In-ground Swimming Pool 1

[Geofied10]

My primary expertise is in the area of geotechnical parameters for residential foundations and study of pavement failures.

We are considering a swimming pool in the backyard and the max. depth would be about 6 feet.

I recently hired a local driller (with truck-mounted rig) to perform 2 borings to ~ 12 feet.

The subsoils observed/sampled generally consist of 14 to 16 inches of moderately expansive clay underlain by silty, fairly dense calcareous clay to the depth of about 4.5 feet; 4.5' to 12' consisted of moderately dense, weathered clay with calc. material.
Groundwater was not observed.

Between 2 and 12 feet the blow counts ranged from 12/1' to 35/1'.

Besides bearing capacity and edge moisture variation, what other geotechnical parameters should be incorporated into the design and what would be typical values for similar soils with above ref. blow counts?

Based on preliminary info, the PVR at this site was estimated to range from ~ 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches.

Thank you for your assistance.

Respectfully,
Geofide10

 

[oldestguy]

You should say more about your pool. Is it a shot-crete job? Formed walls? Any thought of a drain trap to prevent floating when empty in case of ground or other water under the thing. Freezing weather precautions? Water treatment devices and attachments?

 

[cvg]

unless you plan to design the pool yourself, these are normally design-build by the pool company. I'm sure they will appreciate your geotechnical investigation, but you might ask them if they need any additional information and what it is they need. otherwise, if they have experience in your area, they probably would do it without geotechnical investigation or any other help from you.

regarding drained pool/uplift, pools are generally only drained for construction or major repairs. draining a pool will ruin the plaster, so they generally remain full of water for the life of the pool.

 

[oldestguy]

I've seen them float. Stuck check valve.