Contracting Soil - Drought

[CJ_Dangle]

Hi all, I live north of Houston near Lake Conroe. We are in a pretty nasty drought. Within my home, I noticed some cracking in my kitchen and dining room tile floors. Further inspection outside shows a severe crack, that continues to worsen, on the pool deck. I noticed the soil behind the pool has pulled away from the back of the pool. While I haven’t noticed any cracks in the PebbleTec, I am concerned the weight of the pool on its walls that are no longer supported by soil, is a problem waiting to happen.

I’ve since started using a soaker hose to moisten up the soil, but what else should I do or can I expect? Can the pool shell really support itself with the weight of the water and soil contracting?

 

[CJ_Dangle]

Here’s another photo of some separation between the pool deck and coping.

 

[Bperry]

Here’s another photo of some separation between the pool deck and coping.

Is that joint flexible? It’s supposed to be to allow expansion and contraction differences in the shell and the decking. That may be why it’s cracking. I wouldn’t go adding extra water to the soils around the pool shell.

 

[ajw22]

Here’s another photo of some separation between the pool deck and coping.

The pool shell and the deck are designed to be two separate structures so that they can move independently as soil shifts.

Gaps appearing are normal and can be filled with flexible mastic.

 

[CJ_Dangle]

But for the bigger crack in the pool deck, in my initial post, it seemed to get wider overnight. That’s something I should expect in drought/dry soil conditions?

 

[Bperry]

But for the bigger crack in the pool deck, in my initial post, it seemed to get wider overnight. That’s something I should expect in drought/dry soil conditions?

That’s likely just a weak spot in the original concrete combined with slight movement. Thin pointy sections like that break pretty easy.

 

[Toxophilite]

I'm near you, south a bit. For the home slab, I've always been a firm believer in flower beds and mulch and sprinkler/soakers around as much of house as possible. That maintains a fairly stable moisture level through all seasons. This drought is one of the tough ones. Not the toughest, but tough. Normal slab movement here is 3" between wet to dry season. A home slab is more apt to crack when one end is wet from irrigation and the other end is allowed to fully dry out. When I can already fit may hand between street sidewalks and soil, my attention at home is heightened. I've been running soaker sprinklers around the soil of my pool for good measure. Can't see down there, and realize shell is somewhat permeable, but just in case.