They had burried the drains, I dug them up because I saw them using duct tape on the drains for end caps. Regarding the deck jets, I get why there is duct tape on the top, the problem is that they are both set in gunite and are about an inch lower than what the height of the deck will be.
My pool build - a nightmare so far.
- Thread starter merl
- Start date
A lot of time those drains dont get set to grade until they actually pour the concrete. That duct tape is ok too.
I'm going to give you a suggestion here and please, please dont take it the wrong way. I think you're getting really worked up here over stuff that doesnt really amount to much. Those 8" coping stones will/would have been fine. Having a 2.5 inch piece of concrete over the back of the bond beam would be fine. I can almost guarantee it wont crack there anymore than any other place on the deck might.
I know it might not look seem like it, but i'm sure this guy has built a pool before. I'm with Lershac, if you dont like it, fire him. Otherwise, let him do his job. A lot of times building things is like making sausage. Seeing the finished project is much better than watching it being made.
I'm going to give you a suggestion here and please, please dont take it the wrong way. I think you're getting really worked up here over stuff that doesnt really amount to much. Those 8" coping stones will/would have been fine. Having a 2.5 inch piece of concrete over the back of the bond beam would be fine. I can almost guarantee it wont crack there anymore than any other place on the deck might.
I know it might not look seem like it, but i'm sure this guy has built a pool before. I'm with Lershac, if you dont like it, fire him. Otherwise, let him do his job. A lot of times building things is like making sausage. Seeing the finished project is much better than watching it being made.
The drains are not being set in concrete they are area drains. The are just going to spend life in dirt.
If I fire him, then I sue him then I have nothing, he has my money. I could sue and win easily but I doubt he has any assets.
If I fire him, then I sue him then I have nothing, he has my money. I could sue and win easily but I doubt he has any assets.
- Aug 13, 2010
- 74
With a small residential construction job like this, your real hold over the builder is the last check at completion. It's usually a decent chunk of his profit. Unless you're really convinced that it's an irremediable catastrophe, let him do his job. Keep track of your concerns, and at the end go over the work with a fine tooth comb and give him a punchlist. Don't give him the final check until you're satisfied he's addressed your concerns.
I had somewhat similar problems with my builder - I bugged him about the compaction and the way the rebar lay, I complained about backfilling with sand, I argued about pipe diameter, etc. I paid for extra gravel, and I still have $1,000 of his money until he demonstrates that the pump is working correctly when we open the pool this spring. There are still problems - shallow end too small, wrong jets, wrong light, jets not on separate valves, barely functional curtain drain - but I can live with them.
Good luck!
I had somewhat similar problems with my builder - I bugged him about the compaction and the way the rebar lay, I complained about backfilling with sand, I argued about pipe diameter, etc. I paid for extra gravel, and I still have $1,000 of his money until he demonstrates that the pump is working correctly when we open the pool this spring. There are still problems - shallow end too small, wrong jets, wrong light, jets not on separate valves, barely functional curtain drain - but I can live with them.
Good luck!
Honestly, I haven't seen anything that I would be too concerned with. It appears as though the pool builder knows what he's doing. By bugging him and peering over his shoulder to watch his every move, you're only going to cause him to make mistakes. Let him do his job.
Doug
Doug
Here is the problems with not peering over his shoulder, my house floods because the drains are burried under a concrete deck and not installed properly. If I dont peer I have equipment pluming that looks like a 5th grader hooked it up. If I dont peer, I have deck jest sealed in a deck with stamped concrete over it and the jets are 1 inch below level. Had I not peered, the spa would have been plummed wrong, the tile would have been placed wrong, the coping would be pink, the deck would be unsquare and I would have drain bins burried in the ground with duct tape sealing them.
No assets? What about his errors and omissions on his insurance policy? That's why you hire licensed bonded and insured contractors.
Sound like you think you have a slam dunk case.
Me I would have stopped him on the pink coping if he was unable to fulfill the contract (that was specified in the contract?) and moved to another builder. You actually paid him after that. Sigh.
Sound like you think you have a slam dunk case.
Me I would have stopped him on the pink coping if he was unable to fulfill the contract (that was specified in the contract?) and moved to another builder. You actually paid him after that. Sigh.
If they are really as bad as you say, then you shouldn't allow them on your property. And if they aren't really quite that bad you need to get out of their way and let them do their job. Those are really your only two choices, you need to pick one. Trying to get involved in every detail of the work is just going to wear you out and make the end result even worse than it is now.
It is past time to be talking to a lawyer.
It is past time to be talking to a lawyer.