his notes as his own statement.

Recorded, Not Gated
The conditions at the shell are recorded before the shoot. PSIP records the conditions the shell was shot in and never said what they had to be.
Two verticals, one standard

PSIP FLATWORK VERSUS PSIP AQUATIC.

Same standard body, same documentation system. A separate certification for each trade side, and a record built for each kind of job.

PSIP Flatwork
Driveways, Patios, Slabs
The Stages
Eight, from subgrade to final surface.
What Was in the Mix
The mix design, cement type and SCM as the contractor states them at setup, and a photograph of every batch ticket.
Before Placement
Base protection and the base condition before placement, each photographed.
Curing
No curing stage. Placement starts the 28 day record period.
Thickness
Not a stage on the concrete record.
Conditions
The pour day conditions, recorded. PSIP never said what they had to be.
PSIP Aquatic
Shotcrete, Gunite, Pool Shells
The Stages
Eleven, from excavation and subgrade to the final shell record.
What Was in the Mix
The batch tickets for each shoot day, photographed, with the builder's notes on the load, the delivery method and the nozzle operator by name.
Before Placement
Steel, bonding and inspections, stages two to five, each with the inspection report or a note that none was required.
Curing
Twenty eight days from each shoot day, with any post cure treatment recorded by type.
Thickness
Shell thickness as measured, recorded at every point measured, with the count recorded beside it.
Conditions
The conditions at the shell, recorded before the shoot. PSIP never said what they had to be.
The standard exists. Certification is not open yet.

DOCUMENT EVERY SHELL.

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