Hi I am newly registered but have read this forum for a long time. Our pool has about the same timeline as yours. This is supposed to be a joyous experience right? So I thought! Ours has been the nightmare from ****! We got the Rockport. We asked that they let us know when it comes in so we can witness our baby being dropped in the ground. I mean, when you spend that much money, you want to witness it being "born" right? No, they called us AFTER it was in the ground. So anyway, you think OK whatever, we have a pool now even after having NO communication with the installers. Waiting on getting the coping formed and poured, we had a big rain. (East central Kansas) Guess what? Our pool floated out of the ground!!! Guess what ELSE? They say it is an "act of God" and is not their fault. YOU KNOW, how much we had to spend on the pool. Well, they want $6000 to fix it. I have never been so sick in my life. Sounds like you have had a great experience (as it should be). They will be out next week to begin the REdo of my pool. I don't want to see those guys, I don't want to look at them. I am SO FREEAKING MAD I could.....just.... well you know. Anyhow, If I had any advice for someone looking to buy a Fiberglass pool, it would be to REALLY get some references and a garauntee of workmanship from the contractors. Ours have ruined our experience of the whole process and drained our pockets to boot. Had to go back to the bank and ask for more money!!

Please tell me you didn't pay the extra $6K or the entire cost of the pool up front! I wouldn't pay them anything! It's their job to look at the weather and determine the appropriate time to install the pool. Mother nature isn't an excuse. That would be like roofers blaming you for removing shingles from your roof even though the weather man forecast rain that day. This is a case where it's time to lawyer-up. Sucks but this isn't your fault.

The more that I think about it, I'm not sure I'd even want them to complete the work if they agreed to. You paid for a new fiberglass pool. I imagine if the pool "floated" there may have been damage to the gelcoat and possibly to the shell itself, particularly at fixed fittings, drains, etc. I certainly wouldn't pay new pool prices for something more accurately described as scratch and dent. What other system would they screw up if only to be discovered down the road.

Sorry for your frustration and hope you get a favorable resolution.

I would certainly get a lawyer involved because I don't think the contractor has a leg to stand on. I don't know how your contract is written, but the usual case is that the contractor owns whatever is being installed until it is formally turned over to the owner. That means it is the contractor's responsibility to protect the equipment.

I've been involved in several situations similar to yours in the construction of industrial facilities. Every time the lawyers got involved the result was the same. It was ruled that rain is common and foreseeable and is not a force majeure event. Things might be different if you had a 100 year flood or tornado, but the equipment should be protected from a "normal" rain event. The contractor should have known to take whatever steps were required to protect the works from damage caused by known and foreseeable events such as rain, wind, theft, or damage by others.

Maybe those in the industry could chime in here, but I thought that all pools (except maybe vinyl) have a special plug in the drain that is removed when there is a chance of the water table rising and causing the pool shell to float. This is certainly the case for most gunite pools. Now, why wasn't that the case here? If the pool was equipped with such a plug and the builder knew that there was going to be a large storm pouring water on their build, shouldn't they have removed the drain plug so that any increase in ground water would have filled the pool instead of floating it? If that is the case, then you should be able to cite an installation mistake. Clearly you should not be on the hook for this disaster.

Does anyone out there know if fiberglass pools come equipped with one of these special drain valves and if so, are they normally left open until the pool is filled to prevent such an event?

Okay, check this out:

http://uglassit.com/emptying_swimming_pools.htm

It would seem that fiberglass pools are no different than gunite. If anything, fiberglass pools are more likely to float because they are lighter. They are supposed to be equipped with drains that have hydrostatic pressure relief caps. When draining such a pool in an area of high water table, it is recommended that these caps are removed and a sump pump placed in the deep end to prevent floating of the pool shell. Given that these are more likely to float than a gunite pool, your installer should have defnitely been aware of this issue. The fact that they did not take care to prevent this strongly implicates this event as builder error. Surely they knew a storm was coming, so why did they not take care to relieve the hydrostatic pressure? Was the storm on a weekend, per chance?

Okay, this is getting me mad. From another fiberglass pool installer's website, where he spells out the 7 Deadly Sins of fiberglass pool installation:

http://www.riverpoolsandspas.com/blog/b ... tallations

Number two (!) on the list:

2. No Dewatering System Installed
If you study theology at all you know that there are two types of sins: Sins of commission and of omission. This one is one is a sin of omission. There are several preventative measures that should be taken during the initial installation of the pool that can save contractors and customers alike significant heartache down the road. A dewatering system is one of these measures, and a pool installer that does not install one on every pool either doesn’t understand their importance, or is suffering from a serious case of short-term thinking. A dewatering system provides a means to remove the ground or surface water around the outside of the pool in the event that the pool has a leak or has to be drained. Hydrostatic pressure is the term used to describe the force that the ground water exerts on the pool shell. Removing the ground water outside the pool is critical because if this is not done and there is more water outside of the pool than inside, the hydrostatic pressure can reach a point where it can damage the pool.

Granted, most fiberglass pools will not have a leak or need to be drained within the first twenty or thirty years of its life; but regardless of the manufacturer or installer a certain percentage will require draining for various reasons soon after installation, and all will eventually have to be drained, even if it’s fifty years from now. We install a very simple and inexpensive dewatering system on every pool regardless of soil condition or location.



River Pools Dewatering System:

We take an 8” PVC pipe about 6-8 feet long and drop it down to the bottom of the excavation outside of the deep end of the pool after it has been set. The bottom of the pipe is at the deepest part of the excavation and the top extends above the top of the pool. We then encase the pipe in gravel as we backfill the pool. When it’s time for concrete we cut the top of the pipe off flush with the top of the deck and cover it with a skimmer lid. That’s it….instant access to ground water. If the pool needs to be drained simply remove the skimmer lid and drop a pump down the pipe and pump the ground water out. This costs less than $100 per pool and frankly is a step that a pool contractor can’t afford to miss.

I would call this a major "Sin of Omission" and one that again clearly implicates installer error. Show them this website and ask them why they didn't think about the water table, since it appears to be an industry standard practice. Hopefully, this will show the installer that you know they screwed up on a relatively simple standard practice. Let them know that a lawyer will become involved if they continue to stand by their bogus claim of "Act of God."

You should never drop a shell in the hole and back fill without filling with water as the back fill is added. This prevents the walls from bowing in or out and floatation. This pool was not installed using common, standard procedures. The installers screwed up. Plain and simple. There was no act of God involved. There was a failure to follow usual and normal installation procedures. This is on them. They know it too. Lawyer up.

Scott

Do you any update on this problem? I would be interested in knowing how it turns out.

Also interested in how this turns out.

Aren't fiberglass pools supposed to be partially filled during construction? This should have helped prevent floating...I'd consult a lawyer.

A shell should be set, leveled, and then filled/back filled simultaneously. This is the SOP with all shells.

Scott

You should get in touch with the manufacturer of your fiberglass shell and request that they email you the installation manual for the pool. It gives dig dimensions, and backfill instructions for the pool. I installed my own pool and just checked out the installation manual for it and they give specific instructions about filling with water at the same time that you backfill.

Ironically the very last paragraph of the instruction manual for my fiberglass pool is a warning that the pool must stay filled.





Last paragraph....

Ironically, haven't heard from the original poster, but obviously all the direction is toward making the PB accountable for the incorrect procedures!