Optimum pool saga continues need help

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BosKat

BosKat

Active member
Mar 10, 2019
31
Providence
I won’t bother to recap my entire experience to date but here is a summary. I ended up purchasing a 21 foot round Optimum pool. The contract was for the pool to be buried with only 6 to 12 inches sticking above ground.

The installer dug the hole in late April and the pool has arrived at my house. The original installation date was April 24.

We have had a rainy spring so I agreed to be patient with the installation date since we would need to wait for a dry day. In the meantime water has been accumulating in the hole, which is now full of mosquitoes.

Two weeks have gone by and we’ve had some dry days but the installer has still not given me a new date for the installation. He’s been telling me that the water in the hole has to dry up before he can install the pool. I sent him a message two days ago and asked whether I could just pump the water out of the hole and he said yes.

So yesterday I spent $200 renting a pump from Home Depot and buying a 30 x 50‘ tarp and proceeded to take half a day off from work to pump all the water out of the hole and cover It with the tarp to prevent further rain from getting in. The installer told me to keep him posted on how it went.

The water was gone from the hole after I pumped it yesterday and covered it with the tarp but it rained last night so this morning I found some water in the hole – not as much as there was before but still water.

So I emailed a photo to boththe company that sold me the pool and the installer today showing that there was water back in the hole and asked for a resolution so I can get the pool installed because obviously I can’t keep renting a pump and spending hours pumping out the hole every time it rains.

The installer wrote back and said the only thing that we can do is wait until there is a period of 7 to 10 days with no rain.

Now I live in New England and the weather is unpredictable at best. Am I to believe that I could potential wait months for this pool to be installed? And why would he tell me to pump the water out of the hole knowing there was rain in the forecast?

Is there truly is nothing else that this installer can do to address the water at the bottom of the hole so that he can install the pool?

I feel like I’ve been getting the good cop bad cop routine from the company who sold me the pool and the guy who is installing it.

And is it true that the optimum pool cannot be installed in a hole that contains some water in it? What if it is ground water and not rainwater and it’s simply not going to go away with the dry weather?
 
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Neither the company that sold me the pool or the installer brought this up as a potential issue. There is no other place to install the pool in my yard - I don’t even know if I have the option of returning the pool to the company from which I purchased it. And then I’m out thousands of dollars that I’ve already spent on this excavation. Perhaps I’ve just gotten screwed. I’m going to meet face to face with the company that sold me the pool today.
 
I hesitated posting my opinion because I realized your situation and expected your response.
Whats done is done, how best to move forward?
You have a new uninstalled pool and that has value. You need to decide if you still want a pool in your yard.
The excavation was a mistake (my opinion) and must be corrected if the pool is to go in that location.
There are solutions but its best to be realistic about your options and the costs going forward.
 
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Oly said:
I hesitated posting my opinion because I realized your situation and expected your response.
Whats done is done, how best to move forward?
You have a new uninstalled pool and that has value. You need to decide if you still want a pool in your yard.
The excavation was a mistake (my opinion) and must be corrected if the pool is to go in that location.
There are solutions but its best to be realistic about your options and the costs going forward.
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I don’t feel as though I’m overreacting – a pool is a huge investment and I was told certain things in the beginning by the pool company that sold me the pool and the installer and now I’m stuck with a giant hole in my yard and potentially the wrong pool to put in it .With regards to the pool company and the installer - when you were selling a big ticket item like this you should have the knowledge and expertise to ensure what you sell the customer meets their situation and needs
 
So we have to find a way to dry that hole up! Cat litter!!!! or that stuff they sell for automotive places to soak up fluids! The stuff they put in horse stalls!!! I am just throwing ideas up to see what one might stick.

You can buy a cheap pump to drain water but your is so little it might not be worth it. A shop vac might work better to get the water up. Can you run a power cord out to that area? Get some box fans and let the blow on the mud and water to help dry it up.

