Polymer pool walls cracked

[Frustrated Pool Newbie]

Hello; my first time posting something but I’m at a loss here. My pool build started in February and the hole was dug, footers poured, backfill and concrete done. The concrete wasn’t done well( he did it) so the builder agreed it all needed to come up. 3 months later he worked two days on it with a skid steer and hammering tool. The walls were already bowed in and not plumb nor is the pool squared but now there are cracks in the walls due to the concrete demo. They are deep and wide cracks and the top lips of the walls are cracked and broken. He doesn’t seem worried and said he can put proxy on the cracks. My question is that an acceptable fix for a new pool build that’s already taken 11 months? I feel like this build keeps going backwards. The floor is still not done, the liner has supposedly at the warehouse since Aug., no equipment has been installed, slide is “still on back order”, and the electrical is not complete. What is the best way to approach this and where do I go from here? Any advice would be helpful.

 

[Frustrated Pool Newbie]

A few more pictures.

 

[Oswald]

I have no idea what recourse you have or how this affects the pool, but I would be extremely angry if that happened to me!

 

[ajw22]

Where do you stand with the builder financially?

I do not think epoxy is an acceptable fix on walls with cracks of that size. I think those panels should be replaced. I am not sure how much rework it would require to replace the cracked panels.

With the quality of this builders work so far you have to think hard if you want him to continue or get the liner and equipment you paid for and find someone else to finish the pool.

@jimmythegreek

 

[jimmythegreek]

Those panels are toast. Any PB removing a concrete deck against a liner pool with a skidsteer hammer should be shot amd buried. I'd run from this guy. He made a disaster out of this

 

[setsailsoon]

I agree with Jimmy, this guy does not appear competent. Does your contract address termination for cause?

Chris

 

[Casey]

This doesn't look good at all.

 

[setsailsoon]

Frustrated,

I just realized you're a new member. Welcome aboard and this really is a tough way to get to know TFP. Sorry it had to be this way and I really wish I had a good answer. So as I see it you've got a construction project that is way down the road and the contractor has made terrible decisions. There are no good answers but here are a few potential ways to go:

1. Terminate the contract (if you have that right) and see if you can find a competent contractor to pick the job up. I don't see how you ever get a warranty and no telling how much this would cost.
2. Negotiate with your existing contractor to repair and complete the job. The only way I'd agree to this is if you get a complete 3rd party inspection of work performed to date and hire registered PE to issue a stamped repair procedure for the defects and hire a 3rd party inspector to verify it is correctly performed.
3. Shut the job down and lawyer up.

With no information on your contract, how much work has been performed, other quality issues it's not possible to make a recommendation but I'm leaning toward number 2 and making a lot of assumptions like:

• Your contract is his standard form written by his own attorney that gives you very few rights and a lot of obligation to pay.
• There are other quality issues.
• You've already spent a lot of money on this job
• Your contractor is not financially strong so he could go belly up rather than lose money on your job
• You are out way more than the costs you can recover in small claims court.

So sorry you're having to deal with this and I hope my assumptions are all wrong.

Chris

 

[sktn77a]

Totally unacceptable. The fact he took so long to get this far and then did such a crappy job fixing his mess doesn't speak well for any acceptable outcome.

 

[offtheclock]

So sorry that this has happened. The integrity of the walls are gone and they will continue to be bowed and I would have to imagine that while doing the demo on the deck that if there was enough damage to destroy the walls that the plumbing is also damaged.