We thought about that. But my question is why re-run a line an extra 100 feet or more unless I ABSOLUTELY have to? If something breaks then re-run the line. Same amount of work. But if I wait, I may not have to do it at all. (Fingers crossed.)
New Pool Build in Spring, TX
- Thread starter bdrums
- Start date
We thought about that. But my question is why re-run a line an extra 100 feet or more unless I ABSOLUTELY have to? If something breaks then re-run the line. Same amount of work. But if I wait, I may not have to do it at all. (Fingers crossed.)
Pic (from the back yard) of the grading and sprinkler valve location. Note that at the back of the house the distance from brick to fence is 63 inches.
That part of your yard is going to be ruined not matter what you do. Let him do it his way and have a landscaping company ready to rock and roll to fix it back when the pool is done.
I would also do something to protect your down spouts also. I am thinking just putting up some plywood so they do not hit ANYthing on that side of the house.
Kim
I would also do something to protect your down spouts also. I am thinking just putting up some plywood so they do not hit ANYthing on that side of the house.
Kim
That's probably reality. Was just wondering what I could do before hand to make it easier / less expensive to restore.
I think we're going to have to remove the down spouts anyway.
Thanks.
"1. Some of the heads will be covered by the deck and the equipment pad. We're considering digging these up prior to construction and either capping the to-be-covered heads or running all new lines so there are no joints under concrete. What did you do and what would you do different?"
I see the back flow preventer by the house, where are your valves?
Does your main sprinkler feed line run through the pool area?
I had to temporarily reroute my main feed line during construction. This was accompanied by the cable that controls the valves along it's length.
"2. The control valve system for the sprinkler system is on the side of house the excavator will use. So there is risk of damage there. The PB said he would try to have the operator miss the valve system. We have narrow access and can't take down the shared fence, so the PB is bringing in a mini excavator, but there is enough room where the valve system is to navigate around it. I'm not banking on the operator guy doing as he was asked. He'll make dozens of trips along that side of the house so I just know he'll run over them. What can I do to mitigate the damage? Maybe dig up the valve system and turn off the sprinkler system while construction is going on then re-install the valves?"
If the valves are along that wall of the house (can't see them) then you are sure yto have them damaged.
One way to minimize this is to dig up the valve boxes an backfill with sand or gravel an lay 3/4 ply over the top.
That may protect from them being crushed. Later you can dig them out an replace the boxes.
"3. The side of the house where the excavator will run is sloped significantly. The PB said they would have to level it for the excavator. Probably by scraping dirt from the high side (near the house) and filling the low side (near the fence). Would we be better off bringing in extra dirt and building up the fence side? Might cause too much pressure on the wooden fence though."
Adding some fill would help.
I assume his mini-excavator is 48" wide.
With that slope and only ~6" clearance either side, he is going to hit the fence (or house) sooner or later.
I see the back flow preventer by the house, where are your valves?
Does your main sprinkler feed line run through the pool area?
I had to temporarily reroute my main feed line during construction. This was accompanied by the cable that controls the valves along it's length.
"2. The control valve system for the sprinkler system is on the side of house the excavator will use. So there is risk of damage there. The PB said he would try to have the operator miss the valve system. We have narrow access and can't take down the shared fence, so the PB is bringing in a mini excavator, but there is enough room where the valve system is to navigate around it. I'm not banking on the operator guy doing as he was asked. He'll make dozens of trips along that side of the house so I just know he'll run over them. What can I do to mitigate the damage? Maybe dig up the valve system and turn off the sprinkler system while construction is going on then re-install the valves?"
If the valves are along that wall of the house (can't see them) then you are sure yto have them damaged.
One way to minimize this is to dig up the valve boxes an backfill with sand or gravel an lay 3/4 ply over the top.
That may protect from them being crushed. Later you can dig them out an replace the boxes.
"3. The side of the house where the excavator will run is sloped significantly. The PB said they would have to level it for the excavator. Probably by scraping dirt from the high side (near the house) and filling the low side (near the fence). Would we be better off bringing in extra dirt and building up the fence side? Might cause too much pressure on the wooden fence though."
Adding some fill would help.
I assume his mini-excavator is 48" wide.
With that slope and only ~6" clearance either side, he is going to hit the fence (or house) sooner or later.
In the ground next to the back flow preventer. Actually quite close.
