Pool Remodeling Issues

[drgnslayr]

Greetings all,

I'm in the middle of a pool remodel and I've hired a local pool company specializing in remodeling. There are some issues I am concerned about. First... my finished project will include 2500 sq ft of flagstone deck around the pool, so after we get it done, it will be very costly and troubling if we need to dig up anything for a repair.

We are adding a water wall with rainfall at one end, and pouring in a bench with jets in the low end for a spa effect.

This is a remodel of an old form-poured pool.

So they installed the plumbing, there were holes drilled through the walls, pipes were put through, and normal concrete stuffed in to fill around it.

We had a pretty big rain two days ago, and I noticed water coming through one of those patches. I'm thinking... if a puddle of rain from the outside can easily come in from this storm, water is going to gush out of the pool when it is full, because of the hydrostatic pressure from that mass of water.

I've attached one photo with a stack of photos within. The top photo shows the heavy leak. The middle photo I posted to show a small crack that appears to need fixing. I had thought that was a surface crack, but apparently it leaks, too. The bottom photo shows the backside of the water feature wall and how they tied it into the back wall. Is this done properly?

To me, it seems the contractor should have at least used hydraulic cement to fill around the pipe because it expands instead of contracts like traditional concrete. We have 19 of these holes with pipes added to the pool (spa jets and water feature plumbing). If the holes are not done properly and leak much, we are in for some big time problems.

I don't seem to be getting anywhere with my discussions with the pool company, after all, I'm a simpleton, inexperienced at pool construction and they have been doing it for decades....

UPDATE: I addressed the leaking patch with the pool company and they said it is normal and would be eliminated when the plaster work is done. They said the plaster will be a much finer mix and would not let water pass. Is this correct?

Thank you, to all, who have been offering me helpful advice!

 

[gwegan]

You need to talk to the pool builder. Send the owner emails be polite. If they won't talk stop paying -- they will talk then.

Generally it is not the gunite or concrete that makes your pool watertight it provides structure -- the plaster is the water barrier. I do have some concern as to what that one pipe is leaking so much. You want to use something that makes a good cold joint. I would have a serious talk about it.

How big is the water feature? Generally you want the water feature to sit on its own foundation and not rest too much on the pool wall. Dis they get an engineer to look at the water feature? Are there plans? Were they plan checked and approved by someone? If so then the work should conform to the plans. While on the surface that looks ok -- I don't know how far they set the new rebar into the concrete so I can't tell you if its ok. And I'm not an engineer.

 

[drgnslayr]

You need to talk to the pool builder. Send the owner emails be polite. If they won't talk stop paying -- they will talk then.

Generally it is not the gunite or concrete that makes your pool watertight it provides structure -- the plaster is the water barrier. I do have some concern as to what that one pipe is leaking so much. You want to use something that makes a good cold joint. I would have a serious talk about it.

How big is the water feature? Generally you want the water feature to sit on its own foundation and not rest too much on the pool wall. Dis they get an engineer to look at the water feature? Are there plans? Were they plan checked and approved by someone? If so then the work should conform to the plans. While on the surface that looks ok -- I don't know how far they set the new rebar into the concrete so I can't tell you if its ok. And I'm not an engineer.

The water feature was not engineered. I just told him what I want, and I thought it would probably be done with a footing, too. I am aware of the original pool builder, and that wall has lots of steel in it. Maybe it is better to have it this way and monolithic? I'm wondering if it had a footing and was tied into the pool wall that it is possible to have ground shift and have the water feature wanting to move a different direction from the pool. Just a thought.

 

[drgnslayr]

The feature wall is 3-foot deep and about 18-foot wide. It will be 3-foot tall with an 8-foot wide rainfall waterfall from Pentair. The PB is setting it up as a solid concrete structure, sitting on top of the coping (which is molded into the pool), but also has concrete (w/ rebar) structure on the back side going half way down the deep end pool wall and is tied into the wall with rebar.

This pool was built in the 70s, but the concrete has held up very well and except for one small crack in the bottom towards the shallow end, is in great structural shape.

I'll try to post some additional photos soon.