New Frisco TX pool build and home foundation question

[ccgrist]

We just signed PB contract and moved into our new Frisco, TX home here in 2017. Our new home has a builder installed soaker/drip line around entire post tension cable slab and is integrated into irrigation system. Our pool will be dug with water's edge only 5ft from home slab, due to limited back yard space. The decking choice we made will be concrete pavers. Overhead image attached to show decking and pool orientation to house

FYI-pool builder will have soil injections underneath excavation to limit soil expansion and I believe the land developer followed the practice of installing plastic sheeting approx 6-8ft below grade as the method to control moisture levels (sorry I don't official term for this method, but is what I watched them do to the new construction phase behind us, so I can only assume they did the same for ours....)

My question is related to slab irrigation/drip line and the challenges to maintain the slab's integrity since we are digging pretty close to it, and potentially removing the drip line . Should I expect that drip irrigation should be left all around home perimeter and installed under the pavers or what is the best practice to ensure the best chance for slab's performance here in N Central TX clay soil? What the are the pros/cons of making sure it remains under the pavers to maintain moisture levels on that side of the slab? Thanks in advance for any feedback

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Clay soil ... UGH! I feel your pain. It's prevalent in our area as well and caused some issues with all the weather changes, shrinkage, and expansion. Finally had to have a few steel piers installed on the backside of our garage. I'm no soil expert, so I can't comment on the success of retaining those drip lines, but I suspect anything you can do to keep the soil "consistent" is best. With the pool so close and plastic (perhaps) lining the area, it may retain moisture okay, but maybe others with ore experience will have thoughts. New pool design looks nice, Good luck on the build, and welcome to the forum.

 

[kimkats]

That is going to be a nice party pool! So many places for many different people!

So lets talk details-what are the depths, length and such?

That one scupper by the stools.....you might want to rethink that one. It will splash on the people sitting on the stools. The noise could also be a problem for chatting from the stools to the spa.

I would love to see a pic of the yard this party will be happening in!!

Kim

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I believe Danny put one in around his pool in Dallas... I'll chime him in to this conversation for input.... Paging! @pooldv

Maddie

 

[ccgrist]

That is going to be a nice party pool! So many places for many different people!

So lets talk details-what are the depths, length and such?

That one scupper by the stools.....you might want to rethink that one. It will splash on the people sitting on the stools. The noise could also be a problem for chatting from the stools to the spa.

I would love to see a pic of the yard this party will be happening in!!

Kim

Thanks. We thought same about that scupper....but since they are really the only water feature visible and direct line of sight from patio and living room windows, we decided to leave it there and just have it on a valve to turn on/off depending on situation. Lot is 74’ wide. Pool will be about 14’ x 28’. (3.5ft -> 6ft) and separate spa will be 8ft diameter.

Appreciate you recognized the many seating spots/area. Had some of that at our last place and really thought it was important and even gained some more this time. Last pool was 8ft deep with dive rock and we rarely used that end so wanted more of a “stand-around” pool this time ?

Here’s overhead pic of our lot

 

[ccgrist]

I believe Danny put one in around his pool in Dallas... I'll chime him in to this conversation for input.... Paging! @pooldv

Maddie

Great thanks. Will be great if I can find anyone with same experience here

 

[kimkats]

I would make sure each one has its own valve for that reason then. At least you thought of it and have planned ahead! That is what it is all about!

You say you want a "walk/stand around pool" but have a depth of 6'............6' is not really that at my house so what to see what you are thinking. My worry with that depth is the wonderful bench in the water and the fire feature. With the "yahoos" at my house (husband and his brother ) I am SURE someone will try jumping in from the end or from the firepit. How they lived to adulthood I do.not.know!!!! Have you thought about just a 4'5" all the way around?

Kim

 

[pooldv]

I believe Danny put one in around his pool in Dallas... I'll chime him in to this conversation for input.... Paging! @pooldv

Maddie

We are definitely in the black clay zone. The key to managing movement in black clay is to maintain fairly even soil moisture levels. Not letting it dry out too much is the most important part because it contracts so much when it gets very dry. Our pool plaster cracked the first winter because it was so dry. We put in a micro-irrigation system from Lowes. It has a hose end timer and you run a main water line all around the areas you want to irrigate then you can tap off all sorts of different sprayers, drippers and other things. It is also handy for watering plants and beds around the pool. It is important to keep an eye on it in winter too.

The back 2/3s of our pool is raised about 18" out of the ground so it is easy to see the ground and the pool. As soon as the ground starts to retract from the pool we can tell it's time to start irrigating. Then we increase water times or times per day to make sure the soil maintains contact with the pool shell. You really can't water too much as long as it doesn't get too soggy or too much water for the plants. Another good thing is that each sprinkler can be controlled individaully to control water flow.

I would not leave the hose under the pavers. Three or four things pull the moisture level out of the soil: plants, sun, evaporation and wind. So, the moisture content will be maintained by watering areas adjacent to the deck.

We had a house with a post-tensioned foundation from 1999 to 2003 and it worked great without having to do any additional foundation watering. Keeping an eye on the soil to foundation contact area during the heat of summer and the dry winters will help you figure out how much the soil moves and if watering is needed. All black clay soil doesn't move as much. We don't need to water our house foundation at all and our pool requires quite a bit of water to maintain moisture levels. And they are only 50 feet apart.

 

[ccgrist]

We are definitely in the black clay zone. The key to managing movement in black clay is to maintain fairly even soil moisture levels. Not letting it dry out too much is the most important part because it contracts so much when it gets very dry. Our pool plaster cracked the first winter because it was so dry. We put in a micro-irrigation system from Lowes. It has a hose end timer and you run a main water line all around the areas you want to irrigate then you can tap off all sorts of different sprayers, drippers and other things. It is also handy for watering plants and beds around the pool. It is important to keep an eye on it in winter too.

The back 2/3s of our pool is raised about 18" out of the ground so it is easy to see the ground and the pool. As soon as the ground starts to retract from the pool we can tell it's time to start irrigating. Then we increase water times or times per day to make sure the soil maintains contact with the pool shell. You really can't water too much as long as it doesn't get too soggy or too much water for the plants. Another good thing is that each sprinkler can be controlled individaully to control water flow.

I would not leave the hose under the pavers. Three or four things pull the moisture level out of the soil: plants, sun, evaporation and wind. So, the moisture content will be maintained by watering areas adjacent to the deck.

We had a house with a post-tensioned foundation from 1999 to 2003 and it worked great without having to do any additional foundation watering. Keeping an eye on the soil to foundation contact area during the heat of summer and the dry winters will help you figure out how much the soil moves and if watering is needed. All black clay soil doesn't move as much. We don't need to water our house foundation at all and our pool requires quite a bit of water to maintain moisture levels. And they are only 50 feet apart.

Good to know. Thanks for the feedback. We had the same experience at the last house, where the pool definitely seemed to “dry out” at a much faster rate than the soil around the house. I always blamed the Pool’s Gunite which seemed to me like it really liked to “drink in the moisture”.

The difference this time was the choice of pavers as decking rather than the slab & exposed aggregate we had last time, as well as the distance to the homes foundation

I expect that the drip line under the pavers probably will lead to more concerns than actual help, since leaks, settling, future maintenance issues, etc are likely but as mentioned in my original post....I’m torn about the pros/cons

I guess I’ll not push to have it remain there and just focus on the perimeter of all the other areas and maintains moisture there