Deck Depth and Vinyl Liner Float Concern

phishphan

Member
Jan 26, 2021
11
NC
Pool will be an 18x30 and as you can see from my totally not-to-scale and very poorly illustrated diagram, the yard slopes out on the back end furthest from the house. The "backside" of the pool will not be the primary lounge area so I was hoping to do minimal decking around that far end. The installer said they typically don't do less than 3 feet of deck because of drainage and concerns over vinyl liner float. They did say that in my case, given the topography, it would "probably be fine" to go with 18" of deck around the backside however it would void any warranty as relates to liner float.

So my question is - how risky is this idea? My rudimentary understanding of water properties makes me think it should seek the path of least resistance to the lower land behind That said, I'm already at the bottom of a hill, there's a creek behind the house, and our lot grade was raised up with fill dirt because of flood zone designation. BY.PNG
 
How much is the 18” of concrete saving you for the risk? Hardly seems worth it. It cannot cost that much more to prep 36” instead of 18” and pour concrete.

@jimmythegreek thoughts?
 
Water table roughly follows the surface topography. And you have a high water table anyway. It's not a risk I would take.

The lower terrain on the right is the natural lay of the land. The house was artificially elevated during the overall subdivision grading.

How much is the 18” of concrete saving you for the risk? Hardly seems worth it. It cannot cost that much more to prep 36” instead of 18” and pour concrete.

Savings somewhere around $600 and cost is not the driving factor. Given the drop-off behind I was thinking I'd like the look of less decking as kind of a poor man's infinity pool.
 
Shouldnt matter either way really. If the grade was the other way sloping to the pool amd house you could raise issue with liner float. On elevated ground liner float is greatly reduced and 18" wont make any difference
 
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