Good question. I believe the main feed runs from the street (that's where the water shut off is located), not from the back yard, but I could be wrong. Wait. The controller is in the garage on the other side of the house. So I would guess they ran that either along the front of the house or along the back patio. Can't imagine needing to venture out into the middle of the back yard.
Sounds like a plan. Let me see what I got going on.
Yeah. He wants to level it before bringing in the mini. I asked that very question and they are insured. Not the same as no damage, but at least if there is, we'll be covered. I have told the PB a couple of times that this is what we have to work with. The house next to us is for sale and I do not get any response to my inquiries on whether we could remove the fence. So, for the build, the fence has to stay up. He is confident it won't be a problem.
Thanks for the suggestions. I think we're still probably 3 weeks away from dig so I have some time to sort through some of this.
Re: New Pool Build in Spring, TX - Final Renderings
Here are the final renderings from the PB.
You can see that we have a small back yard and the 10 ft easement along the back fence reduces available area. The PB wants to leave a little green space between the deck and house. His reasoning is two-fold: 1) decking up against the house makes it look like a parking lot and he would rather leave us some room to be creative and 2) it allows us as the years move on to water the foundation. I'm not sold on this idea so we have some time to change our minds. If we do it won't cost us any more because we're not at his minimum pour charge and still probably won't be filling in those little gaps.
As it sits we don't have much deck space but that's OK.
Here are the final renderings from the PB.
You can see that we have a small back yard and the 10 ft easement along the back fence reduces available area. The PB wants to leave a little green space between the deck and house. His reasoning is two-fold: 1) decking up against the house makes it look like a parking lot and he would rather leave us some room to be creative and 2) it allows us as the years move on to water the foundation. I'm not sold on this idea so we have some time to change our minds. If we do it won't cost us any more because we're not at his minimum pour charge and still probably won't be filling in those little gaps.
As it sits we don't have much deck space but that's OK.
Side of the house----------I would get some plywood to put up there. yeah they have insureance BUT do you really want to use it? You know the repair work will not look the same. Why even take the chance?
Yard build up------------------dirt and plywood for the trucks and stuff to drive/walk on?
I would not leave the green space between the deck and house. Think of what a pain that will be to care for. IF you really want something there you can put in planters and such. I say all the way to the house.
Kim
Yard build up------------------dirt and plywood for the trucks and stuff to drive/walk on?
I would not leave the green space between the deck and house. Think of what a pain that will be to care for. IF you really want something there you can put in planters and such. I say all the way to the house.
Kim
Personally, I would at least try to dig and cap the lines that are going to end up under deck/pool. Maybe not necessarily dig up every thing that will be lost, but at least cap the lines before they get relatively close to pool area. I did this for my sprinkler lines, except I forgot to do one line and did not notice until they dug up for a footing to some steps. They just cut it and went on there way. Now I have to try and find that sprinkler line and cap it because the end is an open line under by deck.
Even if they do not hit that valve, depending how deep your water line is under the ground, they might end up breaking the line anyway. A lateral line on my system cracked and it was close to 18" underground. Of course that was a backhoe not a mini excavator.
Good luck on your build!
Even if they do not hit that valve, depending how deep your water line is under the ground, they might end up breaking the line anyway. A lateral line on my system cracked and it was close to 18" underground. Of course that was a backhoe not a mini excavator.
Good luck on your build!
The guys came and marked the utilities. However, the guy that marked the AT&T line marked one along the fence line (within the easement) where we would expect the line to be AND one cutting diagonally across the back yard. He said he hadn't seen this situation before but because he got a signal he had to mark it.
Any ideas on how I contact AT&T to verify and, if necessary, move this line?
Anyone else see this?
BTW - we're in a new house built in 2012. We're the only owners.
Thanks.
Any ideas on how I contact AT&T to verify and, if necessary, move this line?
Anyone else see this?
BTW - we're in a new house built in 2012. We're the only owners.
Thanks.
One thing I might try is to hand dig VERY carefully where the line is marked across the yard.
I would also call ATT and ask them if they have any plans or maps showing lines? I do NOT know how this stuff works as all of my lines are one poles in the air.
Kim
I would also call ATT and ask them if they have any plans or maps showing lines? I do NOT know how this stuff works as all of my lines are one poles in the air.
Kim
I'm in the Cypress area, so I hope the AT&T that serves The Woodlands is different than mine.
