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What causes a fibrglass pool to crack


Guest Robin

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Need to find documentation on the causes of fiberglass pool cracks. I'm fighting with an insurance company about who's fault this is. The sides and bottom of my is full of bugles and craters. I also have several cracks including broken vacuum lines and main drain lines. Any help will be appreciated.

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Hydrostatic poressure!

Sounds like a plumbing line leaked and the water settled under the pool in turn putting pressure on the floor and walls.....If the pressure in the back, say the weight of the water and sand, is heavier than the water on the inside there will be movement.

Sounds like an installation mistake to me...But, I have been doing this for only 11 years.

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Guest Hawaiian Fiberglass Pools

A fiberglass crack is a symptom of inequal pressure or over-flexation = movement. A properly seated fiberglass pool, that is properly backfilled with sand and filled with water, so that the pressure on both sides of the shell is equal cannot move. If it cannot move, it cannot crack. Fiberglass pools do not "just crack."

Just as you would not assume that a crack in a boat that is in the water, or on a trailer just appeared... you would assume that something hit it, right? Or a dent in your fiberglass car bumper would not just appear. Whether it is a boat, a tank, or an airplane, fiberglass responds the same way.

A crack is usually an indicator of inequal pressure: Either a hollow area under the pool, (knocking on it will result in a hollow drum-like sound) or a hard object under the shell which the glass is flexing around (a rock, board or other foriegn object, or a very invasive tree root) In this case, the area around the crack may be bulged upward.

Fiberglass has a flexible strength which surpasses any other construction material, but all materials have a breaking point. The benefit to fiberglass is that it is the only material that chemically and physically bonds to itself, so that if done properly, the repaired area is "better than new."

Indicators of defects in the pool would be degradation of the resins, symptomatic when the fiberglass begins to get "mushy", or delamination of the layers (separating and flaking apart of the layers)

Hope that helps!

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  • 2 months later...

One of the most common cause i think is ground movement, it might causes pressure on the pool structure, commonly for concrete pool, but it is after many years. This might happen the same for fiberglass pool, during the installation, preliminary works such as clearing the ground and sides (removing of big stones or rocks) before backfill. This is only my views only, no concrete evidence on my claim as yet.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Need to find documentation on the causes of fiberglass pool cracks. I'm fighting with an insurance company about who's fault this is. The sides and bottom of my is full of bugles and craters. I also have several cracks including broken vacuum lines and main drain lines. Any help will be appreciated.

The answer is quite simple. The pool was emptied for whatever reason. No swimming pool should be emptied (unless you reside in the desert) without learning the correct method. Especially a fiberglass pool, which relies on the weight of the water to equalize the pressure caused by ground water. For a full explanation of how to empty a swimming pool, you should read:

How to empty a swimming pool

If you emptied the pool, you'll have a tough time with an insurance company however, if it emptied through no fault of the insured (a hurricane perhaps), then it should be covered. Good luck.

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  • 1 year later...

The answer is quite simple. The pool was emptied for whatever reason. No swimming pool should be emptied (unless you reside in the desert) without learning the correct method. Especially a fiberglass pool, which relies on the weight of the water to equalize the pressure caused by ground water. For a full explanation of how to empty a swimming pool, you should read:

How to empty a swimming pool

If you emptied the pool, you'll have a tough time with an insurance company however, if it emptied through no fault of the insured (a hurricane perhaps), then it should be covered. Good luck.

[/quote

Ouch, "The empty pool". An empty pool can float up out of the ground like a boat on water. Poor craftsmanship? I have seen the bottom fall out of a fiberglass pool as it was crained over the house into the back yard. The glass was just too thin in critical areas. A weak walled structure will collapse in an area with a high water table. Collapse will stop when pool water and water tabel match. What a mess.

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