Question on Hole in Shotcrete Shell

[TPADiver]

I have a question for everyone about a potential issue that I have noticed since the concrete shell was shot in my pool on Friday.

The digging started on Monday, and being summer in Florida (rainy) combined with our high water table, ground water has been an issue from the beginning. A pump had to basically be constantly running during the digging process in order to dry the site out in order for the first inspection to be passed. I know that this is pretty normal in my area due to the high water table if the pool is going to be deeper than five feet, which ours is.

After the shotcrete was done, I noticed that there is a relatively large hole in the bottom of the deep end near where the drains are going to be. I have attached an image, which I have zoomed in on in order to make it easy to see. There is a pipe coming out of the hole which I assume is going to be a future hydrostatic valve, and there is also another hose coming out of the hole that is attached to a generator that runs a pump (currently off).

I am well aware that weep holes are commonly placed in new pool shells where groundwater is an issue, however this hole is quite large (12-15" across) and unfinished. You can see rebar that was not covered by shotcrete. My concern is that due to the size of this hole, the structural integrity of the pool could be compromised when it is filled. I have read many different things about hydro cement, which I assume is going to eventually be used to fill the hole. I definitely will make sure that it is not filled with plaster. Some of the papers and specs that I've read show that various brands of hydro cement actually have a stronger compression strength than shotcrete, while others say that the strength is not as high. Due to the location of the hole in the floor of the deep end, I definitely want the strongest substance used to fill it when it becomes time. This just looks sloppy to me, which is unusual compared to the rest of the shell. This is a Grecian pool with a lot of curves, plus a decorative wall with columns on the back of the pool. Everything else with the entire shotcrete/shell is pretty much near perfect, so this big, ugly, uneven hole just surprises me.

What is everyone's opinion on this? I plan to speak with the PB about it one way or the other, but the owner of the company left for vacation on Friday and won't be back for a week. I don't see this being something that needs to be addressed immediately, so I plan on waiting to talk to him instead of mentioning it to the foreman tomorrow.

Thanks.

 

[ozdiver]

I did not have water table problems when mine was dug. My shell did have 6 holes left in it to prevent it floating in case of rain and water table movement.
Mine were 4-6" holes none exposed the rebar.
They were filled by the plaster team with hydraulic cement prior to the plaster going in.
Yours does seem a large hole, but is there only one of them?

Discuss it with your PB, but I would be more concerned that there is only one hole for a site experiencing water table challenges.
It can easily be dealt with by leaving rising and falling water in the shell and not trying to pump it out until immediately prior to plaster.

 

[TPADiver]

The pump is off and has been off since the pool was shot, so the water in the pool now is from the groundwater that has risen through the hole plus anything that accumulates from my watering the shell. As far as I know they don't have plans to pump anything out untill it's ready for plaster.

And yes, this is the only hole in the pool. There is a well point that the PB drilled in the yard as well. With the combination of the hole and well point, there's only about 6-8" of water in the deep end.

Thanks for the response.