Is the seat going on top of the entire wall or just a section of it? Perhaps they are going yo build the seat then pour to it?
New FG build underway! Northern Kentucky
- Thread starter BrittanyV
- Start date
They wouldnt have capped the wall if they were gonna add to it.
They messed up the wall benchmark height. You never pour over a segmented retaining wall. That's insane. It is meant to move with the seasons the slab will crack fast. What brand wall is it? For a wall that high there needs to be geogrid in the block somewhere near the top at least. Also need a fence/railing. Some walls have accent pieces that are thinner that could be added if they had a 3 or 4 inch high block. Standard walls are 6 or 8" so the only fix is to add a block amd pour to that edge. The caps are a good spot to anchor fence/railings amd it wont look bad that way either. This is a whoops for sure.
They messed up the wall benchmark height. You never pour over a segmented retaining wall. That's insane. It is meant to move with the seasons the slab will crack fast. What brand wall is it? For a wall that high there needs to be geogrid in the block somewhere near the top at least. Also need a fence/railing. Some walls have accent pieces that are thinner that could be added if they had a 3 or 4 inch high block. Standard walls are 6 or 8" so the only fix is to add a block amd pour to that edge. The caps are a good spot to anchor fence/railings amd it wont look bad that way either. This is a whoops for sure.
I also do not see any drains. Whatever fix they intend to do be sure they explain how they are getting the water off the patio. They should at the very least provide you with a sketch of proposed elevations with directional arrows of surface water flow and approx slopes. It would be lack of such a drawing that lead to this issue in the first place.
Hey guys - again thanks for chiming in. Here are answers for you.
Your insight on pouring on top of the wall makes complete sense. To me then it is clear that the wall benchmark height was set wrong. Frankly I’m not too surprised as the wall project communication isn’t very good with me, and probably also poor between the branches of this contracting group. I guess I am glad I found this issue, but not at all happy because I bet it means another Dang delay to get it fixed.
To your other points: there are French drains behind the wall as well as some sort of fabric or mesh integrated into the wall (Geotextile?) They also will be putting in linear surface drains into the patio.
Finally - the brand of wall block is Unilock.
It sounds like I will be having another serious conversation with the GC tomorrow. Once again thanks for your input. I still can’t express my frustration enough how much more of an unexpected pain building a freaking pool has been compared to building a house! And we’ve had 2 houses built!
Marc
The seat goes on top of the walk but only in a select area, basically extending in both directions from the corner of the main patio area.
Your insight on pouring on top of the wall makes complete sense. To me then it is clear that the wall benchmark height was set wrong. Frankly I’m not too surprised as the wall project communication isn’t very good with me, and probably also poor between the branches of this contracting group. I guess I am glad I found this issue, but not at all happy because I bet it means another Dang delay to get it fixed.
To your other points: there are French drains behind the wall as well as some sort of fabric or mesh integrated into the wall (Geotextile?) They also will be putting in linear surface drains into the patio.
Finally - the brand of wall block is Unilock.
It sounds like I will be having another serious conversation with the GC tomorrow. Once again thanks for your input. I still can’t express my frustration enough how much more of an unexpected pain building a freaking pool has been compared to building a house! And we’ve had 2 houses built!
Marc
Whatever you do dont let them pour on top. Its no issue to have the wall slightly higher than the patio. They can compound pitch it out to the corners in liue of surface drains or use a channel/spot drain. It's good they have geo grid in the wall that's crucial to a long lasting wall
We met with the landscape company (responsible for the walls) and the concrete guys yesterday. After considering different options, they have elected to make a few changes to our walls in multiple areas.
In the area that I originally brought up, they are actually going to remove the top of wall, regrade the landscape behind it, fill over the top, and extend the width of the concrete. It’s really hard to explain actually.
This mistake also uncovered a similar wall related / drainage/ elevation issue in the area of our hot tub.
So in addition to the changes mentioned above, they are increasing the wall height near the spa by adding some additional wall blocks. They are also adding 4 decorative stone pillars to hide the required elevation differences and extending our already planned seat walls.
It feels like they are doing the right thing because they realized their error, and are correcting it in a proper manner. Like I said though, it is complex and hard to explain.
