New deck heaving

Jump to latest Follow Reply
R

RazorBill

0
May 28, 2013
32
Hi,

My 4 month old decking is already heaving in a large area and is heaving around the coping. It is pulling the mastic away and seems to be getting worse. It is upwards of 1 in now (see pic). Pool guy says this isnt "normal" but should resolve it self by Summer. I am not so sure.

Does anyone have experience with this type of issue? Did it settle back down?

(i live in the Dallas area)
 

Attachments

  • Heave2.jpg
    Heave2.jpg
    239 KB · Views: 808
There was an ice storm that came through in early December. Temperatures stayed below freezing for over 48 hours, and there was ice on the ground for days. It is unusual for it to stay freezing here for as long as it did.

Weather here is highly variable. This winter, we've had some lows around 19, and some highs in the 60s. Today the high was 66. Tonight it will drop to freezing, and the high tomorrow should be in the mid 30s with a low of 19.
 
Doesn't the Dallas area have some expansive clay soils? It is either settling because of improperly compacted fill or heaving due to expansive clay. It will not correct itself although if it is expansive clay it will move up and down with seasonal changes due to ground moisture. If it has moved 1" in four months that is pretty excessive.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Been an awful lot of rain in Big D area over last 4 months though after a super dry summer. Almost got us back to average yearly rainfall levels! Still -7 on the year in East Texas.
 
woodyp said:
Been an awful lot of rain in Big D area over last 4 months though after a super dry summer. Almost got us back to average yearly rainfall levels! Still -7 on the year in East Texas.
Click to expand...
Hydraulic expansion is my guess as well. I'm in SE Texas with a pool built in/after drought conditions-2012. My pool deck did the same thing after about 6 months at the union to the existing patio (even with re-bar tie-in). My PB came back and redid a 16-inch swath around the entire patio. Not an easy task, but we didn't feel the deck would correct itself. It's holding firm after 6 months.
 
Thanks everyone. The PB and deck guys are coming back out. I also can now see a very long (but small) crack in the aggregate. There is obviously a problem.

We have had some abnormally cold temps here. My poor pool equip is working OT.
 
Saturated sands don't heave, they only settle if they haven't been properly compacted. However, expansive clays which Texas has plenty of do heave when saturated. Did you see them place the backfill? Could they have cheated and re-used some on-site material?
 
All dirt was already removed. i only saw sand and then rebar. Not sure what they did prior to that. Deck guy came out. Claims the heave is normal. Agrees that the mastic needs to be fixed or it will just get worse as water/moisture continues to go down under the concrete. Claims the crack is only superficial and is normal. I told him it was unsightly and that the work was not proper and i should not have to look at it. He didnt agree or disagree.

He is meeting the PB owner at my place next week to review. I told them both that i know heave happens but this is to much too soon. I dont think i am being unreasonable here. I have another slab poured right by the heaving deck and it has not heaved in over 2 years so i am not sure we can blame the clay.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply