Compacting Soil in Las Vegas Area

[dnico33]

I've searched the sight regarding whether my builder should be compacting the soil for both my pool and decking areas, and it seems that the prevailing opinion, at least for deck areas, is yes it should be done.

I brought up the idea of the pool area being compacted prior to shooting Shotcrete and my builder said that no, it was a predominantly sandy soil, and it wouldn't ever get more compact. I also asked my plumber's opinion separately, and he agreed. So I let that go and now it's almost time to pour the decking. My question is should I demand that it be compacted, or is his claim that the soil content makes it unnecessary?

It seems like I'm fighting for every inch of ground here. Literally .

 

[ConcreteJack]

Compaction can help, but given the perceived risk of damaging the green concrete, it is rarely done. Additionally, due to the profile of the back of the pool, it is almost impossible to get adequate compaction to guarantee that problems don't occur in the future.

That said, it certainly doesn't hurt, particularly if done with care. The builder is somewhat correct in that of all soils, sand does consolidate on its own about the quickest of any backfill material, however if uncompacted for the full depth of fill, it, like all soils, will consolidate (settle) over time.