Looking for ideas to help with coping nightmare

[MelP]

Hi! I am new here...we are in Los Angeles fulfilling my life dream of having a pool. And of course its been a nightmare and our first contractor abandoned us shortly after his subcontractor did this coping. So the actual coping doesn't look bad, however it is about 8 inches higher than it should be. It was supposed to be flush with the ground. Of course this means the rebar was done incorrectly and I don't know why our inspector did not catch it. But my question is--any ideas what to do with this in terms of design? We wanted artificial grass right up to the coping. That can't happen now because the coping is so high. Our new contractor is suggesting adding a step that runs all the way along the front of the pool and the right side in an "L" shape. I really don't want more concrete in my yard though but I realize it may be the only option. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

What is the height now from the ground to the top of the coping?

 

[MelP]

Welcome to TFP.

What is the height now from the ground to the top of the coping?

Thanks for your reply!
8 inches

 

[Toxophilite]

What is the height of all this in relation to house elevation? Seems if pool was set 8" too high it would have affected elevation requirements on drainage/run-off to house. When you say pool was supposed to be flush with ground, the converse is true. You can't have pool set lower to what the house run-off will affect. In that proximity, the PB should have set elevation of pool to required elevation based on surrounding structures, not ground elevation, planned deck drainage, and then the ground level is raised to match.

 

[ajw22]

Thanks for your reply!
8 inches

8 inches does not need a step before it.

And if you fill the ground with an inch or two of fill then put your artificial grass on top you have maybe a 6 inch step into the pool.

The height is unfortunate but it prevents ground water runoff from getting into the pool.

BTW, a building code inspector only checks that the build meets all codes. He does not check that the build is to plan.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

What is the distance between the structure in the picture and the coping?
Typically the pool elevation is taken from the closest structure at the mud sill or from closest flat work.

 

[Newdude]

I seriously considered raising my pool a little and jazzing it up with stone veneer on the outside. If this had happened to me, I would have considered it a sign from the universe.

What about removing some soil to have a 1 foot 'raised pool' ? You could use your material of choice in the sunken walkway.

@kimkats may have thoughts.

 

[kimkats]

I am liking a combo of @ajw22 and @Newdude ideas:

if you fill the ground with an inch or two of fill then put your artificial grass on top you have maybe a 6 inch step into the pool.

jazzing it up with stone veneer on the outside.

We could go REALY fancy on the part that faces the house with some BLING tile then pretty stone work on the sides and back side unless you want BLING all the way around. I say this is a win in your book! I will help you pick out the BLING tile and stone work if you want me to...............just be warned I am also called the BLING QUEEN so.........................LOL

 

[MelP]

8 inches does not need a step before it.

And if you fill the ground with an inch or two of fill then put your artificial grass on top you have maybe a 6 inch step into the pool.

The height is unfortunate but it prevents ground water runoff from getting into the pool.

BTW, a building code inspector only checks that the build meets all codes. He does not check that the build is to plan.

Thank you! Ok the issue is that the bottom of the coping is all jagged...so it needs to be covered with something. It is too high to be covered just by our turf. Our turf guy suggests that we put the turf at a slope, it would be about a 5 inch slope over about 9 feet so not that noticeable at the front of the pool, but very noticable I think along the back side of the pool because it would be the same slope over about only 3 feet. We can't just add more dirt and raise the turf because there are concrete slabs next to the dirt towards our house. Hope this all makes sense!

 

[MelP]

Welcome to TFP.

What is the height now from the ground to the top of the coping?

Thank you! 8 inches.

 

[MelP]

I seriously considered raising my pool a little and jazzing it up with stone veneer on the outside. If this had happened to me, I would have considered it a sign from the universe.

What about removing some soil to have a 1 foot 'raised pool' ? You could use your material of choice in the sunken walkway.

@kimkats may have thoughts.

We actually did think about adding stone or something. The bottom of the coping is very jagged so I am not clear if we can do tile on top of that. Our turf guy wants us just to put turf on a slope from the highest point of the jagged coping, and our contractor wants us to do a concrete step.

 

[MelP]

What is the height of all this in relation to house elevation? Seems if pool was set 8" too high it would have affected elevation requirements on drainage/run-off to house. When you say pool was supposed to be flush with ground, the converse is true. You can't have pool set lower to what the house run-off will affect. In that proximity, the PB should have set elevation of pool to required elevation based on surrounding structures, not ground elevation, planned deck drainage, and then the ground level is raised to match.

I don't know the answer to any of this
There was no conversation with our PB about elevation. I just know from the top of the coping to the ground is 8 inches. The bottom of the coping is very jagged so it needs to be covered by something. We have concrete slabs between our house and the pool, so whatever goes onto the dirt area needs to be level with those. The design idea we were supposed to have is like the pic below.

 

[davecraze]

We can't just add more dirt and raise the turf because there are concrete slabs next to the dirt towards our house.

Why not raise the turf and just do a step down to the concrete slabs? You could still maintain the turf flush to the coping, if you wanted to retain that look.

 

[MelP]

I am liking a combo of @ajw22 and @Newdude ideas:





We could go REALY fancy on the part that faces the house with some BLING tile then pretty stone work on the sides and back side unless you want BLING all the way around. I say this is a win in your book! I will help you pick out the BLING tile and stone work if you want me to...............just be warned I am also called the BLING QUEEN so.........................LOL

Thank you We started this in June 2022 and our first contractor literally had one guy and a shovel dig the hole. (Yes, seriously! I know, we should have ran then...). I trust our new contractor (as much as we can trust anyone now), but I can tell he just wants to put a concrete step. Our turf guy wants to do the turf on a slight slope up to cover the bottom of the coping.

 

[ajw22]

I can’t tell the actual dimensions you are dealing with.

The jagged finish on the wall can be ground down to smooth it to where mortar and thin stone face can be applied.

Or you can finish it with a stucco coating which is thin.

You need to have a good mason look at it and the buildup on the wall. Not someone who just wants to pour concrete and be done with it.

 

[ajw22]

but I can tell he just wants to put a concrete step. Our turf guy wants to do the turf on a slight slope up to cover the bottom of the coping.

When all you know how to use is a hammer everything looks like a nail.

Each one wants to do what they know.

 

[MelP]

Why not raise the turf and just do a step down to the concrete slabs? You could still maintain the turf flush to the coping, if you wanted to retain that look.

Yes this could be an option. Do you know anything about steps? I am wondering how small a step we could do from the turf to the concrete. I hate the thought of more concrete in the yard but realize that it may be the only way to fix this issue.

 

[ajw22]

Yes this could be an option. Do you know anything about steps? I am wondering how small a step we could do from the turf to the concrete. I hate the thought of more concrete in the yard but realize that it may be the only way to fix this issue.

You do not want to raise the ground level above the pool and make the pool the collection basin for water runoff in your yard whenever it does rain in California. It will lead to water chemistry problems and pool overflowing if you don’t have an overflow drain.

 

[kimkats]

How will the concrete step help the jagged bottom of the coping?

Me? I would grind the bottom of the coping smoothish. Put pretty stone or tile on the visible wall and turf it where the ground is now.

 

[MelP]

Why not raise the turf and just do a step down to the concrete slabs? You could still maintain the turf flush to the coping, if you wanted to retain that look.

True, that would provide us the look we were going for. Do you think it is going to be an issue with rain going into the pool like I think someone else is suggesting it may be?