building a splash deck and liner replacment

[gonefishin]

Hi all,

I am getting ready to start building a small "splash deck". The height of the decking will go just under the top rail.

my question is...

Is there any consideration that I need to make for liner replacement. I hate to build my deck only to find out (eight years later) that I should have made a slight modification to make the liner replacement go a little smoother.

any thoughts? otherwise I'll just build it as planned.

thanks!
dan

 

[matt4x4]

if you're in Illinois which is not that much further south than where I am, I recommend you build your splash deck with frost in mind, by that I mean you should NOT build your splash deck above or below the top rail, rather, stay beside teh top rail leaving about a 1" gap.
My reasoning is this.
You are in no way able to control frost heaving, and if temps get cold there, frost is bound to happen.
The problem with frost is that it is unpredictable, by that, I mean that soil can heave 1" in place A and 2" in place B where the distance between place A and B could be a mere inch or two. so if your deck is under your top rail, and heaves more that under the pool wall, your pool will be forced up by the deck, and or vice versa.
If you think the weight of your pool would not allow for that, frost can heave/lift ANYTHING - weight is really irrelevant.

there are 2 safe ways to deal with frost:
1. build foundations that go below the frost line (usually 3-4 feet deep) onto which to build your pool and deck - just like a house.
Build every one item as a free standing structure not tied to anything, not impeded or impeding with anything else - thus the 1" gap between the two independent structures.

 

[gonefishin]

Thanks for your comments Matt


I should have included that I'll be in compliance with the city building codes which states posts must be dug a minimum of 42".

thanks,
dan

 

[matt4x4]

Thanks! You "should" be ok then barring that your pool will not settle beyond it's current elevation.
If it's built on unstable soil, settling can occur - clay, once saturated becomes very unstable and will squish under the weight and over several years can lower the elevation of your pool to the point of being noticeable, it will even move your pool towards the downhill side if it is built into a slight slope (as in slide down the hill from the weight). Mind you this might be as little as 1/8" a year, or as much as 3/8" - all depends on the weather.
Dirt can do some amazing things!

 

[NWMNMom]

I agree with Matt. We built ours even with and NEXT to the top rail. Even if your deck won't move, in an environment with frost, you can bet your pool will never stay exactly where it was when you put it there unless you have a foundation for the pool thats 42" deep as well. We left larger than 1" gap so we can actually get hands in between for maintenance - we have a hinged header/overlap that straddles the top rail and last part of the deck. It flips up for maintenance.

 

[amieelynne]

you are just a wealth of info nwmnmom...lol. it seems I've been reading and responding to your posts mostly today--guess we're on the same brainwave :lol: do you happen to have pics of this maintainence hinge on your deck? we get frost here too and I planned to build my deck even with the top rails--would love a visual of how to cover the gap. thanks

We left larger than 1" gap so we can actually get hands in between for maintenance - we have a hinged header/overlap that straddles the top rail and last part of the deck. It flips up for maintenance.