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Good Tuesday morning everyone! Week four of our pool repair begins with a slight delay due to rain last weekend and anticipated rain next weekend. Right now the dirt is filled with moisture and the heavy equipment required to complete the final aspect of pool demolition cannot be used until the soil dries and becomes more stable. The soft moist soil has been a benefit for our electricians who are trenching and laying conduit for our systems as I write this.
We have finally been able to determine with certainty the cause of all of the damage to the cement around the pool and the rust penetration on the surface.
As it turns out, the pool was built to standards way above code ( I will go into more detail a little further down ) as was the rebar and cement. The failure was in the installation of the drain systems that were designed to drip down between the expansion joints of the concrete and into a French drain system.
The drain pipe as not installed with a sleeve to keep debris out and the top of the pipe was cut as an entry point for the water to enter. When the soil was put over the pipe, one half of the pipe overlapped the other and thus with the weight of the soil and cement, it sealed the pipe vs permitting drainage. The water needed a place to go and it eroded the soil under the surface of the cement to find a place to drain. In many areas the erosion totally removed the soil to a level three to four inches below the cement. The exterior of the drains and surrounding soil were covered in mold and the moisture caused the repair to rust through to the surface. All of the soil with mold was removed from the property as were the drains. Our new drainage system is specifically designed for the interlocking pavers selected and has a track record of success in other installations.
Regarding our pool, we have three pool contractors working on site and all three have stated this is the best pool construction they have seen in their professional life. In fact, based on the crack damage on the bottom, if the rebar and gunnite did not exceed code, the pool which was damaged in an earthquake several years ago would not have survived. Unfortunately, the extreme build of the pool has caused delay in demolition.
All of the pool skimmers are usually installed with 3” of cement and one or two rebar. Our skimmers were installed with 6” concrete and a minimum of three rebar which is a much heavier duty than required. The demolition of the skimmers was scheduled to take two days. We are now on day six and we have one skimmer out. Extra heavy duty equipment is arriving today that will be capable of breaking the cement and rebar while hopefully not damaging the walls of the pool. So far electric and machine powered 90lb hammers failed. A hammer on a bobcat failed, so now comes the big guns in the form of a heavy duty backhoe and a large dozer hammer. It is hoped that once the soil stabilizes, the demotion will be completed in one day. During this delay, a contract has been signed to repair the 250 linear feet of cracks in the gunnite and base of the pool with Epoxy as soon as the pool dries out from the water.
Again on behalf of the entire Wolf Creek Board, we thank everyone for the patience and cooperation during the construction. We continue to work to complete the project by April 15th 2015, weather permitting.
We have finally been able to determine with certainty the cause of all of the damage to the cement around the pool and the rust penetration on the surface.
As it turns out, the pool was built to standards way above code ( I will go into more detail a little further down ) as was the rebar and cement. The failure was in the installation of the drain systems that were designed to drip down between the expansion joints of the concrete and into a French drain system.
The drain pipe as not installed with a sleeve to keep debris out and the top of the pipe was cut as an entry point for the water to enter. When the soil was put over the pipe, one half of the pipe overlapped the other and thus with the weight of the soil and cement, it sealed the pipe vs permitting drainage. The water needed a place to go and it eroded the soil under the surface of the cement to find a place to drain. In many areas the erosion totally removed the soil to a level three to four inches below the cement. The exterior of the drains and surrounding soil were covered in mold and the moisture caused the repair to rust through to the surface. All of the soil with mold was removed from the property as were the drains. Our new drainage system is specifically designed for the interlocking pavers selected and has a track record of success in other installations.
Regarding our pool, we have three pool contractors working on site and all three have stated this is the best pool construction they have seen in their professional life. In fact, based on the crack damage on the bottom, if the rebar and gunnite did not exceed code, the pool which was damaged in an earthquake several years ago would not have survived. Unfortunately, the extreme build of the pool has caused delay in demolition.
All of the pool skimmers are usually installed with 3” of cement and one or two rebar. Our skimmers were installed with 6” concrete and a minimum of three rebar which is a much heavier duty than required. The demolition of the skimmers was scheduled to take two days. We are now on day six and we have one skimmer out. Extra heavy duty equipment is arriving today that will be capable of breaking the cement and rebar while hopefully not damaging the walls of the pool. So far electric and machine powered 90lb hammers failed. A hammer on a bobcat failed, so now comes the big guns in the form of a heavy duty backhoe and a large dozer hammer. It is hoped that once the soil stabilizes, the demotion will be completed in one day. During this delay, a contract has been signed to repair the 250 linear feet of cracks in the gunnite and base of the pool with Epoxy as soon as the pool dries out from the water.
Again on behalf of the entire Wolf Creek Board, we thank everyone for the patience and cooperation during the construction. We continue to work to complete the project by April 15th 2015, weather permitting.
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