FB pool craned over my house - pictures
- Thread starter Maestro
- Start date
First day filled with water (which is clean and sparkling thanks to many TFP helpers!)
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First night with the lights hooked up:
Now there's only concrete, pavers, auto cover installation, fencing, new steps down from the deck, landscaping, etc., etc., and probably a few more things I've forgotten about... But at least we can swim!
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Now there's only concrete, pavers, auto cover installation, fencing, new steps down from the deck, landscaping, etc., etc., and probably a few more things I've forgotten about... But at least we can swim!
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- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,731
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
I remember those days. My pool pics are in my signature as well. Quite an ordeal, but sure nice once it's done. Enjoy.
Hi gewegan,
Well, not quite instant! Groundbreaking was exactly five weeks ago. We had lots of rain, lots of groundwater, a first pool that partially floated and then cracked, wait for the replacement pool, waits for inspections, plumbing problems, etc. but we're swimming now, and it's great.
As a friend said to me, "Once you're wet, you forget!"
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Well, not quite instant! Groundbreaking was exactly five weeks ago. We had lots of rain, lots of groundwater, a first pool that partially floated and then cracked, wait for the replacement pool, waits for inspections, plumbing problems, etc. but we're swimming now, and it's great.
As a friend said to me, "Once you're wet, you forget!"
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Any info/details on your float/crack experience? Was the sump pit not installed/functioning?
ac
Hi avc130,
The hole was probably fine, but the whole dig had groundwater problems. They put a lot of stone at the bottom, especially at the deep end and had pumps running constantly. Part of it was that we're only a half mile from the Delaware Bay and about 8 miles from the Atlantic, so the groundwater rises and falls with the tide. When they put the first pool in the hole they told us to put a couple of feet of water in it to hold it in place, so we ran two garden hoses on full, but that obviously wasn't enough. We got a big storm that night, and the next morning the pool had shifted in the hole. The PB tried to move it back by lifting up on the deep end with his excavator, and shortly after that they came to us and told us we had a crack in the deep end.
Was the crack caused by the original shifting or by moving it with the machine? We'll never know and if the PB knows, he ain't tellin'. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The replacement pool is better quality (Riviera brand as opposed to Blue Hawaiian), darker in color, and doesn't have steps all across the shallow end so we can more easily swim laps. It did delay the job by at least a week, but we'll end up with a better pool (for no extra cost!).
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The hole was probably fine, but the whole dig had groundwater problems. They put a lot of stone at the bottom, especially at the deep end and had pumps running constantly. Part of it was that we're only a half mile from the Delaware Bay and about 8 miles from the Atlantic, so the groundwater rises and falls with the tide. When they put the first pool in the hole they told us to put a couple of feet of water in it to hold it in place, so we ran two garden hoses on full, but that obviously wasn't enough. We got a big storm that night, and the next morning the pool had shifted in the hole. The PB tried to move it back by lifting up on the deep end with his excavator, and shortly after that they came to us and told us we had a crack in the deep end.
Was the crack caused by the original shifting or by moving it with the machine? We'll never know and if the PB knows, he ain't tellin'. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The replacement pool is better quality (Riviera brand as opposed to Blue Hawaiian), darker in color, and doesn't have steps all across the shallow end so we can more easily swim laps. It did delay the job by at least a week, but we'll end up with a better pool (for no extra cost!).
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That's a heck of a story!
I hope they set you up with a good method of controlling that ground water into the future!
What makes you feel the Riviera brand is better than Blue Hawaiian?
If it was truly a structural issue with the pool, I'm surprised they didn't get you another Blue Hawaiian under warranty. I can't imagine the pool liked to be pulled and prodded by 1 end with some water in it. I think your PB needed to pump and call back the crane. Then it would have been easy to see if the initial floating of the pool caused damage. It seems like he made a quick judgement call trying to save time/money on his end and lost the bet.
