Who fills the trenches?

[jerryk1234]

So I was walking around with the pool builder looking at all the trenches they had dug, including the "mother of all trenches" for the
under-pool drain ( required by the soils engineer ). I asked when they would be filling the trenches and he said "Oh, the concrete-deck
guy does that".

I mentioned it to the concrete guy, he was surprised. He said "These pool builders are such a bunch of geniuses, they'll get away with
anything they can".

The contract really doesn't get into that level of detail.

So, what's the industry standard? Is it standard for the decking guy to fill the trenches?

The advantage to having him do it, is it gives me time to get whatever low voltage wires and irrigation hoses I want to bury.
The disadvantage is that the decking guy will charge me separately for filling. It's a lot of work, because the trenches have to be
properly compacted. Otherwise the concrete will crack.

 

[Nectarologist]

Does the contract say the PB will backfill (not specifically where but at all)? The common definition of backfilling is to put dirt back in an excavated hole. It's not just putting dirt back around a pool. I'm not trying to be a wise guy. Your pb may try to say "oh that means the pool only." He doesn't get to decide after the fact. Terms in contracts are given their everyday meaning unless otherwise specified. Also, any ambiguity of terms is decided against the one who drafted the contract. This is generally speaking of course. There may be CA law that defines backfill or how ambiguous terms are interpreted in a contract. I wouldn't expect that the PB does anymore than dump dirt back in the hole. So if special tamping etc is needed they typically don't do that (at least in my area).

 

[jerryk1234]

I just looked through it. "All Trenches backfilled by decking Contractor". Item #133, handwritten. So it is what it is.

 

[dustin2471]

I would say your contractor pulled one over on you? However if you are feeling motivated you can throw a few shovels of dirt in the trench and get out the garden hose (don't soak just wet it down) and put on your mud shoes and it will compact naturally to be very solid. If that compaction isn't enough get a tamper from Lowes for $20. Or pay the decking guy the few $$$ to do it. sucks, sorry.... If you are on a hill, just ignore me

 

[hollywoodfrodo]

We're in the middle of our build as well - sounds like we're about at the same spot you are. Our PB is having his guys do all the back-filling pre-deck work from the mason, though the mason will be the one responsible for leveling the ground for deck pavers and such.

But I can empathize with you because while our PB didn't screw us on this aspect, we've had our own fair share of issues with them over a few things now.

 

[Nectarologist]

I just looked through it. "All Trenches backfilled by decking Contractor". Item #133, handwritten. So it is what it is.

Yes. At least it was in the contract. That's a sign of a well drafted contract to get to that level of detail. The bright side is the concrete guy will do it right and you'll have a proper base.

 

[Captchaos]

The bright side is the concrete guy will do it right and you'll have a proper base.

I have to agree with this. Ours were filled in by the pool builder but the concrete/decking guy regraded and tamped everything and did a really nice job. I did not expect them to regrade everything, even where there isn't any decking.