Awful Concrete Coping

[normand404]

I wanted to get your opinions.. we had a fiberglass pool installed about a month ago and concrete with cantilever coping was poured about 2 weeks ago. We ran a straight line (yellow) to show how uneven both sides are. What’s frustrating is when you walk out of our back patio, it’s the first thing everyone notices. Is this something my pool builder can even fix without tearing concrete apart? What would you all do? We expressed our disappointment with our pool builder who said that’s normal in 40 foot long pools. I would appreciate any insight. Thanks!

Oh and that’s my unfinished hot tub on the left.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! While I'm no concrete expert, I would be disappointed as well and not too sure about that being "normal". Perhaps it could be scored, cut, and reapplied on a straighter line, but it looks like you have waterline tile installed correct? So I'm not sure how that would impact the work along the waterline. Maybe someone like @bdavis466 could tell us if he has experienced such an issue or what your way forward might be. Good luck!

 

[swimcmp]

It isn't "normal" but it is a possibility with a 40' straight wall. You really have to watch to keep the wall straight. We use Cardinal Z forms to be able to accommodate wobble in the wall.

 

[SunnyP2000]

i am sorry but this looks like job of some amateur who is doing concrete coping for first time. if this was my house i would be furious unless job is done by a friend for massive discount. even then this is something that will be there for years to come and you have to look at it everyday i would demand to get it done right.Good luck

 

[Winger 03]

That is something more than "it's normal for a long wall". For comparison, I have a Leisure Moroccan 38 and mine is straight as an arrow. As sonup2000 noted, it looks like someone who has very little experience in cantilevered coping for fiberglass pools.

If the short sides are OK, maybe they can rip out the long sides entirely and re-pour. The hazard of that is the concrete colors may not match. I do not believe there is an easy fix for something that far out of alignment.

 

[spd500]

I wouldn't pay for work that looks that bad. Try talking to the builder about what they can do to make it right, and if it were me I would get a few other contractors to tell me what options I would have to correct it if your builder will not.

 

[blk94f150]

I used to do concrete once upon a time for a municipality. If our curbs looked like that the boss would freak out and that's a curb. I was not even doing it long, maybe 2 years before I moved on.

 

[Auburn02]

Yikes. No.

 

[blk94f150]

Only way to fix it is saw cut it back, drill rebar in, and pour it again. Or massive discount if you can live with it.

 

[spd500]

Only way to fix it is saw cut it back, drill rebar in, and pour it again. Or massive discount if you can live with it.

Maybe both. I would probably make them tear it out and do it right or hire someone else to do it right and sue them for the expense. Saw cuts are still going to show at the cold joint and will always be a weak spot

 

[JJ_Tex]

Well, I've never seen a freeform geometric pool before.

Obviously the lines are not straight, but it also appears to be too much under the spa spillway. From that picture, it looks like the water would go onto the cement rather than directly into the pool. That would be much more than an aesthetics issue.

 

[SunnyP2000]

Well, I've never seen a freeform geometric pool before.

Obviously the lines are not straight, but it also appears to be too much under the spa spillway. From that picture, it looks like the water would go onto the cement rather than directly into the pool. That would be much more than an aesthetics issue.

I was thinking the same thing...

 

[RMcGirr83]

That sucks. Seems no one these days takes pride in their work anymore. I could have done better with a 12 pack of beer and some cardboard.

 

[kimkats]

That is a BIG FAT NOPE!!! Out it goes and redone by someone else!!!

 

[normand404]

Well, I've never seen a freeform geometric pool before.

Obviously the lines are not straight, but it also appears to be too much under the spa spillway. From that picture, it looks like the water would go onto the cement rather than directly into the pool. That would be much more than an aesthetics issue.

You are 100% correct. We tried pouring water with the hose over, and it hits the cement.

 

[normand404]

I used to do concrete once upon a time for a municipality. If our curbs looked like that the boss would freak out and that's a curb. I was not even doing it long, maybe 2 years before I moved on.

I feel like your boss except this is my $70,000+ pool!

 

[mguzzy]

NORM! Howz it hangin'?... its a dog eat dog world and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear!

That looks terrible. The only way it wouldn't look terrible is if he was going for the rough chiseled look like on granite counter top edge, and even then it's not. You might be able to cut it back and then lay some kind of masonry coping for the edge. Then it would like it was meant to be that way.

 

[Auburn02]

So I know nothing about concrete, but judging from the responses I take it there's no possibility of having a (competent) crew cut the edge off at a straight line with a concrete saw, then grind a bevel on the edge? Thinking like how you can cut and grind a bullnose onto a stone countertop edge, but not sure if that can be done.

 

[borjis]

I like Auburn's suggestion. I have this type of coping and it looks straight. What wasn't done right on my pool was a past owner who took shortcuts. It had cool deck applied at some point with a very sloppy application. The color of stain later applied thankfully hides it.

 

[Rich D]

That should absolutely be ripped out and redone. This contractor needs to lose his shirt on this job. Otherwise he will think this is the norm and it'll just happen to the next customer. If he starts losing money on jobs he will either have to improve his skills or simply move on to his next chosen profession ( hopefully that would be something more like McDonald's and not an air traffic controller or the like.. )

With that said... I do not believe that edge would look anywhere near as bad once the spa spillway is finished off. I assume you will be adding some masonry to the spillway. You can then direct the water into the pool where it belongs and interrupt the continuous edge so you would really only see that one bump and not the roller coaster effect..