Another hybrid pool question

[griffths]

I am doing a "light refresh" on one wall of my hybrid pool. There is an angle iron that runs the length of the wall but has rusted away to nothing. I am sure they had a purpose at one time but are doing nothing except waiting to give someone lockjaw.





I found the following picture from an old thread which shows the setup of the fiberglass walls prior to backfilling.



According to the thread which contained the attached pic, the poster had access to the original installation instructions which I would love to have a copy of but I suspect they are more rare than hens teeth at this point.

My question is, what is the function/purpose of the angle iron and do I need to replace it during my rebuild?

Based on the picture, I would guess the purpose is to keep the top of the panes straight during the backfill process.

My pool has concrete behind the wall which seems to have shifted and pushed the top of my pool wall inwards.

I have read in the same thread that crushed stone is used for the backfill. Any advice on concrete vs stone?

 

[ajw22]

The angle iron supports the weight of the coping and deck and keeps it from bending the fiberglass walls.

It is the same support technique as using angle iron for window lintels to support a brick exterior.

You have a link to the thread you found that stuff in?

 

[griffths]

@ajw22 , here is the thread where I found the pics.

Unfortunately, the OP seems was a hit and run poster. Would have liked to request the entire install manual for my archives.

 

[ajw22]

@ajw22 , here is the thread where I found the pics.

Unfortunately, the OP seems was a hit and run poster. Would have liked to request the entire install manual for my archives.

Send @CharlieBz a PM and see if he gets an alert.

 

[griffths]

Send @CharlieBz a PM and see if he gets an alert.

I did earlier this year but cannot hurt to try again. I went so far as to see if I could find him/her in Wisconsin since the town is relatively small but no luck.

 

[MAPR-Austin]

The angle iron keeps the wall straight and also help keep the wall tied into the deck. I believe that the rebar piece in the picture would have been bent over and tied into the rebar grid for the deck. If you can dig down a few inches so I can we can see the back of the panels it might give more of a clue how the walls and deck interface.

The wall looks like it has bowed in quite a bit. I would dig out behind the wall enough that you can use 2x4 braces to push it back straight. You will need a way to secure rebar to the pool walls so that it can be tied into the new decking.

Below is a fix for a pool we did recently. The top of the wall was mistakenly cut off 6" too low - they cut at the bottom of the waterline tile pattern instead of the top...

First we excavated enough that we could force the walls back to straight by using 2x4s.



We attached a piece of aluminum angle to the remaining wall, drilled holes in the angle, and inserted rebar through the holes. The rebar was epoxied into every rib on the back of the panels as well as into space between each rib. The concrete encased the angle and rebar when it was poured. The wooden form you see in the picture above the piece of angle will be the face of the concrete pour, which became the bed for new waterline tile. New cantilever coping was poured on top.




Finished:

We have a composite surface system that we put over the whole surface. We used kevlar and carbon fiber laid beneath the tile and extending down the wall. Pool has been in operation for the season with no issues.

 

[griffths]

@MAPR-Austin ,

Thanks for the reply and pictures.

Your comments as well as starting to dig behind the wall has answered many of my questions..

Unfortunately, the fiberglass walls are backfilled with concrete, making this a bigger project than anticipated.


You are correct that the rebar is attached to the rear of the fiberglass wall.

 

[griffths]

Nothing really to report but I know everyone loves pictures.

Guys are making progress.

 

[Strato]

@ajw22 , here is the thread where I found the pics.

Unfortunately, the OP seems was a hit and run poster. Would have liked to request the entire install manual for my archives.

Wow! Juneau is very close to me and I had the exact same pool. It almost certainly was the same builder as our inherited pool.

Congrats on getting yours repaired! I know it’s not easy to find someone to the undertake that task! Ours had such bad blistering that we opted for a complete demo and rebuild.