Pool deck coping / expansion joints

[kirinlager]

Good morning - two issues: fiberglass inground, 12 x 23 enclosed pool with cover and deck installed fall 2014.
1 - No expansion joints were cut into deck that is 4 ft wide down one side, 6 foot on one end, and 10 feet in length down other side. Other end of pool houses cover. Cracks have appeared in all corners and several down sides. Builder and conrete guy say they are superficial and their plan is to come in and fill cracks and then seal concrete that was not done over winter due to inability to ventilate adequately so they plan to do this June 5. They do not plan to put in expansion joints.

2 - deck is poured brushed colored concrete. A deck-o-drain was installed rougly 1 foot away from edge of pool. However - the edge of the pool or coping section is not angled away from the pool. Although water does drain into the trough - a spilled drink, cleaning the deck, shower station, or pouring water on to the deck to clean it will run to the drain and continue straight into the pool. Concrete guy says he followed the instructions of the pool guy on how to install the drains and thus they and deck were installed per his instructions. I met with the builder last night and expressed my concerns with water flow back into the pool and asked if the concrete guys had experience with pool decks. Yes they do - they were following the direction of the pool guy for trough drain installation.

Do I have a case for either issue above? The builder is a talker and will have an excuse or reason for everything. Do you have any advise and/or supporting evidence? Should I hold off on them filling and sealing the concrete? How can I address the deck angle?

Thank you for any and all advise.
Melissa

 

[Donny]

My IG pool was installed last year. I have stamped concrete. The concrete installer cut several joints in the concrete all around the pool. Even with this, I have a few cracks. I would think at least 1 expansion joint would of been needed in a 10' length. As far as pitch.... The water on the deck should move away from the pool, NOT into the pool. IMHO, sounds like your getting the run-around. Do you have a level at home ?? Place the level on the concrete to actually see what the pitch is. Look at the bubble in the level.

 

[danpik]

I can, without reservation, guarantee two things about concrete. One it will get hard, and two, it will crack. I know, not much consolation. The problem with most concrete contractors is they have no formal training. many do not understand what stress riser/points are. Any inside corner will propagate a crack. The concrete wants to shrink inward and an inside corner puts a lot of stress on that corner. Since concrete has very little strength in tension it will start the crack there. Ideally, they should have used an edger to scribe control joints when the concrete was placed. At very least, they should have saw cut it before it turned white.

 

[swimcmp]

I take it this is indoors. If so it is not uncommon to slope the deck to the pool rather than away. There should be IMHO slope from the pool to the drain albeit not much, then slope from the drain to the outside edge of the deck.

 

[kirinlager]

Yes this is an indoor pool. No expansion joints were cut. Entire deck slopes toward pool, albeit there is a 1 in drain around the perimeter of the pool, from the drain to the pool edge is still sloped towards the pool.