4 month old pool-broken travertine and coping with a hairline crack in the plaster

[Rose3107]

We had a new inground gunite pool installed this year. Our property has a slope to it, so part of the pool at the deep end is above ground by about 2 feet with the rest of the deep end below ground--. It was completed in April. In August we noticed cracked travertine tiles, cracks in the coping, the deck dropping/sloping (or the pool has risen) and a hair line crack in the pool wall leading down the same side of the pool as the cracking.
Our pool contractor sent out their project manager who believes the deep end of the pool is rising and that it has risen about an inch.
The contractor wants to take a "wait and see" approach to see how everything settles before addressing or repairing. We now have moisture on the outside wall of the pool in the area of the cracks. I would assume this means we have water leakage somewhere (probably from the crack in the pool?)
Are we OK to take a wait and see or do I need a second opinion?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

We have seen many TX pools with cracking problems. Wait and see is not going to fix the problems.

How long does the Project Manager want to wait before he declares that everything has settled?

Things may never "settle" as your soil moves around as you get wet and dry seasons.

Are there cracks in the plaster?

Is the pool leaking water?

Here is one thread to show you what the fix was in an Austin TX pool...

Need urgent help with cracking/leaking pool on a hillside in Austin, TX!

We did hire an engineer and he wants us to make a hole from the center of the pool to the bottom of the outside wall but I am not sure who I hire to do that?!? He said this will give us a good cross section of the construction thru the crack. ... Any ideas on who I would hire to make the hole...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Bperry]

We had a new inground gunite pool installed this year. Our property has a slope to it, so part of the pool at the deep end is above ground by about 2 feet with the rest of the deep end below ground--. It was completed in April. In August we noticed cracked travertine tiles, cracks in the coping, the deck dropping/sloping (or the pool has risen) and a hair line crack in the pool wall leading down the same side of the pool as the cracking.
Our pool contractor sent out their project manager who believes the deep end of the pool is rising and that it has risen about an inch.
The contractor wants to take a "wait and see" approach to see how everything settles before addressing or repairing. We now have moisture on the outside wall of the pool in the area of the cracks. I would assume this means we have water leakage somewhere (probably from the crack in the pool?)
Are we OK to take a wait and see or do I need a second opinion?

Water leaking through the gunite will damage it over time and make things worse. At the very least they should figure out why a multi-ton pool of water is rising up.

 

[Rose3107]

Welcome to TFP.

We have seen many TX pools with cracking problems. Wait and see is not going to fix the problems.

How long does the Project Manager want to wait before he declares that everything has settled?

Things may never "settle" as your soil moves around as you get wet and dry seasons.

Are there cracks in the plaster?

Is the pool leaking water?

Here is one thread to show you what the fix was in an Austin TX pool...

Need urgent help with cracking/leaking pool on a hillside in Austin, TX!

We did hire an engineer and he wants us to make a hole from the center of the pool to the bottom of the outside wall but I am not sure who I hire to do that?!? He said this will give us a good cross section of the construction thru the crack. ... Any ideas on who I would hire to make the hole...

www.troublefreepool.com

thank you, yes there is a very small crack in the plaster and moisture on the outside of the pool wall so we suspect some leakage or seeping is happening. I think we need to hire an engineer to evaluate. Any recommendations for the Fayette County or Austin Texas area? (we are about an hour outside of Austin)

 

[.ben]

I'm not sure how waiting will magically cause the cracks to seal up. Perhaps your PB is counting on you to give up or for your structural warranty to expire.

Do you have engineering plans (rebar, concrete) stamped by a professional engineer? If so, I imagine your PB will work with their engineer directly to find a solution.

If you do hire an engineer, look for a structural engineer with specific experience/qualifications designing concrete pools. Although I don't think the PB is under any obligation to listen to this 3rd party engineer. I'd focus on insisting your PB fix this issue.

The structural design of partially above ground pools is more complicated than fully in-ground pools.