Bond beam/collar on fiberglass pool
- Thread starter McLovitz
- Start date
Rich, I'm not sure how to get the pictures you're asking for... The issue is that the space between the pool wall and earth is a "layer cake" of excavated dirt and gravel. They topped it with gravel, so I would have to dig down somehow to get the pictures I think you're asking for. Please clarify. Thanks.
It's just the video is very unclear. A few closer pictures of the area would be great.
How deep were the fills?
Rich, I feel like we're hijacking McLovitz's thread. Can we move future posts over to my thread? Here are two closer images - the one with the drain tube is where the video showed dirt backfill then a scoop of gravel over it. In terms of how deep were the fills? Do you mean how much dirt? The fill went down to the bottom of the pool.
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Here is another of the dirt/gravel mix the guys were shoveling into the wall cavity:
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Dont worry about hijacking the thread. I'm far from an expert in this area. For my pool, they didnt use dirt in the backfill but didnt use clean gravel either. I have a big question mark on my backfill. My big issue was the concrete guy pouring dirt over the compacted base before pouring concrete so he wouldnt have to use as much concrete. Seems your builder is cheaping out by mixing but I don't know if that's actually an issue. Just shocked w/ some of these pool builders/contractors. Saving a few bucks (not all that much) and take no pride in their work.... it's the comment our landscaper made to me (after he showed up with a 7 man crew that every guy knows their job and they work quickly but carefully) -- just hard to find people who take pride in their work these days. All about squeezing as much money out of the project and moving on.
in your contract the back fill material should be stated . does it say gravel?
if so, it should be re done. they have breached the contract, right?
Regardless of what the contract says, sand and gravel/crushed stone are the only acceptable backfill materials for a fiberglass pool. If they were mixing dirty with gravel that is not consistent with the manufacturers installation guidelines. The pool should be reinstalled using proper backfill materials.
Moved this to our nightmare install thread...
If our pool install couldn't get any worse...
I was in the yard looking around and I found pieces of clay pipe that I recognized as the sewer pipe. I put a couple of pieces on the gravel, took a picture, and sent it to the PB. He replied today that they hit the sewer pipe while trenching the electrical. He said they repaired it with a "Fernco fitting." They trenched last week. The clay debris only showed up because they pushed the excavated soil around the yard. He would not have told us had I not found it and confronted him. It just keeps getting worse.
If our pool install couldn't get any worse...
I was in the yard looking around and I found pieces of clay pipe that I recognized as the sewer pipe. I put a couple of pieces on the gravel, took a picture, and sent it to the PB. He replied today that they hit the sewer pipe while trenching the electrical. He said they repaired it with a "Fernco fitting." They trenched last week. The clay debris only showed up because they pushed the excavated soil around the yard. He would not have told us had I not found it and confronted him. It just keeps getting worse.
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If your contract says gravel backfill have him redo it. Otherwise wait a few months and flood it often and take a credit and hope for the best case. What decking are you going with
We wanted to do grass up to the coping (that we provided) until we decide on a decking material. We knew we didn't want the broomed concrete deck/coping combo that came with the pool contract.