fiberglass pool - should I worry about flooding & pool popping ou

14 years ago

I have contracted to install a 28x14 fiberglass pool. The pool is 3' to 6' deep. My home is 45 years old, and just two years ago FEMA decided we were in a flood zone. So now we are forced to spend an enormous amount of money for flood insurance. Never has this home flooded in the past. Also, there is a huge ditch & easement right behind our back yard. About 5 years ago, prior to our purchase of this home, there were torrential rains in this area and the homeowner next door on the west side(who is not in a flood zone and their back yard is definitely lower than ours) flooded up to their back door and ruined the vinyl liner in their pool. According to our other neighbor, our yard did not flood. We have one area right at the edge of the fence on the west side that has standing water when it rains (about two feet wide and 6 feet long along the side of the fence), but the area the pool will sit has never had standing water.

The pool guy seemed a bit concerned when he was first told by my husband that we are in a flood zone. He studied the yard and feels there is an area where water flows from one side of our yard to the other. (Right about where I want the shallow end of the pool to be).

He said that we could raise the pool a foot or so higher than the ground which would help. Also, when he found out how much concrete deck I want poured on the one side (east side) of the pool, he said "if you are gonna have that much concrete over there, you will be fine". He also said that he would place a drain pipe under the concrete at the area that looks to be the area of most concern (this is an area that I have never seen standing water in, but would be the most likely area for water to travel towards the west side. He also said that he would have a footer placed around the edge of the concrete deck area. He also said that he would grade the ground to make water travel around the far side of the pool area. Also, this pool will be laid in gravel instead of sand.

My husband just had a little tantrum with me about my choice for this pool and won't listen to anything I am telling him the installer is going to do because he says he found a website where FEMA states any fiberglass pool should be placed on concrete pilars.... Also, he says the website he read said not to build above the existing structure, he says that by raising the pool we are doing this and it is a mistake. If we are grading to re-route water, how can a structure raised higher than the house be an issue?

My pool was ordered yesterday. The pool installer feels confident that we will be fine with all of the things that he will do.

Have I made a mistake? Should I be worried? In all honesty, I cannot imagine, especially with the precautionary things he plans to do, that this pool will be in trouble. I can't imagine it being in trouble even if we didn't do all these things. Am I just trying to talk myself into it?

I would appreciate some input from someone that knows about fiberglass installations.

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Comments (5)

poolguynj
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Using a canter levered deck on topof the pool will also help. Use #4 rebar hooked into the edge to lock it into the decking. This with the added precautions of the build up and sump underneath should be more than enough to lock the shell in place. The use of 1/8" gravel will help ensure a washout doesn;t happen underneath the deck and under/around the shell.

Tying the sump to the suction side of the pump is also a good idea. This will allow easy draining of the area under the pool in the event the pool water level needs to be lowered or emptied.

Placing a fiberglass shell on concrete pillars won't help lock the pool in place. A full shell, when locked in as I have described along with the installer's chosen materials and raising the elevation will ensure it won't pop up, ever. An empty shell would also likely survive but that would depend on the water table under it, which can be lowered easily with the sump attached to the pool pump.

Get a soils engineer report 1st.

Scott
edie_tn
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you for the response. What gets me about this concern is that I have never had standing water in any bit of the area that the pool will sit. The standing water that I refer to at the fence is in the lowest part of the yard and is probably a good 20 feet from where the pool will sit. I guess I am unsure as to how much water typically ends up under the ground, but the ground in this area has never even been mushy....

Does a hydrostatic relief valve help? Or is this valve only helpful if the pool itself has lost water? I asked the pool installer about a relief valve and he said that they are typically used in gunite pools, and not fiberglass, but I have seen many many statements made where they are placed under the drains of fiberglass pools. That he said this to me, worried me a little bit.
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edie_tn
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Pool Guy - I also forgot to mention that I will, in fact, be having a concrete cantilevered edge installed.

Wanted to mention that I found the information my husband was reading about the concrete pillars, etc. and it is related to "coastal properties" with buildings built above ground, etc...... (I mentioned this to him, but got no response - no surprise, he's a man). Sorry, I know you're a man, but you guys can be stubborn sometimes.....

You do make me feel better. This is "whole lot of money for me", and I don't think I would have the monetary means to repair a catastrophic pool situation.
I do appreciate your comments.

Edie
poolguynj
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I hate hydrostatic valves. They get crud in the mechanism or gasket and leak.

The sump under the shell is a better, long term solution.

Scott
edie_tn
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you for your response..... I will forge ahead. Next, I have to have underground water and sewer pipes that are running through my back yard located. We have a building at the back of our lot, and I now get the added expense of paying to have the pipes located. Better than hitting them while digging I suppose.

I'm not really enjoying this part.... new little things keep popping up, and they always seem to cost money....

fiberglass pool - should I worry about flooding & pool popping ou

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