Under Construction in NJ - waiting on patio

[mikemikemike13]

Not ideal. If theres ever an issue the pipe has to be abandoned as your not busting concrete to get to it. The collar is only 6 to 8" thick, is his piping right in the ground in the overdig?

Yes, that’s what I figured if there’s a leak or something a whole new run would have to be installed. But would this make the plumbing more prone to leak for any reason? The plumbing is right on the ground in the overdig and the wall braces were installed over the pvc.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Never seen that before honestly. The pool was plumbed before the braces added? Who did the plumbing PB or a subbed plumber? Does this happen to be a newer corona era pool co?

 

[mikemikemike13]

Never seen that before honestly. The pool was plumbed before the braces added? Who did the plumbing PB or a subbed plumber? Does this happen to be a newer corona era pool co?

PB I believe but the owner who did the digging wasn’t onsite. They’ve been installing pools for 20 years or so and I made sure to reach out to previous customers, but now I’m getting a little worried.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Its not the end of the world, I've seen guys hang the plumbing from braces, bury pipe in collar above braces, etc. Hopeully its pressure tested before they pour footer. Down the road if theres ever an issue it wont matter, 9 times out of 10 we abandon the line amd replumb it anyways. Just be sure its sound before its buried in concrete

 

[mikemikemike13]

Its not the end of the world, I've seen guys hang the plumbing from braces, bury pipe in collar above braces, etc. Hopeully its pressure tested before they pour footer. Down the road if theres ever an issue it wont matter, 9 times out of 10 we abandon the line amd replumb it anyways. Just be sure its sound before its buried in concrete

Yes, they set up the pressure test before they left. I believe my township needs to sign off too before they pour the collar. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[mikemikemike13]

I appreciate the help so far @jimmythegreek and @Newdude. I was hoping you could take a look at the pvc they put in with the collar yesterday for the piers.

None of them are the same height which I would imagine wouldn’t be a problem at this point if they were all too tall, but some of them seem too short and likely to be buried with backfill/patio base. I’m thinking of contacting the PB and asking him to extend them all at least a foot or so so that backfill won’t bury any and after the mason preps the base, he can cut them at the correct height before the deck is poured so they’ll all be in contact with the bottom of the deck. Does this seem like the right move? Or am I overreacting?

 

[jimmythegreek]

Usually you leave then higher that the wall and cut then down after concrete has dried. Usually ends up 1-2" lower than wall cap. No big deal at this point a coupling amd a small piece amd that's taken care of. The thin wall drainage pipe is cheap amd so are couplings. I would do it because you spent money to have the additional support and if the backfill settles there will be nothing there holding it. Defeats the purpose

 

[mikemikemike13]

Usually you leave then higher that the wall and cut then down after concrete has dried. Usually ends up 1-2" lower than wall cap. No big deal at this point a coupling amd a small piece amd that's taken care of. The thin wall drainage pipe is cheap amd so are couplings. I would do it because you spent money to have the additional support and if the backfill settles there will be nothing there holding it. Defeats the purpose

Okay, thanks. I’m going to call the owner tomorrow and voice my concerns and ask him to extend them

 

[mikemikemike13]

Back again with more problems. This build has been an absolute nightmare. Hoping to get some input on whether I’m overreacting. First, I have still not talked to the owner regarding the problems with the piers as I don’t believe the office girl is giving him my messages and the guys who came out to finish the plumbing and install the liner basically said it’s not their job and whoever backfill will handle. So I’m already annoyed. But now they installed the liner last Friday (showed up at 7:30pm btw). They let the vacuum run over night and told me to turn the hose and vacuum off Saturday morning before it reached the light niche as the electrical isn’t in yet.

Because they showed up so late on Friday night I assumed the electrician would be coming Saturday so they could finish cutting the liner and filling. But nope, they came back last Saturday when I wasn’t home and cut the returns and skimmers and left. When I got home Sunday the liner looked alright, just the corners weren’t touching the walls but figured that’s because it’s not filled.