Now comes a little hard work................go out about 5' from the pool hole. Dig with post hole diggers down as far as the diggers. how wet is that hole? If it starts filling up with water then............a pool in that area might work being dug into the ground :(

Let me know what you think about my crazy ideas and what you think might work for you.
 
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My husband is a commercial construction superintendent and so this is why I post this ... but the reason they wont install it is that you cannot get the necessary compaction needed in saturated soil. If they came and installed it today, by the end of the summer you would have a lumpy mess under your pool. They may be able to get compaction by digging it out more and adding gravel but they aren't giving you a load of poop when he says that. Sorry ... I hope it drys out soon!
 
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Aprilspool said:
My husband is a commercial construction superintendent and so this is why I post this ... but the reason they wont install it is that you cannot get the necessary compaction needed in saturated soil. If they came and installed it today, by the end of the summer you would have a lumpy mess under your pool. They may be able to get compaction by digging it out more and adding gravel but they aren't giving you a load of poop when he says that. Sorry ... I hope it drys out soon!
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Thanks – that is helpful advice. I just met with the company who sold me the pool and they said if the water level doesn’t come down by end of day tomorrow then I might have a ground water issue that will require a diversion system. If it is simply an issue of rainwater they instructed me to cover the hole with the tarp again and said they would come out and pump the water for me. They agreed to deal with the installer and make sure whatever needs to get done gets done so I can have my pool installed in the timely manner. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Fingers crossed that things go better moving forward
 
Your best and easiest option is to install a wellpoint. As Kim eluded to, just back off from the pool site a few feet (or even in one corner of the hole if it's bigger than the pool by a few feet) and dig a hole just below the bottom level of the pool and get a large PVC pipe to use as a casing and then put a little gravel in the bottom and get a sump pump with a float switch and put it in the hole. It will remove any water as it accumulates in the pool area.

The installation company actually should have suggested that to begin with.
 
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Bama Rambler said:
Your best and easiest option is to install a wellpoint. As Kim eluded to, just back off from the pool site a few feet (or even in one corner of the hole if it's bigger than the pool by a few feet) and dig a hole just below the bottom level of the pool and get a large PVC pipe to use as a casing and then put a little gravel in the bottom and get a sump pump with a float switch and put it in the hole. It will remove any water as it accumulates in the pool area.

The installation company actually should have suggested that to begin with.
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Thank you!
 
Personally, I would call another installer and have them come out and look at the issue and see if they can offer you solutions and help you get whatever money you've already paid to the other installer back. My neighbor is a pool installer and he's says about 1/4 of his income comes from fixing issues made by other installers. He likes to give "discounts" to those clients to try to make it cost the client no more or not much more than it would have originally and he loves to do "make it right" jobs because it gives him a good rating and word of mouth recommendations which leads to more work for him. Of course, I can't say that you'd find anyone like my neighbor near you, but it's worth a shot, isn't it?
 
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bloodfromastone said:
Personally, I would call another installer and have them come out and look at the issue and see if they can offer you solutions and help you get whatever money you've already paid to the other installer back. My neighbor is a pool installer and he's says about 1/4 of his income comes from fixing issues made by other installers. He likes to give "discounts" to those clients to try to make it cost the client no more or not much more than it would have originally and he loves to do "make it right" jobs because it gives him a good rating and word of mouth recommendations which leads to more work for him. Of course, I can't say that you'd find anyone like my neighbor near you, but it's worth a shot, isn't it?
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I've been thinking the same thing. I have paid the installer $1750 to date in excavation costs. I could ask him to cancel the contract (see if he would charge me a penalty) and try to find someone else. I wish your neighbor lived closer! Does he know of any reputable pool installers in Rhode Island?
 
I have purchased a 21' Optimum pool that I need installed to a depth where only 12-18" of the pool is sticking up above ground. The hole is dug. Can anyone recommend an installer in Rhode Island who can build/install this pool? Here is a photo of the concept (I will eventually have a deck built around it). Thank you.
 

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