Am I being unreasonable... Pics inside

[cbowman78]

Well it was time to close the pool for the first time. When we purchased and had the pool installed in April this year, we also purchased a safety cover as we have a little one on the way and two dogs.

My pool company has come by to install it yesterday and there are chunks of concrete missing around the dowels for the safety cover. There is literally only 4 or 5 holes that are drilled without taking chunks of the concrete out. Is this normal or should I be upset? I am actually quite furious as this is going to look horrendous when the safety cover is off during the summer.

Any opinions from all would be appreciated. How clean of an install is it on your IG pools?

BTW, in the first picture I already have a crack in the concrete of where the grab rails are in the deep end. Should I have a crack in the concrete only 5 months into having a pool?

 

[Kias]

The real experts will be along shortly. However, IMHO, they should've patched those chunks that are missing around those dowel screws. That would be placed under, "Paying attention to details" in my book. I have no idea about the crack in the first pic.

I'd probably be upset too, and my wife would probably be livid!

 

[chlorine deprived]

i would say its not unusual to have a crack. But those chips IMO should not have happened to that extent. Seems like the concrete is brittle at the top..... Just a guess. I put those anchors in Pavers and had no chipping.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You definitely should be upset. They should have taken more care when setting the dowels. The concrete should not be spalled like that. I'd definitely make them come back and fix them to your satisfaction.

 

[poolgladiator]

Hello!
Welcome to the forum! I believe your installer forgot your trim ring that surrounds the anchor. I have a circular trim ring that is crowned and would cover some of your chipped concrete. They should not have chipped IMO.

 

[Beachnut_pa]

I had a similar situation five years ago when my holes were drilled. My concrete work for my deck is nice and I was upset. I went back to the installer and he put flanges (they look like washers and match the color of the brass anchors that are in the holes - not sure if flanges is the right word). This improved the way these looked, but there are still several that show cracking outside the diameter of the flanges. It is an option for you to consider.

 

[JohnT]

It's pretty hard to drill concrete without some chipping. The drill catches a piece of aggregate near the surface and pops it loose and you have a chip. I have 3 or 4 on my deck that have chips, and I was very careful drilling. One of them drilled fine, but chipped when I was tapping the anchor into the hole.

That said, yours look like they could indicate poor finishing of the concrete. The finish around the railing anchor indicates lack of concrete experience, and I wouldn't be happy with it, but the cure may be worse than living with it. How many anchors have the chipping around them? I'm afraid that you aren't going to find a patch that is going to look much better than the chips. The collars mentioned are pretty easy to install. Here's what they look like

I ordered 6 and installed them, but I decided I'd be better off ignoring the chips after they were on the anchors for a year, as they just made the anchors more noticeable.

 

[cbowman78]

Thanks for all the replies.

Without being home at the moment, there has to be about 20 anchors (or drilling) that have damaged the concrete in this manner. It is really disappointing, as I probably would not have gotten the safety cover if this was going to happen.

I am hoping collars will be my answer I guess, as I honestly believe that trying to patch the concrete is going to make it look worse.