Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
tunny_gw

Rocks under the pool liner

tunny
15 years ago

15K gallon - concrete wall, vermiculite & cement floor - liner pool, .

Three weeks ago liner installed and the PB's foreman started filling the pool. When it was 50% filled my son and I went in and started walking the pool. We found many rocks, some sharp, underneath the liner. We mentioned it to the foreman, who was on site at that time. He got "big eyed" and mumbled something and left.

In the skimmer they had placed a pipe to pressure check the system. They couldnÂt get it unscrewed so the foreman cut the pipe level with the skimmer input, canÂt use the basket. I asked him why he did that and he said the boss will have to remove the pipe.

ItÂs now three weeks later and havenÂt seen, or heard from, anyone from the company.

The pool looks great and we swim in it daily, just donÂt step on the sharp rocks.

Anyone had this problem before and what was the outcome?

BTW we still owe them the final 50% of the cost of the pool.

Comments (4)

  • teppy
    15 years ago

    I'll promise you, I would not pay him the remainder until that liner comes up and those rocks are removed. I have a gunite pool, not a vinyl, but that just does not sound good to me. It seems like after time and those spots get stepped on that the liner is going to puncture eventually. maybe someone who knows for sure will speak up here. It just does not seem good to me at all.

  • drizler
    15 years ago

    Document and save with witnesses each and every dealing with these guys. Take pictures of the offending problems and hang onto it all. Send them a certified mail demanding immediate repair and keep the receipt filed away with the rest of the stuff. Sounds like you got yourself a heck of a deal with a half price pool and if it was me I would tell the clowns just that and to go straight to you know where for the rest of thier $$$. If they persist they will have to sue you for the rest in small claims which they won't most likely anyways and will surely lose when a judge sees the crap they pulled.
    The only way to fix those stones that I know of is to drain it. If you try to make an effort to stay off of them for the season you will likely get by nicely with no problems and even if you do they make patches that dry underwater. After the season you can drain it and disconnect part of the top rails and get down there to pull those rocks out even though it is a PITA. My liner that had a couple rounded stones you could really feel never gave me a problem till it wore out 7 years later, not one drip. Still make those idiots fix it as there is no excuse for that one being they are a dealer, I did mine myself. Surely there is some way to get on that piece of pipe and twist it while pulling up so you can get it out right now. Try a pipe wrench, it won't take much as its just stuck and will likely come right out A big pair of Vice Grips or chain wrench would do it too. If you haven't got a pipe wrench go buy one at the local flea market or Chinese discount tool store they are cheap and handy for such things.
    At the end of it all just don't give these bozos a dime more no matter what they say or threaten until they fix it and by fix it meaning soon not in the Fall which is what they may well plan to do after the season slows down. That money you owe makes a powerful ransom just don't let them screw with you, you really have them by the short and curleys so don't let go of em until they promptly fix it right or you get yourself a half price pool for a few hours labor and a cheap tool.

  • glowblue
    15 years ago

    For what its worth, I just had a vinyl liner pool installed, PB did a fine job (bad concrete, see other post). I noticed 1 rock under liner about 1/4" in size. We have a vermiculite bottom too, and they came out with a rolling pin and "rolled" it out (basically embedded it with the vermiculite.

    This may or may not be an option for you, but in very short time those rocks will turn into rips in the liner.

  • muddy_water
    15 years ago

    Sometimes what appears to be rocks is just where the mix of sand and cement was not mixed well and what you are feeling in fact is a ball of sand from dragging the liner across the floor when they installed it...and can be pressed down useing a baseball bat. Some builders only use vermiculite but in my to me the floor is much less smooth. It is very uncommon for a rock to cause a hole in a liner but it can be removed and reset for the the first 3 yrs without resulting in wrinkles understand that in fact most of the weight is on the walls not the floor. For the pipe I guess they used it to put a vac on the liner,it can be removed by takeing a hacksaw blade and cutting sections of the pipe where it is threaded into the skimmer with no damage to the skimmer.Regardless hold your money until your are happy...