I didn't have your situation with 2 lines marked, but in my situation, it wouldn't have mattered. After my phone/Internet line was marked, it took hours of calls to find anyone who even acted like they knew what I wanted - move the line for the pool dig. After more calls, I got the same answers. They would charge me to move the line if it had not been cut. If the line was accidentally cut by the pool builders, then AT&T would come out and repair the line for free.
I'm not making this up! I had 3 different phone people tell me essentially the same thing. When I said that I should just let the dig crew go ahead and 'accidentally' cut it, they really didn't answer me. I asked them why mark it before the dig, and again they just repeated back the 'accidental' cut process.
So that's what happened. The dig crew 'accidentally' cut the line (diagonally across the back). AT&T came out the next day, added and reconnected line, and hung it on the perimeter fence.
Five months later, the line still hangs on my fence. Now they tell me, they will plow through my new plants or we can leave it hanging on the fence. I asked if they would run it under the eaves of the back of the house next to the cable line. No, they won't do that. They don't want to leave the line exposed. What??? But it's OK to leave it on the fence?? Again, no answer.
My neighbor suggested the line get cut accidentally. When the repairman comes out, tell him how I want it hung under the eaves.
If it weren't looped behind our giant crepe Myrtle, we'd staple it up ourselves.
Good luck!
Suz.
I didn't have your situation with 2 lines marked, but in my situation, it wouldn't have mattered. After my phone/Internet line was marked, it took hours of calls to find anyone who even acted like they knew what I wanted - move the line for the pool dig. After more calls, I got the same answers. They would charge me to move the line if it had not been cut. If the line was accidentally cut by the pool builders, then AT&T would come out and repair the line for free.
I'm not making this up! I had 3 different phone people tell me essentially the same thing. When I said that I should just let the dig crew go ahead and 'accidentally' cut it, they really didn't answer me. I asked them why mark it before the dig, and again they just repeated back the 'accidental' cut process.
So that's what happened. The dig crew 'accidentally' cut the line (diagonally across the back). AT&T came out the next day, added and reconnected line, and hung it on the perimeter fence.
Five months later, the line still hangs on my fence. Now they tell me, they will plow through my new plants or we can leave it hanging on the fence. I asked if they would run it under the eaves of the back of the house next to the cable line. No, they won't do that. They don't want to leave the line exposed. What??? But it's OK to leave it on the fence?? Again, no answer.
My neighbor suggested the line get cut accidentally. When the repairman comes out, tell him how I want it hung under the eaves.
If it weren't looped behind our giant crepe Myrtle, we'd staple it up ourselves.
Good luck!
Suz.
Wow Suz. I'm not going to hold out hope we have a different group.
I've notified my PB. See what he says.
I've notified my PB. See what he says.
I haven't heard the other Cypress TFP pool owners post a similar story, so maybe I was simply lucky!!
It wasn't as if this was/is a big issue. I just find it aggravating and stupid... And comical!
Suz.
It wasn't as if this was/is a big issue. I just find it aggravating and stupid... And comical!
Suz.
Does the one running diagonally across the yard end up at the AT&T junction box?
Normally you would have 1 line coming out of the ground into the box.
Like Kimkats, I would carefully dig next to what he marked and verify. However, I live on 16 ft of sand so I could do it in a few minutes.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Normally you would have 1 line coming out of the ground into the box.
Like Kimkats, I would carefully dig next to what he marked and verify. However, I live on 16 ft of sand so I could do it in a few minutes.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You are not going to get any more help from AT&T. They will standby what was already marked...because nothing is recorded in a file on how the lines were laid in your yard.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Your bulid is exactly like mine was! Same issues with sprinkler and side yard access. I would dig up and move all sprinklers and pipe from under deck even if they are still going to be used. The one thing I did was just before they started decking I turned on the backyard sprinkler system just to make sure all was ok. Well it was not ok, 2 broken pipes, but I did have them fixed by PB before decking. As to the side yard, I also leaned the fence they took down for access in front of the valve box and backflow preventer. I was not going to take a chance. As to the slope of yard the mini excuvator they used pushed so much dirt against the shared fence that it leaned WAY over to my neighbors side. The PB did come back and fix the fence and the new slope created actually worked in my advantage. I now have higher elavation on that side yard and it drains very well.
Good luck it's a process!
Good luck it's a process!