River Pools C40 Fiberglass Pool Installation - [Gore, Virginia]

[ajw22]

@ajw22 What are your thoughts on the PVC cement and silicone to use for fittings/skimmers?

Ask your PB consultant. He is certifying the warranty on your pool.

How deep should the skimmer

The skimmer sets the waterline for the pool and water depth. It should be as high as possible.

and returns be located? Lights?

You don't have that much depth to play with. About 1/3 deep or around 18 inches under the water line.

 

[Tcadwall0]

Pool has a crack in the top layer at the entry step...Boo! Photos submitted to pool dealer now, in contact with River Pools.

That crack looks pretty serious to me. Honestly, I would consider requesting a new shell. Did you hear from RP yet?

 

[Danimal92Sport]

That crack looks pretty serious to me. Honestly, I would consider requesting a new shell. Did you hear from RP yet?

I concur, but what do you recon the lead time is on a new shell these days?

 

[Tcadwall0]

I concur, but what do you recon the lead time is on a new shell these days?

It is so disappointing. I think RiverPools will work with you, but if it were mine it would be going back and I would wait for a new shell. They might offer you a discount,repair, etc, and then that will be up to you. If you do go with the repair and discount, I would get it in writing that the warranty is still in full force, and maybe even longer for that section

 

[xpnsvtoys]

That crack looks pretty serious to me. Honestly, I would consider requesting a new shell. Did you hear from RP yet?

I haven't heard anything from them yet...the dealer we purchased from was contacting them late Monday, figured I'd give them a day or two to respond.

My concern started with seeing small cracks on the edge of the lip of the pool shell and another small scuff I saw on the wall near the stairs. When he saw me looking, the delivery driver who obviously worked for River Pools in the past indicated that if any cracks or imperfections were found in the gel coat they (pool dealer/River Pools) could perform an unnoticeable repair.

I concur, but what do you recon the lead time is on a new shell these days?

This one took almost 16 weeks...I'd hate to even think about having that conversation with my wife.

 

[wireform]

I wouldn't let time make my decision here and wouldn't accept this. There's too many cracks which tells me the whole thing is defective. In my opinion to go forward with this is asking for heart ache.

 

[Newdude]

Sadly I have to +1 the advice you don’t want to hear. It would seem weeks/months worth and years foolish. The wondering for years alone, even if it turned out great…….

If they offer a forever warranty on the fix, and compensation, that could sway my thoughts.

Keep us posted, we’re rooting for ya.

 

[xpnsvtoys]

I wouldn't let time make my decision here and wouldn't accept this. There's too many cracks which tells me the whole thing is defective. In my opinion to go forward with this is asking for heart ache.

Sadly I have to +1 the advice you don’t want to hear. It would seem weeks/months worth and years foolish. The wondering for years alone, even if it turned out great…….

If they offer a forever warranty on the fix, and compensation, that could sway my thoughts.

Keep us posted, we’re rooting for ya.

Geez. Was really hoping to hear more about how many wonderful repairs have been made.

I would definitely want a warranty on the repair, but now I'm wondering if I'm being naive for even considering a repair...

 

[Winger 03]

New shell, please. You are paying a hefty cost for new - not a repair.

RP did my pool, my dealings with them make me think they will make it right for you with a new shell.

 

[Newdude]

Geez. Was really hoping to hear more about how many wonderful repairs have been made

Ahhhhh. HERE it is !!!!

 

[xpnsvtoys]

It has now been two weeks since we've taken delivery of our shell. My pool consultant we purchased from claims to have sent the photos and notified RiverPools of the issue but I've yet to get a response. I tried calling the RiverPools Warsaw, VA office today and left a message, but no response. Shelled a few emails their way as well. For all the great marketing, they really lack good useful contact info on their website.

Has anyone else had any issues with RiverPools and warranty claims? Does anyone out there have a direct contact to someone at RiverPools?

Itching to get a resolution, but can't even get a call back at this point...

