Lost Battle

Several weeks ago, after a particularly bad few days of torrential rain, I noticed my above ground pool was protruding from beneath the bottom edge of the framework and immediately thought - NOT GOOD. I immediately drained off about 12 inches of water hoping that would alleviate the problem until I could better assess the problem and a fix if possible.

I really did get lucky the whole damn thing didn't collapse whilst I was standing atop the bulge as this was one of those Battle of the Bulges I wasn't going to win. Too many years, too much rust, too much rot. Not only did I have to remove the pool, but the surrounding deck as well, then come up with Plan B. Plan B is in the works but it's going to take the better part of a month to remove the debris, bring in some fill dirt, level and start bricking in a patio area. The area that's being removed is 60 feet by 32 feet (if my math is correct, 20 meters by 20 meters).

The rain storm which caused the final damage dropped 31 inches over a two day period. Given our average yearly rainfall is only 26 inches, perhaps you can imagine the damage. Anyway. I'll post updates to the reconstruct, but for a month, I expect to be outta here.


This was before: Google Aerial



And the ensuing demo which is about 2/3 way finished;

Chris Calohan said:

Anyway. I'll post updates to the reconstruct, but for a month, I expect to be outta here.

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Hi Chris,

I wish you lots of success with the reconstruction activities. Do you think it is possible to avoid such a thing from happening again, or was(were) it the final drop(s) to kill an already weakened structure?

Cheers,
Bart

No more swimming pools is the best start I can do.

Chris Calohan said:

No more swimming pools is the best start I can do.

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Chris,

So sorry for the devastating loss. Still, no one was hurt and that's the take home blessing! Actually, you have a lot of good timber left and you'd only need to poor footings and cross-brace to get the pltform double as strong and good for another 20 years.

Besides, if you don't rebuild, then Google is wrong and that screws up the earths maps, LOL!

A swimming pool is such a wonderful addition to a home, providing a lot of social opportunity even where conversations and generations don't otherwise work that well. In the water, there's a lot of equalization. It also increases the value of your home. I I was near you, I'd bring my structural engineer friend and see what he advises. Likely as not you need to replace only some 40 feet of lumber and upgrade to strong Simpson plates and other fittings. Even, as a first stage, you can sort out the lumber by size and keep those that are still functional. Wood that's not eaten by termites or rotted can last hundreds of years. With a few friends, this could be rebuilt in a few months over the weekends. Just make a great barbecue and serve cold beer!

Good luck on what you decide to do!

Asher

Thanks, Asher, everyone.
I'm going to do a massive brick patio with brick planters and a water feature along the planter wall (last image). On the second image side there will be a fireplace on one side with a facing sitting area and on the other side, a built in grill area, sink, etc. I love to grill. All the wood is going to replaced with TREX as here, wood doesn't last a 100 years, but this did for a good 27 and that's about all its going to get. Substructure wood is still good for another 20.

I'm going for butterfly and hummingbird attraction flowers, fruit and citrus trees for the planters. The garden area is going to be planted for my fall harvest as soon as this silly tropical storm moves on out of here. Most of what you see is now in a trash heap awaiting the big truck and picker on Monday.

Chris,

Great plan! You are going to enjoy seeing what you imagine appear. Are you going to have to build this yourself or does insurance kick in and help you with this ambitious project?

For sure it's going to be quite a Garden of Eden with the fruit trees and visiting birds.

Asher

Didn't make an insurance claim. The wood deck was old as was the pool...easier to replace and not do a major haggle. It won't break me. ;-}