cracks in concrete

[pc boy]

I was wondering if it was normal for cracks to appear in the concrete section on the walls of the deep-end in my new inground vinyl pool project. The concete was poured on Friday and by Sunday there was quite a few cracks in the concrete, some of which are deep and rough, especially on the sides below the steel walls and above the bottom of the pool in the deep end. If some one could let me know if this is an issue or not that would be great.

Thanks

[KirstenHW]

Are the cracks on the pool deck or the walls themselves? When our vinyl in-ground was installed, the contractor told us to wait one year for the earth to settle before installing the concrete decking. 24 years later, we have no cracks in the decks at all.

[pc boy]

The cracks are in the walls of the deep-end. The steel walls are above and the pool bottom is below. The steel walls make up about 3 and a half feet of the depth and the concrete makes up the remaining four and a half feet of depth.

[cantileveredge]

Not a concrete expert but that does not sound right. I am a gen contractor in new home construction and I see concrete installed all the time. Concrete can crack over time but should not after a few days if properly installed. Was any rebar installed? Was it installed over untouched soil or was fill put back in before gravel and concrete? Cracks in pool walls sound like leaks. What did your contractor say? If you don't get a warm fuzzy after asking I would get an alternative opinion before I release another payment to the contractor. You may want to call the concrete supplier if you saw the name on the truck when it was delivered. They usually have inspectors ( and he will have the ticket for your delivery ) Might be good to have a copy of that!

[pc boy]

Thanks for your responses. The concrete was installed over rough concrete that was placed over a mesh. The concrete is not for holding the water but for providing a base for the vinyl liner. The cracks appear to be a result of the concrete slumping on the steep sides of the walls as it dried.

[Jeffski]

They used a product similiar to concrete on our pool, I think it was called gunite(?). Anyway, after they poured it we had to wait a few days for our liner to come in and it rained hard during that time. The concrete product cracked just as you're describing. The pool guys spent a whole day repairing spots.

Needless to say they were pretty ticked at the pool company (they were subcontractors) for not having the liner ready to be installed as soon as the pool bottom was prepped.

This will be a major issue if not repaired because the liner will be placed over jagged edges and could rip, plus it won't be nice and smooth and you will see the cracks or at least the uneven areas.

I'm sure they will fix this so you probably don't need to worry...unless of course they don't fix it.

[pc boy]

It rained after they poured our pool as well. The weather report said zero percent chance the day before. Go figure. Hopefully you are right.
Thanks

[MarkC]

I'm not sure if rain alone would cause that. After our concrete pool was shot with shotcrete we were told to leave the sprinkler in it going for 3 to 4 days. We had no cracking at all.

[Jeffski]

It's a totally different product for a liner pool.

[KirstenHW]

Our vinyl pool has a vermiculite bottom - more forgiving (and gentler on the liner) than straight concrete, way sturdier than sand. Installed in 1982, liner was replaced in 2004 - and there were no cracks in the vermiculite to be repaired after all that time. We had 2 divots in the shallow end they patched up - one caused by the ground settling, the other from a kid jumping into the shallow end (another good reason to only jump into the deep end).

You need to have the contractor fix that immediately - it will definitely show under the liner, probably will damage it in time and if you are getting a light, it will stick out like a sore thumb when lit up.

[pc boy]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. They did repair the cracks and the liner is now in and the pool is filling.