Flagstone sinking or raising, in some spots.

[pcm2a]

The pool has a raised up area, with a wall behind it. The area with the 1.5" inch gap three years ago was maybe a half inch, the thickness of the piece in the photo. Along the whole wall the cement had cracked and was mostly gone so we had someone put some new in there. Most of it still looks great except this one area. What is weird is to the left and the right one one piece of flagstone it seems to have sunk, but that one piece didn't sink. The back of the wall doesn't look any different to me, has some cracks, always had some cracks. This happened this year, possibly over the winter.

My questions are what is going on? Should I be concerned or do anything about it? Can I fill in the gap with anything?

And the more important question is, will any of this affect the pool. The whole wall can fall apart and be rebuilt. The pool being compromised seems much worse.

My explanation is probably terrible, let me know what other details or photos I can include. Thanks for looking!

 

[reggiehammond]

Gap is likely from the wall falling away from pool deck. Get a good stone mason to look at it; don’t let it get worse.

 

[Bperry]

The pool has a raised up area, with a wall behind it. The area with the 1.5" inch gap three years ago was maybe a half inch, the thickness of the piece in the photo. Along the whole wall the cement had cracked and was mostly gone so we had someone put some new in there. Most of it still looks great except this one area. What is weird is to the left and the right one one piece of flagstone it seems to have sunk, but that one piece didn't sink. The back of the wall doesn't look any different to me, has some cracks, always had some cracks. This happened this year, possibly over the winter.

My questions are what is going on? Should I be concerned or do anything about it? Can I fill in the gap with anything?

And the more important question is, will any of this affect the pool. The whole wall can fall apart and be rebuilt. The pool being compromised seems much worse.

My explanation is probably terrible, let me know what other details or photos I can include. Thanks for looking!

Stuff can sink when water intrusion is present in the soil or when its not backfilled properly during construction.

 

[pcm2a]

Oh! It hasn't gone up or down, but it is leaning back and away? What will the stone mason do to move it back into place or keep it in position?

 

[reggiehammond]

Unlikely they can put it back, but they have tricks to prevent it from getting worse. They'll also fill in any of the cracks/openings as any further water penetration in those areas will make the wall lean worse. This is something you want to take care of as soon as possible.

 

[pcm2a]

Thanks! Will start getting quotes from masons asap. Hopefully they aren't all booked up forever like other contractors.

 

[pcm2a]

Is it worth putting some tarps over it to keep some of the rain out?

 

[pcm2a]

It is not repaired yet but I have gotten some estimates. They all say that the wall is solid and not moving. The issue is the concrete box that the flagstone floor is on. It is sinking, or cracked, or who knows until they pull up the flag stone. They have to pull up a large section of the flag stone. Repair whatever is underneath and raise it back up, then lay the flagstone back down. Quotes are in the $4000 range.

 

[pcm2a]

I finally have an update! The flagstone was pulled up. It appears that the box had sunk some and some of the concrete on the top of the box was cracked. The box was repaired and brought back to level. The flagstone was laid back down, with some new pieces. None of the flagstone was removed from the back wall or the pieces along the lip of the pool, which were undamaged. Looks better than the rest of the flagstone around the pool now. The contractor suggested a few small holes in key areas to let any rain water out. Specifically the two corners where the lamps are. I haven't had him do that yet.

 

[pcm2a]

Had a large section of flagstone pulled up for a repair. This caused a ridiculous amount of mortar dust that coated everything but it seems a lot went into the pool. At this point I feel like I've gotten 85% of it out by running the robot, sweeping, and emptying the filter periodically. At first the robot would be filled with a mortar sludge. Now the robot is empty and all it does is stir up dust that settles to the bottom.

My question is, do I just keep doing this until all of the dust is gone, or is there something I can put into the pool to help solidify the dust and remove it? Right now it just seems like I sweep the dust around the bottom of the pool. Chemical balance looks good, pool water is clear. I try to sweep the dust towards the skimmers and to the drains at the bottom of the deep end.

