Coping Sinking?

[TheAntebella]

Hey there! Pool build from 2021. I noticed today some of the coping around my tanning ledge is lower than the decking. I am located in North Carolina. Thoughts? Everything has been functioning as it should. Freeze protection working. Pumps running and working. Decking is laid on concrete.

 

[ajw22]

Measure the water level to the coping in all four corners of the pool.

You need to determine if the pool has tilted or the deck has raised.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Can you add some wider angle shots of the whole pool and adjacent areas? Mark the areas where the coping is higher than the deck.

Was this pool built on a flat yard or are there elevations involved?

If you built on a slope, were retaining walls specified as part of the build?

 

[TheAntebella]

Can you add some wider angle shots of the whole pool and adjacent areas? Mark the areas where the coping is higher than the deck.

Was this pool built on a flat yard or are there elevations involved?

If you built on a slope, were retaining walls specified as part of the build?

I tried to add bigger pictures but it said TFP wouldn’t accept such large file? It was taken with an iPhone. Let me know how I can do this and post them.

 

[PoolStored]

Picture Posting and Resizing - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[TheAntebella]

It’s the tanning ledge coping along the bottom right corner. Flat pasture. Some retaining walls. I measured the water along the entire rectangle of the tanning ledge and it was the same inches throughout? We have had significant freezing here is it possible the ground froze and rose a bit of the decking?

 

[TheAntebella]

Picture Posting and Resizing - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Thank you this was very helpful!

 

[Newdude]

Decking is laid on concrete.

If they used a sand base for the stones, it's possible it washed out, or ants relocated it.

Did the pool ever get full to the brim, possibly during a big storm ?

 

[JamesW]

The coping probably did not sink unless the pool sank.

How many linear feet of coping is lower than the deck?

You need an expansion joint.

Pull up the stones and see what you can see.

 

[TheAntebella]

The coping probably did not sink unless the pool sank.

How many linear feet of coping is lower than the deck?

You need an expansion joint.

Pull up the stones and see what you can see.

Everything is hard laid on concrete including decking. I don’t think I’m comfortable pulling them up

 

[TheAntebella]

If they used a sand base for the stones, it's possible it washed out, or ants relocated it.

Did the pool ever get full to the brim, possibly during a big storm ?

It was concrete - no the only thing recently was about 2-3 weeks of below freezing temperatures. Everything looked fine prior to that.

 

[JamesW]

Everything is hard laid on concrete including decking.

Are they mortared down or on sand?

 

[JamesW]

I don’t think I’m comfortable pulling them up

You need an expansion joint and the stones need to be reset.

If you can't do it, then you probably need someone to do it.

Call the builder as it should be a warranty issue, especially since they did not use an expansion joint.

 

[JamesW]

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[TheAntebella]

Are they mortared down or on sand?

Mortared

You need an expansion joint and the stones need to be reset.

If you can't do it, then you probably need someone to do it.

Call the builder as it should be a warranty issue, especially since they did not use an expansion joint.

the decking needs lifted or the coping? I don’t have any reason to believe the shell of the pool is sinking (gunite) but if there is a test I can do to be sure let me know thanks so much.

 

[PoolStored]

there is a test I can do to be sure let me know thanks so much.

Measure from the waterline to bottom of the coping, various points around the pool. Note any variance.

 

[JamesW]

Are you 100% sure that they are mortared down?

Did you see them being mortared down?

I think that you need an expansion joint, which means cutting with a concrete saw and then adding sealant.

As you can see below, there is zero room for the coping to sink without the pool sinking.

In my opinion, the stones need to be pulled up to investigate why they are high.

 

[JamesW]

It is unlikely that just one corner will raise or sink by itself.

If the pool shifts, then the entire side will be higher or lower.

If the bottom of the coping to the water is exactly the same everywhere, then the stones probably are higher for some reason and they need to be pulled up to investigate why.

 

[Bperry]

It was concrete - no the only thing recently was about 2-3 weeks of below freezing temperatures. Everything looked fine prior to that.

Almost guaranteed the decking got pushed up, maybe caused by water intrusion underneath the stones. If they moved, then they are no longer bonded to whatever structure they used to be bonded too,
Or that entire structure was pushed up.

 

[TheAntebella]

Measure from the waterline to bottom of the coping, various points around the pool. Note any variance.

Yes I measured all the way around the tanning ledge and it all contained the exact same amount of water and height. It makes me think the decking is lifting vs the coping.