Joanne,

I remember your build.

Would you post a link to a picture of the enclosure?

Both open and closed would be helpful.

Water, gas, and electric should all be at least 18" down.

How wide is the deck from the pool edge to the rails?

Does the deck extend beyond the enclosure? How much?

Scott

Hi Scott
Thanks for your post... As I recall the lines are all very deep and PB claims we wouldn't hit anything but I'm still worried. We have a minimum of 5 feet of deck space b/ pool edge and rails. One side is closer to 7'. We do have decking beyond the rail system but thank God those 2 "bumpouts" are pitched away so no water issues there. The PB claims he pitched 1/4" but I can see a definite drop so I think it's greater than 1/4". Also, I'll see what I can do about some pics...
Joanne

Hi Scott
I bumped up the post that has the pics of my pool build. It's titled attempting pics of joanneswimsct build and there is a note for you there.
Thanks
Joanne

That 38'x54' enclosure of a 20'X 38" pool is big! Yes, I can see the pitch.

IMHO, your statement that the PB was who told the mason to pitch it towards the pool, if true, makes the PB culpable. His mistake. His nickel, not yours. His ignorance makes him grossly negligent.

You're going to have to file a suit. The only right fix you should accept is a removal and repouring of the deck and all that goes with it.

That means, removal of the the encloser, track, coping and possibly the liner if the coping is integral with the liner track.

He knows it too. That's why he's not accepting responsibility. To him, it's just business. The work required as described is likely to run over $30,000 that liability insurance won't cover. It doesn't cover stupidity.

Gouging drains into the deck will cause serious issues. I can easily see the deck cracking down the channel lengths, frost heaving, sump pits in all 4 corners with sump pumps, enclosure tracks coming out of alignment, trip hazards... I could go on.

Sorry Joanne.

Scott

Hi Scott
Can't tell you I'm surprised w/ your words. We know the PB is at fault and we know the only right way is to start over and yes, we came up w/ approx the same cost. Unfortunately we are terrified of suing; if we ever lost it would be devastating and debilitating to us. The PB even said to go ahead and sue him... what gall. I've been contemplating taking it to one of the news stations who run a consumer advocate series but am afraid the PB would turn around and hit us w/ a defamation of character or slander suit. Just my luck... How about Judge Judy?! Spoke w/ a lawyer friend (who is not interested in the case) who said it would be best to find an attorney willing to take on the case and charge only if we win; guess that $ would come out of "pain and suffering"? I don't know much about that sort of thing...
Thanks...
Joanne

could you just have the deck saw cut, and slip this drain cap into the joint?

http://www.quakerplastic.com/quaker-deck-drain-replacement-cap-pool.html

You should be able to cut a groove the 1.9" and caulk the cap down into place.

The 1/4" the PB referred to was per foot.

If a cut was made 18" in from the enclosure base, that would leave a 35' cut on each long side of the pool. Starting from the center, that 17.5 feet x 1/4" per foot pitch. Initial depth at the middle of 3/4", that makes the ends of each cut at 5" deep. If the slab is 6" thick, then the ends of the cuts are only 1" thick.

The drains need to channel the water to a sump. The sump will need a pump. There are 4 corners needing sumps. The sump discharges have to get out of the enclosure. That means tunneling under.

This is in Connecticut. These sumps need to work year round. It gets cold in the winter. The digging will need to go below the frost line.

Without the use of a pump, I suppose a leech field could be made and gravity can do it's thing.

The drain water must go somewhere.

I still think the cuts will crack at the bottom, starting near the sump. Then water will penetrate below the slab, wreaking havoc with the outer slab section that the enclosure rails sit on.

I'll bet there isn't a PB on this forum that would order a deck pitched towards the pool unless demanded by the H-O and then not have a waiver signed.

If the PB was so worried about the run off, he would have dug a drain around the perimeter to carry it away. He didn't think of it and didn't build it into his bid. When he realized his omission, his solution was to change the pitch of the deck. He didn't want to spend the money to dig the drainage needed because he wasn't getting paid for it.

I would call the PB on his bluff. Sue him. There is no defamation. He knew he was wrong before he ordered the pour.

