Exposed plumbing and rebar.. should I be concerned?

[Haku84]

Hi, I am new to the forum and have been reading and getting great information from the various threads. I've started pool construction in April of this year, its been quite a bumpy road. Its been a few months and I have noticed exposed plumbing and rebar that is rusting. I have been trying to trust the process but the more things are at a stand still the more I'm noticing things that just don't look right. This may very well be standard (due to the fact the back of my pool is raised out of the ground do to a slope), and nothing to worry about. But I cannot help but worry about the integrity of the build.

Any and all input, suggestions welcomed. Thanks.

 

[jamjam]

I hope an expert chimes in to help you - my layperson opinion is that you do not want any exposed rebar - in fact all rebar should be embedded within i think 4 inches of concrete from the surface. It looks like you can encapsulate the rebar by adding additional concrete. Is your pool still under construction? I would address this with your pool builder. Also is that drywall that is covering your plumbing? Ideally you do not want exposed plumbing your backfill and grading of your yard should account for and cover it.

 

[darkrider]

Typically, the concrete would extend several inches beyond the last of the rebar, and they would have used a piece of lumber as a form to give you a straight edge. I'm no expert on pool building, but have seen a fair amount of concrete work, and that's some of the sloppiest work I've seen! Is that sheet rock hiding the pipe in the last pic?

 

[Haku84]

Yes, my pool is still under construction. I was reassured the masons would fix any issues, turns out there are so many issues that they cannot fix it. Yes that is sheet rock that was used in several places that the didnt really hold the shotcrete in place. PB was made aware by the masons, just received a call today that someone is supposed to come out and address the issues. Any red flags I should look out for as they try to patch this side of the pool?

 

[darkrider]

So, judging by the pics, we are seeing the far edge of the coping. Is that correct? If so, the shoddy edging will likely be hidden by whatever decking they put in, and could be why they didn't take the time to give it a finished edge. I would be most concerned with any voids underneath the shotcrete or areas where it looks like the coping won't be sufficiently supported. Voids are also a place for water to settle and cause longer term problems. It's worth mentioning that it's tough to patch in small pieces of concrete and have it hold up over time. They may need to cut back and do slightly larger patches, if necessary.

 

[jamjam]

i can't imagine that sheetrock is used by any standard to hold back shot crete - now you have it embedded in the overshoot - that needs to be removed completely as it will deteriorate and cause voids. - i would want to see them chip out and clean up that backside and use approved methods for patching _ it is less of a concern because its on the backside and you don't have to deal with frost, but still that just looks really sloppy.

 

[Haku84]

So, judging by the pics, we are seeing the far edge of the coping. Is that correct? If so, the shoddy edging will likely be hidden by whatever decking they put in, and could be why they didn't take the time to give it a finished edge. I would be most concerned with any voids underneath the shotcrete or areas where it looks like the coping won't be sufficiently supported. Voids are also a place for water to settle and cause longer term problems. It's worth mentioning that it's tough to patch in small pieces of concrete and have it hold up over time. They may need to cut back and do slightly larger patches, if necessary.

Yes edge of coping. Unfortunately it is the back of the pool and there will be no decking.

One worker showed up this morning and looked pretty clueless and was not sure what he was there for. I tried to explain what needed to be done as he does not speak english (translator app). He's started chipping away and this is the finished job.

 

[ImpalaSS]

Looks like a very inexperienced pool builder or a very experienced sloppy builder that is cheap as heck using sheetrock. lol

 

[jamjam]

Didn’t want to spend $50 a sheet on plywood.

 

[Haku84]

Yes, very disappointing. I've been watching youtube videos of the process and my experience is the complete opposite. I knew something was not right when they wanted to shot crete over trash that was left at the bottom of the pool. The PB response is "the masons will fix this" when I first pointed out the sloppy job. I'll post some pictures of the finished project once we get there.

 

[Haku84]

UPDATE

Pool nearly finish and plumbing still exposed, PB suggested when I landscape just to put grass over it. I'm very confused.

 

[NCMike]

Its ugly but its probably functional. Need to make sure the pool walls are the correct thickness. Do you have a contract that states how thick the walls were suppose to be. If that's a 12inch wide piece of coping stone, I assume its over hanging the concrete 2 inches, then you have a piece of 2 inch pvc pipe exposed so on the other side of the pvc pipe is a 8 inch wall. Someone check my math on that... If the pool builder leaves you hanging and doesn't fix it and the walls are the correct thickness, I would backfill with sand until all pvc pipes are covered, then backfill with whatever you want for landscaping, topsoil for grass or whatever.

 

[wireform]

I would opt to drop some wet concrete over it to protect it down the road from a shovel should someone want to dig whatever at the base of the wall at a later time and not remember the pipe is exposed.

 

[Haku84]

Its ugly but its probably functional. Need to make sure the pool walls are the correct thickness. Do you have a contract that states how thick the walls were suppose to be. If that's a 12inch wide piece of coping stone, I assume its over hanging the concrete 2 inches, then you have a piece of 2 inch pvc pipe exposed so on the other side of the pvc pipe is a 8 inch wall. Someone check my math on that... If the pool builder leaves you hanging and doesn't fix it and the walls are the correct thickness, I would backfill with sand until all pvc pipes are covered, then backfill with whatever you want for landscaping, topsoil for grass or whatever.

The contract does not outline wall thickness (see photo below for reference). I believe the coping is 12 inches, they back filled the plumbing with dirt that washed away with the rains over night. So we are back to square one on that issue.

 

[Kellyp]

I have a very sloped back yard and opted to have the backside of the pool out of the ground. Frankly I consider my outside wall a bit rough, I would not be happy at all with yours as I'm sure you're not. There is nothing exposed on my back side, not pipe or rebar. Surely they will finish it more than you have now?

 

[DorsalSpine]

That needs to be covered. I know from personal experience just how easy it is to tag a pipe with a shovel. My landscaping is very mature so I was digging out some "volunteer" plants from around the pool filter. I cracked the main line to the filter with a shovel. There is a line of pavers running from the pool deck to the filter to remind me not to dig there now.

 

[Haku84]

The PB finally came out yesterday to see that the pile of dirt that was placed on top of the pipe failed. They are supposed to come back to day to back fill the back of the pool with more dirt and to do a better job burring the pipe. I'm not sure if this will actually happen or if I was just getting lip service to get another check out of me. So if they do not properly deal with that pipe I will have to figure out a way to hide it properly so that I does not get a shovel to it by accident.

I also pointed out all the rebar that is still stick up out of the ground and some cemented into the side of the wall and sticking out. As one of the masons said, the gunite/shotcrete crew did a sloppy job.

Today is plaster, so in order to move forward I had to pay that last big installment.

 

[Haku84]

I have a very sloped back yard and opted to have the backside of the pool out of the ground. Frankly I consider my outside wall a bit rough, I would not be happy at all with yours as I'm sure you're not. There is nothing exposed on my back side, not pipe or rebar. Surely they will finish it more than you have now?

I have an appointment the weekend with some landscapers, I'm hoping to do what you have done with the back of your pool and hide the rough job where the ground meets the wall. Do you have a drip system to keep all those beautiful hydrangeas watered?

 

[Kellyp]

Yes, once you have the plantings in you'll be a lot happier! I hope that meeting goes well for you. For our plants, the sprinkler heads pop up right at the pool wall, so get everything going down the slope. We've also had a LOT of rain this year!