Pool Decking And The House Foundation

[Sollace]

I thought I read someplace on here that decking for a pool shouldn't be an extension of the house foundation. It can butt up to the house but shouldn't be the same level as the top of the foundation.

We live in an area with heavy rain storms when it rains. . . And drought when it's not. The soil is this awful clay that expands and contracts depending on rainfall. I'm sure those of you in south Texas know what I'm talking about. So when one pool bid had the concrete decking even with our house foundation, I questioned it. Thoughts?

 

[spd500]

Our pool deck will not be against the house, but our outdoor kitchen is. When the concrete was poured for the outdoor kitchen they poured it about 2" below the level of the house, which I think is about standard for most patios and porches that I have seen here in the Houston area. Our pool decking will be poured to match the outdoor kitchen.

 

[jark87]

Our pool decking was shot at the same elevation as our house foundation and it steps down to the patio. Our pool is the only one on our cul-de-sac that hasn’t flooded in the 13 years since we’ve had it. We had had significant drainage issues prior to building the pool and emphasized that with every builder we got a bid from. We went with the builder who made a point to show us how they were going to manage drainage. They were the most expensive, but we consider it money well spent, as our pool has been trouble free for the most part. There’s one home on our street where the pool floods with every heavy rain and I’m convinced that the frequent turnover in ownership is due to that headache.

 

[Sollace]

Thanks for your replies.

If the decking is right by our house there's pool water splashing up as it sits 4' from the house. Wet feet tromping in the puddles. So I think of that and drainage issues. Our foundation sits up 4" above the ground, which is great in case of flooding. I'd rather have a step from our patio down to the decking.

Thanks for clarifying things in my mind. I needed some reasons besides, 'No!'

 

[spd500]

Our pool decking was shot at the same elevation as our house foundation and it steps down to the patio. Our pool is the only one on our cul-de-sac that hasn’t flooded in the 13 years since we’ve had it. We had had significant drainage issues prior to building the pool and emphasized that with every builder we got a bid from. We went with the builder who made a point to show us how they were going to manage drainage. They were the most expensive, but we consider it money well spent, as our pool has been trouble free for the most part. There’s one home on our street where the pool floods with every heavy rain and I’m convinced that the frequent turnover in ownership is due to that headache.

You are thinking of the elevation that the pool itself will be, and that is just as important. We are not building the pool itself below the elevation of the house, just the pool deck. Our pool deck will taper down from the level of the coping to kind of like a valley for drainage and then taper back up to the level of the outdoor kitchen. All of the other areas will taper down and away from the pool to allow for drainage.

 

[markayash]

Ours joins the house but different pours..Trick is Make sure water runs away from the house. When we moved in the original deck has a 2" drain but never could handle the volume of a heavy rain and kept stopping up
When we have the driveway redone we had that section replaced and they sloped it so water off the pool deck and piece against the house both angle toward a slight drop. We have had some very heavy rains and it works great.
But I love walking out the back door and being on the deck.

 

[spd500]

We do the same, it's not even a step, only about 2-3 inches