In-Ground Pool - New Build: Water Level uneven by 2"

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I'm usually quick to encourage the start of the "legal process" ball rolling. But if the PB has agreed to meet with the foundation guy and SE, that's a good sign, so maybe hold off on any sort of legal posturing, except one, until after the meeting. I would start communicating via email, at least. Have a witness with you for every meeting. Have that person take notes during and after the meetings. Follow up every meeting or phone conversation with a recap email: "On xxxx date we met at the pool and the following was discussed; blah, blah, and we agreed to the following: blah, blah." That is you establishing your grounds, and a clear message to the PB of where this is heading the minute he tries to renege on the fix.

I'm glad to hear you got an engineer involved. What I didn't like about that was the statement: "He thinks it has settled as much as it's going to..." That's not good enough. You didn't invite him to your pool for lunch and some speculation. What you need is an official report from him. Something with his engineer stamp on it. That would be your grounds for a lawsuit should it come to that. Not only is it evidence, but it's also another "deep pocket" should you need one. His report, which should eventually include engineering plans for the fix, is your ticket. Then, if anything else goes wrong (like Kim's prediction) it's on him and his liability insurance, along with the two contractors' (PB and foundation guy). Lots of pockets, and a set of blueprints (engineering spec's), officially blessed by an SE, for ammo.

Just having a foundation contractor out to get his take is more of what got you into this situation. All you need from that guy is the estimate to execute what an engineer's plans dictate. Obviously, that meeting is the first step, and maybe the plan is to all put your heads together to come up with the right solution. I'm just suggesting the end result not be any sort of informal agreement, but rather a set of plans and some contracts. From this point forward, anyone working on your job needs to be licensed, insured and liable for the work. Otherwise, you're back where you started: at the mercy of yahoos with no recourse should they get it wrong again.

I'm not assuming that isn't your plan already, just sayin' it out loud...

I'm hoping they can arrest any further sinking, demo the deck and edge tile, re-pour the deck level and reset the tile. If the bottom of the pool is a little off kilter, that would be acceptable. As long at the skimmers are not compromised, everything will look and work fine.
 
Unfortunately most contractors do not carry professional liability insurance. Most carry general liability and it will not cover poor workmanship. If it collapses due to poor planning, your homeowners insurance will not cover it. I have seen litigation for these types of things go on for years. Hopefully, you can work out a fix with the contractor going forward.
 
Woodstock1234 said:
Unfortunately most contractors do not carry professional liability insurance. Most carry general liability and it will not cover poor workmanship. If it collapses due to poor planning, your homeowners insurance will not cover it. I have seen litigation for these types of things go on for years. Hopefully, you can work out a fix with the contractor going forward.
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That was my experience, both the lack of liability insurance and the homeowner's insurance caveat. I ended up using my state's contractor license board for a resolution (complete redo). That's why I was encouraging getting the SE stamp. It's under that the gold is buried should anything else go wrong. The SE stamp, a contract with the foundation guy, and a contract or letter of intent from the PB assuring payment for his end would make a favorable financial resolution slightly more possible...

And to be fair, the OP is not off the hook. If the soils work (both the engineering and the foundation work) was something that needed to be done in the first place, the OP should pony up for some or all of that. The PB is liable to fix the deck and tile and whatever else needs to be done to make the pool and retaining wall sound, including any added expense caused by doing the work out of sequence. It's the PB's fault he didn't get the foundation work done, but that doesn't mean the OP gets all the foundation work for free. Just sayin'...
 
I think this pool build is a case study in why it is said that pools must be built on undisturbed ground. The problem is often in a recently built housing development, which it looks like this property may be, the builder graded and disturbed the entire lot. You would expect a good pool builder to assess the property before the build but many seem to hope for the best and say "they are not responsible for settling." That should be a red flag that the builder is not sure about the stability of the ground he is building on.

I think some holes need to be drilled around the pool area to understand where true undisturbed ground begins and how deep is the layer of fill and grading the builder did on the property. I would not buy any eyeball reassurance that all the settling is over.

Worst case you need some concrete piers and structure built under the pool and retaining wall to bridge between the pool and solid undisturbed ground that will not settle.
 
Thanks, guys. The PB's initial statement was that he wasn't liable for settling, but he hasn't brought that up in a few weeks. I think he was just scrambling for a way to get out of the situation at the time. It's going to be a pretty big hit for him so i'll give him a pass for his initial reaction. The next week or two will end up determining his true character. As of right now, he seems on board with rectifying the situation.

I'm willing to help out with some of the expenses when it comes to making sure the pool is structurally sound... Had the PB had a SE come out to begin with, they would have suggested adding more structural support on that side. Basically if i want the pool where i have the pool, it would have ended up costing more money to begin with. I hate going over my expected cost, but I think that's only fair.

I left one part out: Foundation guy had already came out once before i hired the SE. They gave a recommendation to secure the retaining wall and the PB was going to move forward with that plan. I then pumped the brakes and hired the SE. SE ended up not agreeing with the plan set forth by the foundation company, so that's the reason for getting all parties together.

Yes, i have definitely considered legal action, but it's something i'd like to avoid if possible. I've already contacted the tn dept of commerce to figure out the necessary steps i would need to take if i did go that direction.

I'll keep you guys in the loop and i appreciate your feedback.
 
I just erased the kibitzing I was typing while you were typing your latest post. It sounds like you are on the right track, and I'm so glad to hear the PB is, at least at this point, doing the right thing and everyone involved is working together. That's huge. Once lawyers get involved, everyone loses except them. Good luck. We're all rooting for you!!
 

Skimmer sinking. Neighbors retaining wall fell.

I found out that this issue was known by the previous owners. I’m having A LOT of trouble getting someone to take a look but apparently previous owner was quoted $40k. Although I dont know for what. The pool still works perfect but the difference in skimmer height is posing issues in using one...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Here is a recent thread where they had a similar situation. The poster bought the house not knowing the pool was sinking.

The seller actually hid the fact that the pool was sinking by putting floats and toys in the low spot so that you could not easily notice the difference.

We don't know what the outcome of the thread is. Hopefully, they will post once they get it figured out.
 
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Dirk said:
I just erased the kibitzing I was typing while you were typing your latest post. It sounds like you are on the right track, and I'm so glad to hear the PB is, at least at this point, doing the right thing and everyone involved is working together. That's huge. Once lawyers get involved, everyone loses except them. Good luck. We're all rooting for you!!
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So true! A lot of cases, people spend more on the cost of the lawyer than they would have to fix the problem.
 

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revitup said:
I don't think I've actually seen a photo of the retaining wall. Where is it?
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In-Ground Pool - New Build: Water Level uneven by 2"

I have a contractor building my pool at the moment. We're about 90% done at this point, but after pouring concrete, installing the liner and filling up the pool, we've noticed a 2" water level different in one of the corners. We have a pretty big hill that the pool sits on. The corner that is...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
nicknash said:

In-Ground Pool - New Build: Water Level uneven by 2"

I have a contractor building my pool at the moment. We're about 90% done at this point, but after pouring concrete, installing the liner and filling up the pool, we've noticed a 2" water level different in one of the corners. We have a pretty big hill that the pool sits on. The corner that is...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
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So the 'retaining wall' is that block wall that extends all around the pool? What exactly is it retaining other than the pool and some pool wall back fill? I would have thought a retaining wall would have held that slope on that end of the pool in place.
 
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