I know up in the top of our state the PB's all bring water in with a truck so they can get 2/3 of the pool filled super quickly once everything is level and square.
ac
Are you doing any dry wells or sump pumps --?? Or are you relying on the water in the pool to keep groundwater at bay? I'm not sure its a problem and I am far from an expert on FG pools -- just wondering if they are doing anything.
I've heard from a few sources that Riviera makes a better fiberglass pool, but the most important things to me are that it's a better shape for swimming laps and that it's a darker color. I think they got the Riviera as a replacement because it was in stock nearby in NJ and we had already had lots of delays. To bring a new pool in from the manufacturer it would take getting transit permits from multiple states and bringing it across the Cape May-Lewes ferry from Delaware.
There is no active water control under the pool now, but they left well points to be used if they ever have to drain the pool completely (heaven forbid!). Otherwise they're counting on the weight of the water (22-24K gallons) to hold it in place.
Wish us luck!
There is no active water control under the pool now, but they left well points to be used if they ever have to drain the pool completely (heaven forbid!). Otherwise they're counting on the weight of the water (22-24K gallons) to hold it in place.
Wish us luck!
I'm sure once the original shell cracked he was scrambling for something that would fit in the hole immediately!
Was your PB good handling these issues? I assume none of this cost YOU more money?
You might want to keep an eye on those well points. NO pool likes water UNDER it.
I think one of the main tenants of TFP is that "luck" isn't part of the pool ownership/maintenance equation. We can be educated enough to handle it.
ac
Here's a couple of pictures of the install. Since I last posted a month ago, progress has been slow. The PB finally finished the backfill, the fence installer did his thing, the track for the auto cover is in, and the heater is installed and connected to the propane tank (we actually could have used it last week!).
During one 4-day construction delay we made the decision to switch from stamped concrete to pavers, and boy, are we glad we did. It's going to look a lot more elegant, and lots of advice from TFP-ers said that pavers are much better (thanks, everyone!). The landscaper is almost finished with the bullnose coping and should have had the deck mostly done by today, but the supplier sent 2-3/8" thick pavers instead of 2", so we have another delay while that gets fixed. (You can see our pitiful 20 s.f. deck that they put in before discovering the mistake!) Can anything else go wrong with this job?
At least we can swim, and the water is beautiful! Perhaps soon we won't be sitting on dirt.
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During one 4-day construction delay we made the decision to switch from stamped concrete to pavers, and boy, are we glad we did. It's going to look a lot more elegant, and lots of advice from TFP-ers said that pavers are much better (thanks, everyone!). The landscaper is almost finished with the bullnose coping and should have had the deck mostly done by today, but the supplier sent 2-3/8" thick pavers instead of 2", so we have another delay while that gets fixed. (You can see our pitiful 20 s.f. deck that they put in before discovering the mistake!) Can anything else go wrong with this job?
At least we can swim, and the water is beautiful! Perhaps soon we won't be sitting on dirt.
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That coping looks great. How did they install it? Construction adhesive to the pool coping/concrete?
ac
ac
Great looking pool and fence! Our build looked almost identical to yours.
I always like how black fencing "disappears" from view almost.
Of course you now make me wish Skippy and I had done pavers. We just didn't know about those things at the time....<sigh>
I always like how black fencing "disappears" from view almost.
Of course you now make me wish Skippy and I had done pavers. We just didn't know about those things at the time....<sigh>
Avc8130 - I know that they laid the coping stones while the concrete was still wet. As far as I know they didn't use any construction adhesive, but they're confident that it's strong enough to take a person jumping off the edge into the pool.
YippeeSkippy - the fence is actually dark green! Here's a picture I took of it this morning that I think will show the color. We love the looks of the woods surrounding our yard, and the last thing we wanted was a white vinyl fence.
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YippeeSkippy - the fence is actually dark green! Here's a picture I took of it this morning that I think will show the color. We love the looks of the woods surrounding our yard, and the last thing we wanted was a white vinyl fence.
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