pool grade shot 4 inches too high!!!

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M

momofthreegirls

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Oct 18, 2009
14
I am so upset. The pool builder built our pool four inches too high. I know this doesn't sound like much, but now my deck slopes downward to my back porch and it looks like Crud. Obviously there is no possible way to fix it. It just stinks that you spend this kind of money on something nice and you know that you are going to have to look at a sloping deck around 3 sides of your pool in your backyard for the next 50 years!

Ugh!
 
I think most places have a code that requires a slope away from the pool. Here it is 1" drop over 10 feet. 4 inches sounds high, but it really depends on how far away from the house it is.

They installed deck-o-drain up against the house/covered patio foundation to capture the water and channel it away from the house. It goes to the end of the slab, then connects to an underground 1.5" pvc pipe going out into a swail.
 
1/8th to 1/4 inch of slope per foot is typical, but never towards the house! The drainage should meet in the middle of the slab, between the home elevation and the pool elevation (assuming it is semi close to the house).

You don't want water running back in to the pool, but you do not want it to build up against the house either :shock: The channel drains do plug up occasionally!
 
Every pool around here, even the ones built 20+ years ago have the entire deck sloping away from the pool, even if that means sloping toward the house. I've never seen any with the deck drain in the middle. A lot have pools are next to covered patios, so technically, it is not up against the house. Plus, with the sandy soil here, there is no problem with water draining.
 
On the house side of my pool the decking from pool edge drops a couple of inches at the widest decking area, about 8' wide, then the decking coming from the house drops a bit to meet up with it. All of that slopes a bit to the edge of the decking.. They used the plastic strips with notches in them to help carry the water off. As long as I keep the plastic flushed out, once a year, a good deal of water goes out that way. When it is stopped up the water still drains away because where the two parts of decking meet is lower that both slabs. BTW.... the plastic stuff is 28 yrs old and still functional but if I don't flush it it fills with silt and grass grows in it. There is a drain a few feet away from edge of pool, about center of length of pool. It has been partially stopped up for years. It doesn't drain off heavy rain water very fast but will take off pool splash out and light rain. I've tried everything possible to get that drain cleared out, over the years, from both ends. Never been successful as I think some medium sizes rocks are wedged in a bend in the 3" pipe.

The only real bummer about the above mentioned sloping is that patio umbrellas will have a tilt in them which bothers DH and me. The only solution for that is an umbrellas base sunk into the concrete. An off set umbrella wouldn't show that as much but, in our case, there isn't enough room for one without blocking too much view from inside the house.

BTW... Our pool is pretty close to the house, 5' at the shortest distance. Pool long side is parallel to house. On the house side the slope away from pool and house, to the join, is much steeper than the other three sides that all go to plant beds or yard. I have a wood storage bench, with back and arms, up against the house in front of a big window. I have to put blocks on the down side for it to be level (You can see it out the big window so when it is not level it looks bad). Same for the gas grill, which isn't in front of window but it just looks better level. I use left over pieces of Trex for the "blocks". It won't rot and grips the bottoms of bench and grill and the concrete, so almost impossible for them to slide.

gg=alice
 
You will have to post pics for me to see why you are so upset :-D You can always level the floor off. Our pavers slope away from the pool and this is done so that the water does not run into the pool. We have plastic channell drains that run around the pool to take water away from the house. Don't worry talk to your PB and he will fix it to your liking :cheers:
 
I will try to get pics posted this evening.

I don't see how you could fix it without digging up the pool and concrete decking that is already down. I was expecting a slight slope 1/4 inch per foot. The current grade is double that off my porch and triple that on one side. My husband is in construction so we or should I say he some knowledge in that area. He even told them what grade the pool should be at when they were done. They didn't take into account the gunite and stone coping when they shot the grade.

Pool guy is out of town on vacation for the week so he hasn't seen what it looks like.
 

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4" too high with the coping installed? That is less that 1 step up.. about 1/2 a step really. you can have a flat deck but with a slight step up. which will be better than a sloping deck. Usually they will do a deck 3 ft + wide around the pool. a small step up to your pool will absolutely be better than a sloping deck.
 
Hey,

the pics are very helpful.

1. It looks like the decking slopes about 4-5" from the coping to the rear of the decking, is that correct?

2. Is the rear of the decking level with the poured concrete in the foreground of the pics?
 
The back sundeck is level with the porch. The deck in between the coping and the porch falls I believe about 1/2-3/4 inch per foot. I am not sure about the fall on the left side. The deck in the back and around the right side look perfect. It is just what butts up against the porch an on the left side. The spaces that you see are where flagstone is going around the perimeter and the expansion joints.

Guess I have to learn to live with it because I don't see how they could fix it unless they could lower the pool 4 inches.
 
Well, that stinks! The slope is quite obvious....even in the pics. I'm not sure how you would approach PB because the repair task is monumental......unless you had something in writing describing that grade prior to the install.

If you did not, it will depend on how much he can live with his conscience.
 
Right now his conscious is not what I thought it was. His excuse is that the stone is too thick on the coping and that made the pool to high. The stone is 2" thick, so I am not real sure how thin he thought it was going to be. The grade on the pool is 4" too high.

So you think it looks like Crud??
I am just sick.
 
I think the shell is only 2" too high. You want the other 2" for slope. Regardless, it is negligence on his part. You're paying him for it to be done correctly. It wasn't. You have an opportunity to get U/Gs and or cash off, or other remedial solutions, at no additional costs to you.

Ask him to think about what it would cost you to hire a new contractor to rip out the fresh concrete deck, and coping and then cut the shell down to level the deck better or build it up so as to add a step and drainage from the existing deck by the house. If he wants to avoid compounding the issue, putting it that way with give you the best bang. Don't ask him what it would cost him. Your costs would almost certainly be more so negotiate from there. Let him know that that is not the direction you want to go but ....

Try to avoid litigation.

Scott
PoolGuyNJ
 
Try to avoid litigation.
Click to expand...
Amen, brother. There could be no better advice.

My assesment is a PB would see that from 100 yards away. YOur average pool guest would probably only notice it 10% of the time. That said, when they say. "Hey, that slope is a little steep, isn't it" How many times will you hear that before you "have a cow" (as my Mom used to say :lol: )

YOu have to find your own comfort level....it's different for all of us.
 
Thanks a lot guys. To be honest with you, we are not out to get something for free. We didn't pick the cheapest pool builder in town becuase we wanted quality and great service. Unfortunately since the pool builder is not even remotely remorseful that I am disappointed, it makes me even more upset. We are all human and we all make mistakes. I am just usually honest enough to admit my mistakes (even when I know it could hurt my pocket). I am disappointed that the pool guy doesn't feel that way.

I konw that sounds cheesy- sorry.
 
Business often comes in conflict with morals. The less it cost him, from a business perspective, the better. He may very well feel that way but can't show it. If he has partners, that is even more the case. I suggest a similar tack on your part, but you will be the receiver. Somewhere will be a middle you can both live with.

He can live with doing nothing, it costs nothing.
You can't live with doing nothing and need something.

The two positions are very related.

Negotiating without remorse on your part for his feelings is the only way, He will do the same to you. Write down everything and time stamp it!

Scott
PoolGuyNJ
 

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