Here is a rendering image, although it isn’t very accurate regarding the grades of the lawn and landscape.
Thanks again for the input!
In the area that I originally brought up, they are actually going to remove the top of wall, regrade the landscape behind it, fill over the top, and extend the width of the concrete. It’s really hard to explain actually.
This mistake also uncovered a similar wall related / drainage/ elevation issue in the area of our hot tub.
So in addition to the changes mentioned above, they are increasing the wall height near the spa by adding some additional wall blocks. They are also adding 4 decorative stone pillars to hide the required elevation differences and extending our already planned seat walls.
It feels like they are doing the right thing because they realized their error, and are correcting it in a proper manner. Like I said though, it is complex and hard to explain.
Here is a rendering image, although it isn’t very accurate regarding the grades of the lawn and landscape.
Thanks again for the input!
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Looks like a good solution. Be sure there is at least 18" of crushed stone or gravel between top of remaining wall and bottom of the concrete patio. Uniform compacted layers is what you are looking for under a slab. I would also ask how they are attaching the seat wall to the existing wall. Building a interlocking wall on top of the top block is not a standard detail.
Since they will be in the 'oops we made a mistake' rip out and repair mode.... Have you considered dropping the patio where the hot tub goes. Perhaps making top of hot tub level with upper patio? This would have a huge impact on the aesthetics in that corner as well as being more functional. The only draw back is if you no longer want the hot tub at some point that dropped patio would not make much sense... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Since they will be in the 'oops we made a mistake' rip out and repair mode.... Have you considered dropping the patio where the hot tub goes. Perhaps making top of hot tub level with upper patio? This would have a huge impact on the aesthetics in that corner as well as being more functional. The only draw back is if you no longer want the hot tub at some point that dropped patio would not make much sense... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Agree with rich on this. I cant say I've ever seen a 2 sided wall built on top of a SRW on top of its caps. I use alot of versalok and you can actually transition to a 2 sided wall and vertical stack it while still pinning it and of course glue for good measure. But you wouldn't be able to do the setback and the pillars mid wall like that. Hopefully they are experienced with that product and do a nice job with it
Our friends recently installed the same style pool (but different manufacturer) you have and it's awesome to swim and relax in. We are building ours in a few weeks with a similar retaining wall to what you needed. Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's a great help to people like me.
Hi all! Sorry we dropped off of the face of the TFP earth for a bit. It’s been crazy around here, and we have been enjoying the new backyard which is now mostly finished.
There are still some punch list items to knock out, and some have been done regarding landscaping since these photos were taken. Regarding the pool we are waiting for the auto cover, it had to be measured onsite then ordered (4-6 week delivery), the stamped coping still needs to be acid treated, and they haven’t installed the SWG yet. We are running on puck for now, and since we started with a fresh fill and only added minimal CYA or numbers seem to be inline. Is there any concern to continue running pucks as long as the CYA stays below the recommended range? We’ve had no issue maintaining CL levels by adjusting the output on the puck feeder.
I still have to learn to program the Intellicenter, we aren’t taking advantage of the VS pump yet at it is running at 1600 RPM 24/7. I don’t yet understand the concept of circuits in the system and how to get them to pull in on a schedule. One most of the other issues are done, I’ll sit in a quiet room and figure it out.
Now that we have a functional yard (pool & spa) and are getting some use out of it, the stress level in our house has gone down considerably. I’m not riding our project manager like a donkey every day and that really helps with my mental state! This was definitely a more stressful process than building our last 2 homes! I’m not sure if that is due to the nature of the beast, the COVID impact, or our specific PB/project. At any rate, we are starting to enjoy the fruits of labor and are generally really happy with the results so far.
The TF-100 is getting lots of use in the spa and pool. We have switched from dichlor to liquid chlorine in the spa, and things seem fairly easy to maintain so far.
Marc & Britt
There are still some punch list items to knock out, and some have been done regarding landscaping since these photos were taken. Regarding the pool we are waiting for the auto cover, it had to be measured onsite then ordered (4-6 week delivery), the stamped coping still needs to be acid treated, and they haven’t installed the SWG yet. We are running on puck for now, and since we started with a fresh fill and only added minimal CYA or numbers seem to be inline. Is there any concern to continue running pucks as long as the CYA stays below the recommended range? We’ve had no issue maintaining CL levels by adjusting the output on the puck feeder.
