Hello, I'm in the DFW area as well and deal with this on commercial projects all the time. Do you have a PB or are you building the pool yourself? If you have a PB then you should consult them as they are warranting the shell. Tell them about your concerns and see what options they have for subgrade treatment. As far as treatment goes, there is chemical injection as you mentioned; there's also removal/ replacement (remove several feet of existing soil and replace with better fill), moisture treatment (remove several feet of soil and inject it with water before replacing it in compacted layers) and lime stabilization. I don't know whether those are used much in pool construction, but we've used all of these in commercial work depending on the area the project was in. There's also a structural option of building the pool on piers with void forms between the shell and soil. The void forms eventually rot out leaving a void space. It's very effective in expansive soils, but also probably expensive. The good news is we've had a lot of rain late last year and this year, so it's actually a pretty good time to build as the subgrade is pretty saturated right now. The worst time to build is during a drought, best time is after prolonged wet weather. Quote: "I also heard someone saying that if you keep the hole wet after the excavation for 1 week, it helps to increase the moisture and the adherence of the gunite/pool to the ground. " Wetting the surface doesn't help the underlying conditions as the moisture only penetrates a couple of inches into the soil. It's a good idea to wet the soil down just before applying gunite so that the soils don't pull the water out of the gunite too quickly though.

Hopefully I'm not violating guidelines (moderators, please let me know a better way to do this if this isn't right), but we have a location in Dallas. I don't do any of the hiring, etc, and it would be best to contact them directly (I don't know exactly who you would talk to). I'm adding a link to their page which has contact info, give them a shout! Here is a link that might be useful: Dallas Pool Builders

If you Google Pool Builder Dallas TX some of the first names that come up are Anthony Sylvan and Blue Haven. They are national builders that build in many cities. Some cities they're okay, most they're not. I haven't used them personally, but I've read enough bad things to stay away. My neighbor used Blue Haven, had a problem after the pool was installed and is getting the run around. I would go with a local custom builder who will work with your budget. 30k isn't bad but it's a basic pool, you're not going to get any upgraded features such as custom decking or PebbleTec plaster or anything like that. You're going to get aggregate decking and white plaster. And no spa. That's fine if that's what you want. Don't just look at designs and cost, look at the materials and processes that each company uses. What's their steel schedule? Plumbing schedule? What equipment are you getting? What about if they hit rock? Do they re-route sprinklers? How do they apply their gunite? Etc... There are so many factors that go into choosing a builder. Riverbend was my 2nd choice. They had the best design but lost out because I felt I wasn't getting the quality I was with another builder, and their price un-negotiated was higher.

Steve Sandler owns Gold Medal Pools at www.goldmedalpools.com in Frisco,Texas. Steve founded Sandler Pools Inc. in 1975 and sold the Plano operation to a gentleman named Travis Bain in 1993 due to all the growth and my desire to downsize and maintain a more personal one on one relationship with every project and client which gets lost in the numbers game. Travis then merged with Riverbend in order to increase their marketshare etc. Now at Gold Medal Pools you not only get 40 years of experience with Steve Sandler personally but also are dealing with Josh Sandler ,Mary Sandler, Shelly Sandler and Gail Tanney- Sandler in a family owned and operated business as well as a superb hand chosen Team of people whom are passionate and take a lot of pride about what they do . Craftsmanship is a word not heard often enough anymore but is one of the many keys to Steve's success over the years and is carried through personally at Gold Medal Pools. A very unique situation with a very unique organization where you CAN'T go wrong. This is the way doing business should be !!!