Concrete pool built to wrong shallow end depth

Mar 2, 2024
5
northeast
Hi. We are in the process of putting in a new in ground concrete/vinyl liner pool. We used a general contractor who used a subcontractor to build the pool. We only ever spoke with our contractor, not the pool builder. We had in our final design the shallow end being 3.5 feet *water depth*. Turns out the builders decided to build a “standard shallow end “ instead of what we wanted. They used 42” pool wall panels instead of 48”. So we’re left with 34” of water in the shallow end (they told us is 6" from the top to the middle of the skimmer and then 2" gone from the bottom cement). They admitted they didn’t follow the design but kept insisting that “this is a standard shallow end” and making me feel like i'm the one who did something wrong because I don't want a "standard shallow end". The pool is basically complete with the liner installed at this point.

They are offering us 3k off (less than 5% the cost of the pool) or to go in, remove the liner and make the shallow end 6" deeper but having there be slopes away from the wall. I’m at a loss of how to proceed because we have a very tall family (6'5") and really do not want less than 3 ft of water in the shallow end. But we also don’t want awkward and potentially hazardous slopes coming off the walls of the shallow end. It sounds to me like the entire pool would have to re-built from scratch to achieve the correct shallow end depth using 48" wall panels. I’m positive they will not do this because of the options they've already offered me. I even asked if they did the shallow end with the proper depth from the beginning if it would have had to have those slopes and the pool builder lied to my face and said yes.

It's very obvious they ignored our plan and built it the way they wanted. I want to tell them that we will not accept this shallow end and that we will not accept "slopes" to make it deeper either. But do I actually have any other options? Leave it and ask for more money? Sue? They also didn't do our sundeck to the correct depth either since again they were doing it "Standard" instead of following the design. It's 4" more water than what was written in the final design. And our contractor made a mistake and put 2 diagonal steps into the sundeck instead of 1 step along the whole edge in the final design (and no one caught it, including myself). Also tried to tell me this way is "so much better". I am more willing the live with this mistake but it just feels like we spent all this money on a pool that has almost nothing to how we wanted. Obviously we should have hired a pool builder directly (who i'm hoping would not have made this massive mistake) but any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
What they ^^^^ said. You did not get what you agreed on and paid for. Just know they are going to fuss, whine, beg, etc to get out of redoing it. It is going to cost them a LOT of money in labor and stuff to fix it. The liner will NOT be able to be reused if they have already cut the openings for the skimmer, returns, etc.

Now that I think about it let me ask you this question. How IS the liner fitting? Since the liner should have been made for the pool you contracted for it might not fit the pool they put in instead.
 
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Welcome to TFP.

How much do you want to go to war with your builder who you have the contract with?

Are all the pool specifications that were not done in writing in a contract with the builder?

How much financial leverage and holdbacks do you have with your builder?

There are no “standards” in building pools. Standards are whatever is in the written contracts or change orders.
 
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Obviously we should have hired a pool builder directly (who i'm hoping would not have made this massive mistake)
Ooooooh the jokes with you. I like you already. (y)

What are the pool dimensions ? How big is the shallow end ?

I have 3.5 ft water depth like you want and it's still woefully uncomfortable as a tall person. It's my access out of the pool from the deep end and that's about it unless I'm on a pool float.
 
What they ^^^^ said. You did not get what you agreed on and paid for. Just know they are going to fuss, whine, beg, etc to get out of redoing it. It is going to cost them a LOT of money in labor and stuff to fix it. The liner will NOT be able to be reused if they have already cut the openings for the skimmer, returns, etc.

Now that I think about it let me ask you this question. How IS the liner fitting? Since the liner should have been made for the pool you contracted for it might not fit the pool they put in instead.
They have not cut openings yet but the liner fits perfect as they measured it to their "standards" from day 1.
 
Welcome to TFP.

How much do you want to go to war with your builder who you have the contract with?

Are all the pool specifications that were not done in writing in a contract with the builder?

How much financial leverage and holdbacks do you have with your builder?

There are no “standards” in building pools. Standards are whatever is in the written contracts or change orders.
-I really really do not want to go to war with our contractor/his pool builder. But we really want the pool we paid for. I guess those 2 things are at odds with each other.

-Unfortunately, the pool depths were NOT in the written contract we signed with our contractor (just the dimensions). They were only explicitly written in the final 2D design that was made AFTER the contract but like 2 months after. BUT the step into the sundeck was written out correctly in the contract. His defense on the step being wrong was that it was like that way in the final design and no one caught it. So i'm honestly not sure much how pull we have there.

-I have no idea about the financial leverage because we did not pay the pool builder, our contractor did. And we've paid him more than the cost of the pool (less than half the cost of the total project) because he's already completely re-done our backyard patio at this point.

-Yeah that's my thoughts on the "standards" as well. They just tried to use that a defense for ignoring our design. The only thing they followed was our deep end and the actual dimensions of the pool/sundeck.
 
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Ooooooh the jokes with you. I like you already. (y)

What are the pool dimensions ? How big is the shallow end ?

I have 3.5 ft water depth like you want and it's still woefully uncomfortable as a tall person. It's my access out of the pool from the deep end and that's about it unless I'm on a pool float.
The pool is 20x46 with an 8' sundeck and a 4.5' deep end. I'm not sure the actual length of the shallow end before the slope starts to the deep end but the sundeck definitely makes it smaller. There's definitely a larger area of 4.5' deep end. I suppose 3' or 3.5' of water is still shallow for someone so tall but at the same time we'd like to be able to swim laps and I think that would make a difference. That's why we extended the length of the pool to 46'.
 

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The water depths are only written out on the final design. Yes, we are having a shallower deep end. Deep end is 60" with water depth of 54".
The final design with water depths may be viewed as a change order to the contract.

Where in NY are you?

You need to talk to a lawyer, not us.
 
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Might be time to lawyer up like Allen said :( The main thing to look at is what was written on the contract and the change order AND signed off on.

We can and will help you learn how to care for your pool no matter what you end up with. We will also support whatever decision you make about the pool.
 
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