Inground Pool - Help Please

[bmac]

MossRoad,

I think you may be right about getting the excavation done by the pool contractor. Watching those guys dig the pool was like watching a skilled surgeon. Smooth, precise, efficient. With that big Case, this guy could probably knock out the excavation in an hour or so. Of course, they haven't been too gentle with the surrounding lawn. It will probably take a couple of growing seasons for the yard to recover from the tractor work and the 3 concrete trucks that came to pour the decking.

I could then rent the tractor and FEL to move blocks for the retaining wall, backfill, distribute stone mulch, etc.

Thanks for your input.

 

[bmac]

TAB,

I would really appreciate some "How-To" literature if you can get it. I don't think the wall will be over 3 feet high so one lift should do it.

Because the wall will be curved from the sides of the pool deck around the rear (U-shaped), with the highst point being on the back portion, I don't see how a typical perforated drain pipe will work. I could backfill the base of the wall with gravel and "pierce" the wall with PVC pipe to allow for drainage. Is there something that can keep the PVS from getting clogged? Maybe landscape fabric over the gravel before backfilling with dirt (actuall, clay)?

I agree that I NEED that tractor for this project. Sadly, my tractor money is paying for the pool. Its a dilemma.

 

[tdenny]

bmac,

I have done a few of these walls. 1 brand of blocks that I have found to be really nice is Allen Blocks. They have hallow cavaties and will allow you to fill those with crushed rock but they don't require any pins. They work extremely well and look great but they are a bit more costly than most of the ones you'll find.

As far as putting your wall in be very particular on the crushed rock base for your first course. This is the key to your walls. As far as using drain pipe to assist in removeing hydrostatic pressure I used 4" perforated drain pipe (same as the house drains). Only 1 half of the pipe was perforated allowing water to seep into the pipe and then diverting it wherever I felt I wanted it. One of my walls was curved and this type of drain pipe bends nicely around corners. Most manuals suggest you use some larger diameter crushed rock but in all cases I simply used 5/8's minus. This works great and is significantly cheaper than the stuff they were trying to sell me. As long as your wall is less than 4 feet tall you shouldn't have any extra structural things to take into account.

You also have another option - which might have been more taken advantage of when the concrete trucks were there putting in your pool - pour a nice small concrete retaining wall. I've done this and it really is a pretty easy task. They don't tend to look as nice as the bricks but that really depends on how much you know about finishing concrete.

Hopefully I've helped a little. If you have any more questions let me know.

 

[Bill_in_MI]

Here are some pics I took tonight that may show the situation a little better. They do not quite do justice to the degree of slope involved, but it varies from 1.5 feet to about 3 feet depending on where in the yard you are. The grass is a little thin in these shots as I had the yard torn up to run services out to my new barn. It's just starting to come back decent.

 

[Bill_in_MI]

Here is 2nd pic. Hope this helps in some way! Good luck.

 

[miki]

wow Bill

Your landscaping and pool look GREAT. I am currently building a new house and we had the pool dug at the same time. I hope my backyard turns out as nice as yours.

I am currently looking for ideas or plans for a pool house. If anyone has suggestions I would really appreciate the help.

thanks

Michel

 

[tdenny]

Since you guys are making me very envious with all these posts about in ground pools I thought I'd ask a simple /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif question.

Can anyone give me a ballpark figure on how much one of these might costs. Including the pool guy doing all of the dirt work, and concrete, etc. Just curious. The CFO and I have been pondering a pool and I now have to figure out the budget details.

Thanks for any help.

 

[MReeter]

TD,buying a pool is much like anything else,there is a base price,and all the "goodies" are extra.A place start would be the size you would like.A basic 18'x36' diving pool will be somewhere around 18K.

But,if you want a Heater,type and number of steps,lighting,slide,auto pool cover,all of these options are extra.

Price varies on how much extra concrete work you want,it just goes on and on.

Ballpark for a well equipped pool could be 25-30K.Could be more,but not much less....

 

[bmac]

tdenny,

MReeter is right on the money for vinyl liner pools in my area. The base price here includes 8 ft. of concrete on each end and 4 ft along each side. There are upgrades and add-ons everytime you turn around. The overal dimensions of my pool are 24 ft X 40 ft. I added a slide and diving board, salt-water purification system (chlorine generator), spa, heater, Polaris pool cleaner and 12 extra yards of concrete. We are close to 28K. This was neither cheapest nor the most expensive bid we got. Now you know why I can't afford a tractor now.

One thing I might mention if you decide to act on this idea is to really check references carefully. I have 2 neighbors who recently had pools built by the same company. One took nearly 6 months to complete, the other about 3 months. There were no extenuating circumstances in either case (e.g. rock, high water table, etc.), just a bad contractor (who, BTW, was recently on the local news for going out of business with about 40 pools under construction).

One local company we got a bid from is well known and quite pricey. A friend-of-a-friend used them. They started in May and are still not swimming. Our contractor did one across the street and for a neighbor on an adjoining street. He did theirs in 10 and 11 days, respectively. Ours will have taken about 17 days if they complete it this weekend as planned. It is bigger than the others, more concrete work and the didtributor failed to order the liner on time, so we are now waiting for it to arrive. Still, much faster than normal. What is the difference between our contractor and the others who quote 6-8 weeks (and often take longer)? This guy employs the prople who do the work. The others subcontract everything. Also, he comes to the jobsite and pitches in when necessary. It has been a relatively pain free experience.

 

[tdenny]

bmac, mrreeter,

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not sure what part of the country you are from but when doing some investigation around here I've found the basic cost to be 25k min. So my inquiries with the pool companies were pretty much in line with what you've told me. Good points on taking special precautions on the contractor. I'm not sure I can justify this whole pool thing to myself. Since I live in Seattle where it isn't especially warm and it rains alot I dont' feel that we'd get a significant amount of use each year. Who knows. Thanks again. Your pools sure look nice in your backyards.