Empty, unburied fiberglass shell collected rain and flexed. Should we be worried?

[nene11]

Collecting opinions, please. Pictures before & after PB came out to pump & add extra brace. Should we be worried about the integrity of the shell? (Latham Monaco) Others have suggested I contact Latham, but all of their contact options seem to point toward contacting a PB. It has been sitting there a couple of weeks without issue until the rain, and PB said it will be another week or so before ground work starts. We’ve done our part re: tree removal & electricity prep. Just waiting.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Contact the manufacturer for advice and supply pictures of the situation. Are there any visible stress marks inside or out?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

I suggest you read Lathams warranty at https://www.lathampool.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-Latham-Fiberglass-Warranty.pdf



In my reading they do not warranty their Pool can sit outside with no water on cinder blocks without damage. So it falls upon your Pool Builder to provide a warranty that the Pool is still structurally sound. We cannot determine that looking through our screens.

I suggest you take a close look at the Pool for any signs of cracks or crazing or bubbling, discuss it with your builder, and decide if you will accept the Builder moving forward installing the pool.

 

[TKpoolOH]

Echoing above.

Also, if you decide to move forward (assuming structural integrity is in tact) you should get very specific assurances from PB and/or Latham of what will happen if during the install the shell cracks when they lift and set it. Its already flexed one way, now it has to flex back.

Just curious, and I know you’re beyond this point mattering, but why did PB have shell delivered if they weren’t ready to install?

 

[sktn77a]

Gelcoat isn't particularly flexible. I suspect you have many, many spider cracks in the surface now. These are unlikely to leak but will get worse with time and look awful when they get dirt in them.

Oh, and look at that warranty....... not worth the paper its printed on!

 

[nene11]

Contact the manufacturer for advice and supply pictures of the situation. Are there any visible stress marks inside or out?

I tried looking for a support/contact avenue on their (Latham) website but it’s either sales or “contact your builder.” I’ll dig deeper today.

Echoing above.

Also, if you decide to move forward (assuming structural integrity is in tact) you should get very specific assurances from PB and/or Latham of what will happen if during the install the shell cracks when they lift and set it. Its already flexed one way, now it has to flex back.

Just curious, and I know you’re beyond this point mattering, but why did PB have shell delivered if they weren’t ready to install?

I don’t know. Their excavator has been sitting here for a couple weeks right beside it so I don’t think they intended for it to be this way, and I figure being an excavator short probably compounds the schedule issues. They’re about 120 miles away, too. I understand the unexpected can happen and we’re patient (especially since we’ve given up on swimming this year); I just hope they’ll make things right if the delay causes damage.

 

[nene11]

Welcome to TFP.

I suggest you read Lathams warranty at https://www.lathampool.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-Latham-Fiberglass-Warranty.pdf

View attachment 611475

In my reading they do not warranty their Pool can sit outside with no water on cinder blocks without damage. So it falls upon your Pool Builder to provide a warranty that the Pool is still structurally sound. We cannot determine that looking through our screens.

I suggest you take a close look at the Pool for any signs of cracks or crazing or bubbling, discuss it with your builder, and decide if you will accept the Builder moving forward installing the pool.

Definitely a depressing read, but also not surprising. So many warranties leave a huge hole for them to be able to say “not our fault.” The circle of wasn’t-me.

 

[nene11]

Sticker on the pool. Why does it have to be the same corner Just feeling “stuck” for now. I can’t see any damage on the outside but I also don’t really know what I’m looking for besides what I would think is an obvious crack, and I don’t feel safe climbing a ladder to try to look inside it, certainly not to hop in for a close enough look as that doesn’t sound healthy for the shell either in its current state.
Do we wait for them to build the hole, put it in the hole, and then stop everything so we can get inside & look?

 

[TKpoolOH]

I wouldn’t think you’d want to wait until it’s in the hole to check the structural integrity. Lot of work in case it’s a no go. I don’t have any experience with a fiberglass build though other than what I’ve seen here. Couple suggestions:

1) any drone experience? use a surveillance drone to fly along the interior of the shell to get close ups.
2) tiny kids or grandkids? Perhaps you can set them in the shell to take video/pictures. Just thinking of either myself as an adult going in there versus my 45 lb 7 year old who can use a camera/phone.

 

[TKpoolOH]

Sticker on the pool. Why does it have to be the same corner

Of course it’s that corner, it’s like Murphy said we’re going to get this as close as possible to exactly what we tell you not to do unfortunately it didn’t happen when your PB lifted it because then you’d for sure be able to pin it on them.