Called Monday to see when electrician is coming and she says she should know shortly and let me know. Nothing all week and everyday liner looks worse. There are ripples in every corner and near the returns and it’s off the wall. I called yesterday and she says electrician is still not scheduled. I got a little heated and told her to have the owner call me ASAP. Of course no call. I’m going to follow up with an email today, further documenting all the issues. But my question is, how big a deal is the liner issue? Am I wrong in thinking that everyday it’s out in the sun and only partially filled it is stretching out incorrectly and won’t fit properly even if they come back and suction it while it fills? I’m afraid they’re not going to be able to fix it, am I wrong?

 

[wireform]

The ripple in the corner will get pushed back and most likely fit in pretty good. That under the return should also get pulled down with the water. My worry is more that the liner is partially out of the water and the uv will get to it and fade it a bit compared to the rest. Get it filled and you shouldn't have an issue going forward.

 

[jamjam]

My PB told me to keep the vacuums running - they ran 3 days straight while the pool was filling/waiting for them to cut the the liner. I assume it is better practice to cut as the water height reaches the skimmers.

interesting that they put liner track over your stairs (for the coping height)

 

[mikemikemike13]

The ripple in the corner will get pushed back and most likely fit in pretty good. That under the return should also get pulled down with the water. My worry is more that the liner is partially out of the water and the uv will get to it and fade it a bit compared to the rest. Get it filled and you shouldn't have an issue going forward.

Thanks that makes me feel a bit better. Yea, I thought about the fading too. It’s crazy how unorganized and unprofessional this company is. Now it’s supposed to rain for the next 3 days and Monday is a holiday so I’m sure it will be at least another week before the electrician shows up and then the pool can be filled.

 

[jamjam]

I did the grounding and bonding for my own light niche - do you have the light on-site? you can do it with a screw driver and some 3M potting compound.

 

[mikemikemike13]

My PB told me to keep the vacuums running - they ran 3 days straight while the pool was filling/waiting for them to cut the the liner. I assume it is better practice to cut as the water height reaches the skimmers.

interesting that they put liner track over your stairs (for the coping height)

Yea it seems like vacuuming and filling at the same time and waiting to cut is ideal. Unfortunately, I hired a company who does not employ best practices. I assume the liner track over the stairs is to avoid a large gap between the stairs and cantilever coping.

 

[jamjam]

yeah - i have a void that i had to make the height up for - they could have also installed the steps a bit higher, i think.

 

[jimmythegreek]

With cantilever you install the steps at the height of track top. They messed that up. The light niche may be potted and bonded+grounded already, I do that first. Then just pull the cord thru the conduit. This way you avoid this delay with liner cuts. The liner should settle ok once water is in. How is the fit under that return where wall amd floor meet? The wrinkle under return implies the liner pulled up a little since the faceplate was installed

 

[mikemikemike13]

With cantilever you install the steps at the height of track top. They messed that up. The light niche may be potted and bonded+grounded already, I do that first. Then just pull the cord thru the conduit. This way you avoid this delay with liner cuts. The liner should settle ok once water is in. How is the fit under that return where wall amd floor meet? The wrinkle under return implies the liner pulled up a little since the faceplate was installed

Thanks for your reply. The light is definitely not bonded and grounded yet. It seems like they did things out of order, probably in an effort to rush and get to the next job. The installers that were here told me they were done and someone else would be doing backfill after electrician comes. The fit from wall to floor looks good. The seam/line seems to sit right at the bottom of the wall through the pool. The wrinkle by the return is actually to the side of it between the return and corner. Because it’s about two feet from the corner I’m guessing once the corner sits flat that wrinkle will sit flat too. Electrician is coming tomorrow so hopefully it can be filled soon. Talked to the owner who assured me once it’s filled the liner will sit right. We will see.

 

[mikemikemike13]

yeah - i have a void that i had to make the height up for - they could have also installed the steps a bit higher, i think.

Yes, but that would have required knowledge and some forethought neither of which these installers seem to have.

 

[mikemikemike13]

Finally filling with water and looks like I may have more problems. There is a spot under the fiberglass stairs that seems to be leaking.

Think this is a crack in the stairs or did they mess up putting the liner in the track along the bottom?

Anybody know how the PB should address this before backfill?

 

[mikemikemike13]

Adding more pictures that may be relevant to the stairs leaking. It looks like they possibly patched the liner in the corner of the stair track. Any reason for them to do this, unless they were trying to patch a hole or they cut too much?