WOW!! That's a lotta movement.
Yes, I agree! Kind of worried me when I bought the house, but I decided to take the risk that the movement wouldn't harm the integrity of the pool in any way before I could replace the deck.
Looks like settlement from lack of proper compaction. Either that or you have volatile clay soils that move a lot in wet / dry cycles. I'm not familiar with the latter.
I think our North Texas soils may actually be prone to movement, although I still think the movement is a little extreme given our somewhat volatile soil.
Are you convinved that there won't be additional movement?
I'm not 100% convinced that there won't be additional movement, but it looks to have happened some years ago. I don't know if there is even any room for any more movement!
For the skimmer, I agree with 'Bama cut it back. In fact I would cut a rectangle all the way around the skimmer, leaving 6" or space betweeen the cut and skimmer. Then I would repour the small area I cut out.
An excellent idea! However, after posting this question I have looked at the situation a little more closely. At first, I thought the skimmer itself was in jeopardy from the movement, but upon closer inspection I can see that the skimmer is not under pressure like I first thought. But rather, the "top" section of the skimmer is actually detached by design and has "floated" with the deck movement. It is this top section that is under pressure, not the skimmer itself. In other words, if the part of the skimmer that is under pressure does indeed crack, ther will be no water loss from the skimmer. It is like a lid fro a lack of better description.
I think a relief cut might work somewhat for where the chair is sitting. It won't be ideal, but would probably be better than the current situation. Basically, rent a large gas powered concrete saw and cut a relief cut in the slab a few feet back from the edge of the pool. That might allow the concrete to settle in more in line with the coping.
Are you thinking a cut that would be parallel with the coping?
I don't think that's a maintenance issue from the previous owners, I think its a bad ground prep issue before the deck was poured.
Well, that makes me feel a lot better about the prospect of replacing the deck! I have been worried that even if I replace it, the same thing may happen all over again!
I have one more question about cutting the deck. I have been advised that the deck material contains asbestos. Is there any special precaution I need to take when cutting it considering this asbestos content?
Thanks again for taking the time to write, and sorry for my wordy response!