Plumbing and Paver Patio

[TAMC93]

This city's inspector will not look at that. They are more worried about the pipe passing a pressure tests. They only provide 3 inspections (bond wire, plumbing rough, and electrical (gas is a 4th)).

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No they are not chickens, but ankle biting dogs...

 

[jv92red]

My inspector made a comment about the electrical conduit bends. He said mine were fine while he inspected them but he said that some plumbers overheat the pipe with heat guns when bending them. He will fail these bends if they appear discolored since that will compromise the integrity of the conduit. Amazing what differences exist between cities, counties and states when it comes to codes...

 

[ignoramous]

I agree with those that view the plumbing as substandard work. It is hard to imagine how there will be enough depth for a proper paver base or adequate depth for the freeze protection you will occasionally need. This is the very reason why buyers should include details like minimum depth of pipes, electrical conduits, etc. in the contract.

PB's are always saying they have never had an issue with this or that.

If this were my pool, I would hire an independent in the industry, someone with IG gunite experience, to inspect at each stage. The idea is to keep an eye on the PB. In the total scope of things, it would not be that expensive. The quality of this PB's work is highly suspect and you need to be proactive.

Good luck.

 

[bigdav160]

Here's my 2¢

From the pic it's hard for me to see how far under the pavers the plumbing will be. It might be OK, because of the limited organic soil between the grass and the rock/clay underneath you probably have enough room for a stable base..

They should have removed the grass and top soil though!

Many don't realize how much of the country (and Texas) do not have formal code enforcement. Decades ago when I was framing custom homes we went by "common building practices" for our area. At the time, I'm pretty sure the State hadn't adopted any formal building codes.

 

[zach5150]

Thanks everyone for your replies and information. BigDav is right - Code here in Central Texas does not seem to be a factor for this. I've decided that I'm OK with what we've got actually. Our PB is a good company (2 man partnership) with a very good reputation among the trades as well as his customers. That's a big reason that I chose them actually. I know that he'll stand behind his work and after some detailed discussions and measurements (and as BigDav mentions) the extremely stable substrate, I'm comfortable that the paver patio will also be just fine. (We are going to scrap the organic when we do the patio, FYI.)

There are actually 2 other pools being built within a block of my house by 2 different pool companies. They are in the same stage as we are - all within a week of each other for gunite. I went and looked at their pools yesterday and guess what I saw? The pipes in front were not buried - just like mine. So that's 3 well known and respected PB's in the area doing it the same way. I've come to the conclusion that its a local practice; and apparently it works just fine. So, I'm going to put this one to bed and trust my PB.

I really do appreciate all the feedback and from a personal perspective, I agree with the consensus. But, I haven't been building pools for 15 years like my PB, so this will be one of those times that I'm going to go on faith.

 

[bmoreswim]

Yep, you've got to make a call and move on. I expect it will work out fine for you, especially since the organic material will be removed below the piping. And if not, you've chosen a builder you think will be around for a while to fix any issues.