I still have to learn to program the Intellicenter, we aren’t taking advantage of the VS pump yet at it is running at 1600 RPM 24/7. I don’t yet understand the concept of circuits in the system and how to get them to pull in on a schedule. One most of the other issues are done, I’ll sit in a quiet room and figure it out.
Now that we have a functional yard (pool & spa) and are getting some use out of it, the stress level in our house has gone down considerably. I’m not riding our project manager like a donkey every day and that really helps with my mental state! This was definitely a more stressful process than building our last 2 homes! I’m not sure if that is due to the nature of the beast, the COVID impact, or our specific PB/project. At any rate, we are starting to enjoy the fruits of labor and are generally really happy with the results so far.
The TF-100 is getting lots of use in the spa and pool. We have switched from dichlor to liquid chlorine in the spa, and things seem fairly easy to maintain so far.
Marc & Britt
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Ya'all... that's my pool! I love it! I cant wait to get mine as soon as it comes in. Yours turned out so nicely!
We love the pool Casey, I expect you will too! The color is great, my wife picked it and when it showed up gray I was unsure, but the color with the water is great!
We also love the tanning ledge/ lounge area. It’s the perfect depth for a couple of Lowe’s plastic Adirondack chairs!
That's what I'm buying for my "ledge loungers". I got to see this pool in a 30' when I took my granddaughter home a couple weeks ago. The guy was so nice to allow us to walk around it and put our hands in the water and just oogle it. She kept saying how nice it was and she's so excited. Their pool was only 5 1/2 ft deep in Storm Grey. I told her ours is deeper n longer. I'm very happy with the finish of the pool. It's so pretty n looks like it's got glitter in the finish as she would say. We have a couple more months until install. We are definitely very hot over here and just trying to be patient. I was so happy to see your thread a few months ago. I'll be calling off work and using my stress day when mine gets here so I can watch it be installed and post it here.
Believe it or not… we are still not done with our project. The pool has been functional since June, but the PB has slowed way down with progress. It’s crazy to me too since we are still holding a big chunk of money back.
The big change now is we FINALLY had our autocover installed! Its a navy blue one from Coverstar. I think it looks pretty good. The alignment isn’t perfect, but I don’t know how close to perfect it can be. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to be home when they installed.
Question - when closed, it is tight on one side, but maybe 3/8” from tight on the other side. Is this normal? I can’t see daylight, but I can cram my pinky finger in there.
The big change now is we FINALLY had our autocover installed! Its a navy blue one from Coverstar. I think it looks pretty good. The alignment isn’t perfect, but I don’t know how close to perfect it can be. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to be home when they installed.
Question - when closed, it is tight on one side, but maybe 3/8” from tight on the other side. Is this normal? I can’t see daylight, but I can cram my pinky finger in there.
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- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,204
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Probably could be closer, but I'd be happy if my cover opened and closed reliably and it was also pretty close to square as is approached fully closed. They aren't bullet proof and repairs are expensive, so all in all, that's pretty good. Mine is a bit off, maybe an inch or two when I get it opened but it pulls straight (probably not the best for it/the ropes, but it has always had that issue a bit since new. When it closes it's pretty much straight, though the bar (mine is round - they since changed them to rectangular like you have I believe) has that much or more gap in the middle from having a slight bow to it.
But of course ask them if they'll take a look at the alignment and make any needed adjustments since it's new.
But of course ask them if they'll take a look at the alignment and make any needed adjustments since it's new.
@bmoreswim Thanks for the reply! Since exercising the system over the last couple of weeks the alignment seems to have improved. I think the ropes and cover probably stretch over time and it is now pretty well aligned both when open and closed.
Well, over a year past the date when we signed our contract, our project is nearly done. Yesterday they finally finished the stamped and acid etched cantilever coping. We think it turned out pretty well and it matches the rest of the project nicely. Just dropping in these photos to show the finished product. Dont mind the dirty water please! Its almost closing time (water is right at 60F this morning), and swim season is over for 2021 here in KY.