Scott

Here is a link that might be useful:

Hey Racket and Scott
The drain materials Racket posted a link to is similar if not the same as what would be used should we go that route. We've been instructed to use the U shaped style vs the V shaped one. It's so confusing and discouraging. All I know is that I've spent many hours this week cleaning up from multiple days of rain w/ more on the way this weekend. Ugh...
Joanne

Scott
Does it make a difference if we DON'T stay open year round? Our thoughts are that we are SO busy this time of year into Mar w/ swim team stuff that we don't have a lot of time for pleasure swimming so we think we'd shut the pool down in Mid Nov and not reopen until the end of Mar each year. If we were closed during the winter will it then be safe to place those deck drains in? We've gone thru one winter so far w/ no apparent damage to the deck even w/ freezing/thawing along the enclosure perimeter all winter.
All 3 drain contractors are of the mind to run the system along entire interior perimeter and drain that water out via the ends. We've talked about how deep we'd need to go to get the water out and none of the guys seemed overly concerned w/ the depth of the runoff pipes wreaking havoc w/ the integrity of the deck. Is that in itself cause for worry? None have mentioned the need for sumps and we have very sandy soil so dispersing should not be a problem once the water is out of the drain.
Thanks!
Joanne

Don't know why I didn't think of this before. Instead of cutting a gutter along the inside perimeter, build a dam wall instead. As long as its higher than the outside edge, water can't get in, It will form a gutter. Then a much smaller set of channels would be needed to be cut to drain it and only at the ends. If the gutter fills, runoff will spill outside the slab and structure. When the rain stops, the little drain cuts on the ends will drain the gutter.

Stop at the door so people don't trip on it and mount an awning to reduce rain penetration there and make the threshold water tight.

WRT to closing the pool and winterizing, DO IT! One good ice storm will wipe out power. I assume the equipment pad is outside of the structure. If freezing temps follow the ice storm and power is knocked out, there will be problems.

Scott

Hey Scott
I think I understand what you're saying. Basically build a dam along the interior and channel the water out via runoff cuts leading out and away?? The only challenge would be the rail system. The dam would be interior to them but the deck still slopes inward so there could be some standing water in b/ the dam and the rail. Well, we already have some mold growing there anyway so I could continue to pour bleach once in a while to kill it... That is actually a brilliant idea... Hmmm... When we first realized the slope problem we tried to stuff pool noodles under the walls to stop the water but that didn't work. I think this would, though. And I would think it would be way less expensive than a drain system. What would the dam be made of? For the end sections I'd love to use that goop in a can that keeps rodents out of homes; you squirt it in crevices and it expands to fill in the space and slice off the excess. I THINK it would be water proof...? I wouldn't be able to use it for the mobile modules but think it would work on the ends?? It could actually be squirted underneath the walls from the deck up. Ideas? Cost estimate? I guess we could always try the dam and if it works great, if not then we reassess our options.
Also the equip pad is actually INSIDE the enclosure if that makes a difference
THANKS!!!!!!
Joanne

I would set forms inside the rail system, add anchors with short studs in the deck every 5 or 6 feet, and a coat of the stuff thats used to improve the bond between the existing and new cement and then pour cement. I would expect that a height of two inches would suffice. I don't think we'll need to worry about expansion cracks.

Paint it with Drylock or epoxy based paint.

I assume the two ends are stationary since I counted only 2 rails on each side for one end and a single rail for the other. A series of 3/4" holes can be drilled straight down through the deck every five feet or so near the dam, to the gravel bed below the slab for draining the blocked water.

The sandy soil will let the water drop to the water table below and not allow pests like mice in. I like this idea better than trying to cut a channel under each end of the structure.

The dam blocks water that weeps under the structure when it's closed. I assume the door to enter the structure is on the end by the garage. It looks like they are sliders that open from the middle outward. That needs an awning that is wider than the doors to deflect rain since we don't want a trip hazard there or the ends need to be made water tight, if they aren't already, since they don't move.

Anyone else have any ideas?

Scott

Hey Scott
Thanks, it's kind of what I was picturing. My husband was wondering if in the mean time we could make our own flashing type of structure to place under the walls on the outside and angle out. This would just be temporary until we had time to do the dam. Went to the usual box stores this weekend but had no brain storms. The dam would be done as a trial idea. If it works, great, if not then we may pursue a suit.
The end modules are fixed and you are right; the doors are on those end walls (one at the driveway end and one at the back yard end). We were thinking of smushing some Styrofoam under the unit in b/ the deck and the underside of the wall along the 3 sides of the end modules. The door ends don't leach as much but there is an approx 2" gap in b/ the deck and the underside so junk gets blown in w/ the wind. There is a rubber flap that is supposed to hang down to inhibit the wind but it doesn't really work that well. Our thought was to draw a bead of caulk all along the line then smushing the Styrofoam under and smearing the caulk to help hold it in place as well as try to keep any trickling water out. It's a band aid at best but until we decide about a possible suit we thought that along w/ a dam might help.
Thanks as usual for your input and I'll keep you posted. Of course we are expecting a Nor'Easter starting this Thurs along w/ cold temps and possible snow mixed w/ rain. Could be the end of our warm water; currently at 82... Don't think we have time to build the dam or rig up some flashing... Drag...
Joanne