Deck Cracks

[ce19931]

I understand all concrete will crack. What I don't understand is how my concrete can crack 5 days after it was poured. I'm talking about cracks that run the width and depth of the slab! The contractor used expansion joints as well as wire mesh. One of the cracks runs parallel to one of the joints about 1 foot away! A couple of these cracks originate at the seams of the pool walls. Why wouldn't the concrete contractor put his joints there? I also have some cracks around the railing inserts, these almost concern me more because they're random and meandering.

I'm going to call my builder and see if I can get a copy of the concrete ticket to see what psi mix was used and how much extra water was added at the pour. I already know there was no post pour concrete protection used.

Any other suggestions/ similar experiance??

Thanks, John

[jr]

response to deck cracks- 2 critical items could cause this problem- first involves heat: concrete thats poured in the heat of the summer tends to dry rapidly because of water evaporation-this causes concrete to shrink faster than normal and crack more than normal- a retarder should be used in concrete when pouring in high heat conditions.
second cause is failure of underlying soil -most pool builders cannot or do not compact the soil around a pool -especially the 2' overdig - resulting weight of concrete on loose soil causes soil to move(sink)
it onlt takes minor movement(settling) to cause a crack to appear
your pool (as with 99.99 %) of pools built will encounter this ,maybe not to that degree but it will eventually
Desjoyaux pools of arkansas shows how it should be done -check it out