Pool Deck Settleling

[Rick Church]

I've believe I've got a serious problem. Near the shallowest corner of my pool, the ground beneath the concrete deck has settled about 8 inches. The pool was built on a slope with backfilled dirt on the shallow end near the outside corner. The concrete deck was poured on soft backfill with a gravel base. Over the course of the last two years, the soil has compacted and settled. The result is three big cracks in the pool's deck and four inches between the deck and underlying ground. I caulked the cracks but not before rain and splash out fell through the cracks. The plastic rim of the pool (where the deck meets the concrete) has settled about an inch. It has caused the seam between the plastic rim to separate about 1/3 of an inch. The vinyl liner no longer conforms to the 90-degree angle between the bottom of the pool where the steel sided vertical wall meets the horizontal bottom. It looks stretched between the vertical and horizontal planes. Depressions (in the bottom) have formed near that area and the bottom feels soft in places in that area as if moisture has softened the bottom. If I press with my heel, the soft bottom dents very easily.

I am afraid the pool will need draining, portion of the concrete deck removed, additional soil/gravel added, more back fill behind the steel wall, new deck poured, liner taken loose and the bottom re-worked, all to the tune of a few thousand dollars.

Forget the warranty, it is long expired (1 year warranty) and the jerk that built it blamed the concrete guy anyway. The cracks appeared within one year of the initial construction. The pool contractor told me the concrete guy was responsible for that portion of the warranty and the concrete guy told me the pool builder was responsible for the warranty. They went back and fourth till one year passed and I got screwed big time!!

Am I assessing the situation accurately? How should I start the repair?

[Guest]

I can't answer your question, but I am curious:
Is your pool water level dropping?
Did the installers install a weeping tile and a conduit down to it? Is there water in this hole?