Phydeauxman Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 I have noticed that almost 1/2 of the decking around our pool has risin above the level of our coping with the worst area being under the diving board where it has risin about 1 1/2 inches above the coping. This is the third winter we have gone through with our pool and it was fine the first two winters. After the first winter we had the seal/caulk put in between the coping and decking. Our Merlin pool cover is the solid type and covers the gap between the coping and decking by about a foot all the way around providing further protection from water getting in the gap. Can anyone provide some insight as to why this might have happened and any precautions I can take to help prevent it from happening again? Right now I am planning on having all effected sections of decking replaced...any feedback on this? I know the concrete won't match once it is replaced...what about staining all of it to help it match better? Any ideas on the price I can expect to pay for this type of job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoolGuyNJ Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 I am sorry to hear this happened. What happened is the ground below the deck likely has a significant amount of clay. Clay absorbs a lot of water. With the freezing temps, it swelled since water expands when it becomes ice, lifting the deck some. It may settle, it may not. I doubt the soil was well prepped or this wouldn't happen. Where are you located? You may need a French drain around the perimeter of the deck to channel any surface water away. If you do need to redo the deck, remove the clay too, down to about the frost line. Here in NJ, that's about 18 inches. Replace the removed material with a better draining material. Use a plate compactor to reduce any potential settling. When adding the new soil, do it in 6" lifts. Add the French drain and pour away. I seriously doubt it will happen again. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phydeauxman Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 I am sorry to hear this happened. What happened is the ground below the deck likely has a significant amount of clay. Clay absorbs a lot of water. With the freezing temps, it swelled since water expands when it becomes ice, lifting the deck some. It may settle, it may not. I doubt the soil was well prepped or this wouldn't happen. Where are you located? You may need a French drain around the perimeter of the deck to channel any surface water away. If you do need to redo the deck, remove the clay too, down to about the frost line. Here in NJ, that's about 18 inches. Replace the removed material with a better draining material. Use a plate compactor to reduce any potential settling. When adding the new soil, do it in 6" lifts. Add the French drain and pour away. I seriously doubt it will happen again. Scott Thanks for the reply. I live in the Eastern part of West Virginia (close to DC). I did not think we had a bunch of clay in our soil but I guess it is possible. So when you say go down to the frost line...is that measured from the top of the pool coping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoolGuyNJ Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Measured from ground level. I wouldn't expect WV to have as deep a frost line except in the hills. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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