 

[Bperry]

Had a large section of flagstone pulled up for a repair. This caused a ridiculous amount of mortar dust that coated everything but it seems a lot went into the pool. At this point I feel like I've gotten 85% of it out by running the robot, sweeping, and emptying the filter periodically. At first the robot would be filled with a mortar sludge. Now the robot is empty and all it does is stir up dust that settles to the bottom.

My question is, do I just keep doing this until all of the dust is gone, or is there something I can put into the pool to help solidify the dust and remove it? Right now it just seems like I sweep the dust around the bottom of the pool. Chemical balance looks good, pool water is clear. I try to sweep the dust towards the skimmers and to the drains at the bottom of the deep end.

If it’s on the bottom, all you can do is vacuum. Try vacuuming to waste instead of using the robot unless the robot has the fine pleated filters.

 

[pcm2a]

I don't have a manual pool vacuum but do have an electric pool robot, a kreepy krawly. My polaris pump is currently out of commission from winter damage. My sweeper is just a pole with a brush that I can stir up the dust with. The robot does seem to stir up the dust and I don't know why I didn't think about swapping out the filter. I have a finer filter that maybe will catch some of the dust? I've swapped the one on the right for the one on the left, that I never use.

 

[Bperry]

I don't have a manual pool vacuum but do have an electric pool robot, a kreepy krawly. My polaris pump is currently out of commission from winter damage. My sweeper is just a pole with a brush that I can stir up the dust with. The robot does seem to stir up the dust and I don't know why I didn't think about swapping out the filter. I have a finer filter that maybe will catch some of the dust? I've swapped the one on the right for the one on the left, that I never use.

View attachment 607254

Yep, give it a try.

 

[TinFoilHat]

Those drain holes should have been there from the beginning. I'd also put two in the middle of the curve.

 

[Newdude]

The robot does seem to stir up the dust and I don't know why I didn't think about swapping out the filter. I have a finer filter that maybe will catch some of the dust?

It makes a big difference.

 

[pcm2a]

Those drain holes should have been there from the beginning. I'd also put two in the middle of the curve.

Thanks for this! The contractor said he can drill the small hole through in a few areas and that no pvc pipe is needed, but that he could put one in if I wanted. Is a pipe recommended in the hole? Also how big should the holes be? Holes everywhere could have prevented this problem probably.

 

[Bperry]

Thanks for this! The contractor said he can drill the small hole through in a few areas and that no pvc pipe is needed, but that he could put one in if I wanted. Is a pipe recommended in the hole? Also how big should the holes be? Holes everywhere could have prevented this problem probably.

Really small holes get clogged easily. Is there a good spot to put one large enough that you can have a grate over the top of it that would allow you to clean it out if it gets clogged?

 

[pcm2a]

The water pool is in different areas, which would require many large holes I liked the idea of having some kind of pvc pipe put in, for a few reason that could be wrong. Easier to jam something through to unclog it, without damaging the concrete inside. It could poke out an inch from the back so the water doesn't just flow down the back of the flagstone. Some kind of grate over the hole is a pretty good idea too, to keep leaves from getting in there.

 

[Bperry]

The water pool is in different areas, which would require many large holes I liked the idea of having some kind of pvc pipe put in, for a few reason that could be wrong. Easier to jam something through to unclog it, without damaging the concrete inside. It could poke out an inch from the back so the water doesn't just flow down the back of the flagstone. Some kind of grate over the hole is a pretty good idea too, to keep leaves from getting in there.

Ideally, it should be pitched so all the water flows to one spot, then have a drain in that spot.

 

[pcm2a]

At this point I think I have gotten all of the mortar dust off of the bottom. When I push the broom across nothing happens and the robot doesn't get clogged up. However, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this dust on the top. It doesn't seem to be heavy enough to circulate around to the skimmer. What does make it there, doesn't get sucked into the filter, but I can wipe it out with the rag. Not sure how to get all of this out without laying a towel on it or something. My leaf bag doesn't seem to scoop it out.