Pool to retaining wall distances

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wonderstuff

110 posts

Master Geek

#290360 5-Nov-2021 18:23

Hi,

I live in Auckland on a sloping section and am considering putting in a pool.

We are looking at a rectangular fibreglass pool that would go in a currently triangular section. This section is currently retained by a 1.7m high retaining wall that was built quite a long time ago and we don’t have plans for.

The pool that we are looking at ranges from 1.1 - 1.8m deep, 24,000L

(A) is there a minimum distance that the pool needs to be from the retaining wall before load calcs, geotech, etc is no longer a consideration? Is this based on the depth of the pool, total size, mass, etc?

(B) we have a wooden walkway adjacent to the currently grassed area that we would like the pool to be abutted up to. For dropping in a fibreglass pool, is there a typical amount of surround excavation that is required? We do not want to deconstruct the wooden walkway.

(C) If we are unable to fit a rectangular fibreglass pool in, we may consider a concrete one. On a like for like basis are concrete pools a significant premium?

Any help welcome! Thanks

Jase2985

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#2808435 6-Nov-2021 11:18

Its hard to understand whats going on from your description, so a photo or a drawing would paint a better picture.

wonderstuff

110 posts

Master Geek

#2808577 6-Nov-2021 20:33

Hi,

Here is a bit more info.

The top part if our section is reasonably flat and the light grey area in the picture below is currently grassed with a little bit of garden.

I have drawn a 7m x 3m pool with 300mm coping around it.

At the end of the right hand side of the gray triangle is a 1.3m high retaining wall (shown in red) to the section below.

Here is a photo of the section:

And a picture of the retaining wall to the section below:

Thanks!

Bung

6488 posts

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#2808585 6-Nov-2021 20:54

Most of the usual discussion of surcharge on land near retaining walls relates to things like driveways or buildings at the retained ground level. Your pool will be excavated down to the level of the base of the wall which may take the wall out of the equation. You should probably consult an engineer. Would there be access for an excavator and removal of soil?

wonderstuff

110 posts

Master Geek

#2808587 6-Nov-2021 21:19

OK, that sounds promising.

We are doing some other ground works on the lower part of our section, so should be able to get an excavator up there.

Jase2985

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#2808590 6-Nov-2021 21:48

@wonderstuff We are almost finished putting in our pool, see the picture below. Just have concrete patio and footings for the deck, the deck itself and the pool fence to go, when we will then landscape it ourselves.

to answer some of your questions:

(A) i was told by one pool company, as a rule of thumb the distance to any structure should be 1.2x the depth of the pool at that point. Anything closer than that should have an engineered design.

(B) getting the coping stone (300mm deep) that close to the deck would be challenging. i believe with most fiberglass pools they put in a concrete bond beam around the top of the pool and this is where the coping stone sits on along with the top rim of the pool, this is about 15-20cm wide (out from the pool) they will need some way of boxing out for the concrete to be poured into that.

(C) You need to think of access to the site, they will need a digger, and some way to cart away the dirt close to where the hole is being dug, if this isnt easily achieved it will add to the cost, what is the ground like? rocky? they also need to be able to get the pool in there, we were lucky and had easy access for the truck with the pool on it to get right up next to the hole and used its HIAB to lift it into place. if you cant get the truck close then it may require a crane which is also extra $$. Concrete pools will be different in that aspect.

From my research concrete pools are more maintenance and will require a resurface at some point in their life which can cost. i also believe fiberglass upfront costs are cheaper.

Have you looked into the fencing requirements for around the pool? Acceptable Solutions F9/AS1 and F9/AS2 are your friends here.

if you have any questions ill see if i can answer them from my research into the topic.

Jase2985

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#2814964 18-Nov-2021 06:35

@wonderstuff hows it all going? have you engaged with a pool contractor?

wonderstuff

110 posts

Master Geek

#2815060 18-Nov-2021 09:57

@wonderstuff hows it all going? have you engaged with a pool contractor?

@Jase2985 - slowly! Engaged with 3 different vendors who are all extremely busy! Hope to get some quotes over the next two weeks.

Thanks for your response earlier.

(A) - I have been getting quite different feedback from different contractors. Broadly the view seems to be that the pool os structure needs to a distance equal to 45 degrees away from the base of the foundation of the house. Not to dis-similar to 1.2x depth.

(B) - So far, no one has raised issues with the coping stone. But to be fair, only one of the suppliers is still to respond on fibreglass. We are now also looking at concrete and ICF block, but both of those are quite a premium.

(C) - Access is challenging, but we are also retaining a lower part of our section and building a new garage, so I hope a lot of the spoil can be kept on site. There should be no rock, and pretty much all clay. The challenge is going to be craning the pool or lifting on a digger if we go fibreglass.

We will probably use Glasslike around the house facing side of the pool, and aluminium fence panels on the far side.

Thanks for the advice - your pool looks great!

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Jase2985

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#2815063 18-Nov-2021 10:04

Talk to Ritchie at Pool Spec, Good honest guy he should be able to have a chat with you about things

https://www.facebook.com/poolspec/