Tree Fell in Pool

[barney rubble]

In November my neighbor's 85 FT tall Oak tree, fell into our back yard. The tree had been leaning against the fence where our pool equipment was located so when the tree fell it wiped out the DE filter, pool heater, and pump along with the gas line to the heater. It also took down 2 of our trees. It was laying on top of the now-demolished equipment and lean-to, across the pool deck, and extended to the other end of our yard. The water level in the attached spa was almost full but the pool water was down to about 1/3 full. Our pool service company came out a few days later after the trees were removed and the rod iron fence around the pool was secured to prevent our dogs from getting near it. Between the time the trees came down and the pool company arrived we had several days of torrential rain which would fill the pool to the point where it was almost overflowing but within a few hours, it would recede to back to 1/3 full level. I was told the reason that water kept draining was due to the equipment not working coupled with the pool being higher than the pool equipment.

We had planned on refinishing the pool this spring anyway but were told we needed to wait until the temperatures were consistently at 50 to 60 degrees. In March we requested quotes from 3 companies to replaster the pool. While the quotes were all over the place the one thing they all agreed on was that we had a crack in the gunite but they didn't agree on the cause. Two said the vibration of a large tree falling would have caused the crack despite the fact it didn't actually fall on the pool while the third one said it was due to the pool being practically empty while the weather fluctuated between very cold to unseasonably warm would cause it to crack.

I have submitted the claim to our insurance company who plans on subrogating it to our neighbor since we sent them a registered letter warning them of the potential damage and they acknowledged the issue via email but failed to act. My thoughts are I just want to be reimbursed for the cost of removing the trees, replacing the 2 trees we lost, the fence repairs, and of course the pool equipment and that the cost of replastering is on us since we had planned to do it well before the tree incident. My insurance company's thought is that if the tree caused the crack then they are also responsible for the replastering. Their position is replastering was optional until the tree fell and they've concluded that the crack was possibly a combination of the vibration and the almost empty pool and seem unwilling to move forward until we settle the question of the cause of the crack.

I have no idea what could have caused the crack so perhaps someone with considerably more knowledge about this stuff than me can offer some insight.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[tim5055]

This is one of thoset things that will be impossible to definitively answer, did the tree cause the damage. Let your insurance company move forward as they see fit.

Now, if the pool equipment is lower than the pool and the pipes are broken, yes the pool could drain back to the equipment pad, but you would have seen water there. Did you?

Do we see a crack in thru the plaster and gunite, or is this an assumption people are making. Funny thing is, gunite is not waterproof. The thing that keeps the water in your pool is plaster. If there was no plaster, gunite is porous and water will flow through.

 

[Rich D]

Would be very difficult to speculate without pics of where the tree landed. In any event it is not just the cost of a re-plaster to consider but the cost of repairing the any structural damage to the pool gunite shell. If there is a structural crack in the gunite there are a few options for repair to include staples and epoxy injection. Even with the best repair possible done there is I still a chance the crack could re-appear within a few years.

It sounds like a safe bet that if there was no crack when closing the pool and after a tree fell beside the pool causing the pool to loose that much water (if the pool equipment is lower than the pool then it was the most likely cause of the water loss) that it was the tree falling that is the cause of the crack, whether or not is was from impact or lack of water.

I would definitely want the gunite and plaster repair to be included in the insurance claim. If you really feel like this might be taking advantage of the situation then just do a percentage of the plaster (not gunite) repair. Remember if the crack does re-appear in few years you will be paying for the very expensive repair in your new plaster yourself.

 

[barney rubble]

In November my neighbor's 85 FT tall Oak tree, fell into our back yard. The tree had been leaning against the fence where our pool equipment was located so when the tree fell it wiped out the DE filter, pool heater, and pump along with the gas line to the heater. It also took down 2 of our trees. It was laying on top of the now-demolished equipment and lean-to, across the pool deck, and extended to the other end of our yard. The water level in the attached spa was almost full but the pool water was down to about 1/3 full. Our pool service company came out a few days later after the trees were removed and the rod iron fence around the pool was secured to prevent our dogs from getting near it. Between the time the trees came down and the pool company arrived we had several days of torrential rain which would fill the pool to the point where it was almost overflowing but within a few hours, it would recede to back to 1/3 full level. I was told the reason that water kept draining was due to the equipment not working coupled with the pool being higher than the pool equipment.

We had planned on refinishing the pool this spring anyway but were told we needed to wait until the temperatures were consistently at 50 to 60 degrees. In March we requested quotes from 3 companies to replaster the pool. While the quotes were all over the place the one thing they all agreed on was that we had a crack in the gunite but they didn't agree on the cause. Two said the vibration of a large tree falling would have caused the crack despite the fact it didn't actually fall on the pool while the third one said it was due to the pool being practically empty while the weather fluctuated between very cold to unseasonably warm would cause it to crack.

I have submitted the claim to our insurance company who plans on subrogating it to our neighbor since we sent them a registered letter warning them of the potential damage and they acknowledged the issue via email but failed to act. My thoughts are I just want to be reimbursed for the cost of removing the trees, replacing the 2 trees we lost, the fence repairs, and of course the pool equipment and that the cost of replastering is on us since we had planned to do it well before the tree incident. My insurance company's thought is that if the tree caused the crack then they are also responsible for the replastering. Their position is replastering was optional until the tree fell and they've concluded that the crack was possibly a combination of the vibration and the almost empty pool and seem unwilling to move forward until we settle the question of the cause of the crack.

I have no idea what could have caused the crack so perhaps someone with considerably more knowledge about this stuff than me can offer some insight.

Thanks in advance for your help.
[/QUOTE

I have a bad habit of referring to the plaster as gunite. The crack was very visible that appeared on the plaster. Our pool service had been out the week prior to the tree falling and told us the crack wasn't there at that time. They couldn't determine if the crack was just surface deep or if it went deeper and that we should just wait to find out the extent of the crack when we replastered.
As an FYI, we do not close the pool. The pool is serviced weekly year-round. From November until the end of March the pump runs on low speed 24/7 but increase it to high speed if the temperatures are expected to drop below 38 to prevent freezing.

We just had the pool replastered (finished yesterday) and the crack was confined to the plaster. We did have an engineer come out prior to replastering and they did not find any structural damage.

 

[mguzzy]

I would definitely want the gunite and plaster repair to be included in the insurance claim. If you really feel like this might be taking advantage of the situation then just do a percentage of the plaster (not gunite) repair. Remember if the crack does re-appear in few years you will be paying for the very expensive repair in your new plaster yourself.

What you were going to do is thrown out the window with the damage to your pool. I would look at it from the perspective of what would it take to make you whole again? And plastering the pool is a part of that. There was no crack in your gunite before the tree incident. Seems like enough proof from a cause and effect standpoint. We can come up with all kinds of scenarios that would have resulted in it i bet.