 

[xpnsvtoys]

Got a call back from RiverPools yesterday evening...the guy on the phone was extremely helpful, polite, and informative. Ultimately they know that the C40 and C35 pools can develop a crack in the gel coat during lifting in the exact spot ours occurred. They think that these models may flex when lifting causing some excessive strain on the first step where it meets the wall, truthfully they are not certain.

The only way to guarantee it won't crack again is to repair once the pool is in it's final resting place. They guarantee the repair basically to be flawless and the warranty to remain full.

Call us crazy, but we really like the pool design and intend on moving forward with installing and accepting the repair.

A bit peeved to say the least that we bought a product with a known potential issue, couple that with time wasted and temps dropping, I'm not sure if this will make it in the ground this year...

 

[wireform]

It would be nice if they can get you in contact with others that went through the issue and moved forward on their promise.

 

[Winger 03]

It would be nice if they can get you in contact with others that went through the issue and moved forward on their promise.

I think that is a reasonable request.

 

[BMerrill]

Have them replace the pool. Went through a similar issue issue with a different manufacture. After 2 cracks, and a failed repair the PB requested a replacement shell. It arrived within 10 days.

There should have been spreader beams across the pool at the lifting points. These are typically 4x4's. Also the crane should have 30' lifting straps connected from the cable hook to each lifting point.

 

[Winger 03]

Have them replace the pool. Went through a similar issue issue with a different manufacture. After 2 cracks, and a failed repair the PB requested a replacement shell. It arrived within 10 days.

There should have been spreader beams across the pool at the lifting points. These are typically 4x4's. Also the crane should have 30' lifting straps connected from the cable hook to each lifting point.

That was my thought as well. RP has their **** together - at least they did 10 years ago when they did my pool. Now that they make their own shells, this is the type of thing that should have been taken care of very early on/. It is not like these are brand-new models. Having an "it breaks, we fix" policy is less than optimal.

 

[xpnsvtoys]

Trying to take advantage of a few nice days of weather. Started laying out and cutting in light and return fittings yesterday. About to cut in skimmers today.

When deciding where to mount the skimmers, I never gave consideration to the shape of the wall. The locations where we are mounting skimmers are slightly curved. I've taken the faceplate and moved around a bit in the general area to find an area with the least curvature but still feel a bit uneasy.

I know I need to knockdown the texture and smooth the mounting surface on the backside. Is it best to try and flatten the backside of the pool where the skimmer body mounts? I realize I can only take so much material before it becomes an issue.

Any suggestions on mounting skimmers to fiberglass curved walls would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

 

[BMerrill]

Did you get the Lucky 7 skimmers from them?

 

[xpnsvtoys]

Did you get the Lucky 7 skimmers from them?

I did. Just got them in the other day, not installed yet. Hands down much better quality than the CMP skimmers I had purchased. Definitely look like they will be easier to mount and get a good fit. Just waiting on a warm day to fit them, then we are off to the races.

I did find a couple of fiberglass groups on the ole FB and joined. I was comforted to find several other River Pools C40 owners who had experienced cracking/finish issues like ours and had a satisfactory repair. I can only hope ours goes the same way.

 

[xpnsvtoys]

Made some progress this past week thanks to the weather finally cooperating. We've got all fittings in, return plumbing and electrical conduit fitted, and skimmers cut in. We held off on mounting/plumbing skimmers at the advice of River Pools for concern of potential load transferring to skimmer body and possibly cracking it on lifting.

I think I have most of my bases covered so far, but still trying to wrap my head around how the conduit from the wall fittings gets run. My understanding is that most light niches are wet. We are using Pentair Microbrites and while they're niche-less, it looks like the conduit that they are in still runs wet? From what I can see it looks like the elevation of the conduit and junction box are the only things that keep the water in the lines. It also looks like many folks experience water freezing in these lines creating an issue in the future. Is there anyway to mitigate the possibility of water freezing in the lines? I've seen a few rubber plugs and butyl tape but not sure if this is common practice on new installs or not. @ajw22 any thoughts here? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Heat bending the plumbing went better than expected, one sacrificial piece and we were pros!

We got everything dry fitted that we could, now just to glue up.