stone backfill vs. dirt backfill

[JimCrackorn]

We have two almost equal estimates from contractors. Both pools are IG vinyl with steel walls. One guy backfills with the dirt from the dig, and the other with stone. Which is better? Is dirt backfill OK? Can they pour the deck cement right away, or do they have to wait for settling?

[duraleigh]

Insist on stone. Dirt backfill that deep WILL settle....it's just a mater of time...stone wont.

[imfignewton]

Run from the contractor that wants to backfill with dirt. That will not be the only problem with your new pool.

[blue_steel]

Our FG pools was backfilled with 3/4" crushed stone + pea gravel, but it still needs to settle before you can pour concrete. We ran a small compactor over the stone and then had to add more, so it does settle.

[sevver]

Yes, and while you are running tell him not to be so stupid all of his life. They do the same thing to houses, they backfill with dirt, then put a patio on top of it. Dirt settles, forever. If you want to jet it then you can get it down, but that would be asking for trouble next to a foundation or pool. Basically with that you flood it from the bottom of the dig to the top, which makes some serious mud. This displaces all of the air, then as the water settles out it pulls the dirt down with it. But I stll don't think I would build on it right away. I would wait at least a year. I had replaced a waterline at my house before and it was still settling three years later.

[Waterworks]

Using the excavated fill material for backfilling is a great way to save money for the contractor. He doesn't have to pay a dump truck to haul the fill away, he can excavate quicker and he doesn't have to buy a few loads of stone for the backfill. You end up with a pool deck that will settle in time and drainage around your walls will be non-existant. I would begin to wonder what other corners this guy was planning to cut. We have a pool contractor in town that cuts every corner i can imagine and he always prices approx $5000 - $7000 less than my jobs. It's not because I make an extra $5000 - 7000 in profit, it's that his jobs cost a lot less to do.

Brad
www.waterworkspools.com

[markeast]

Our new ig vinyl liner pool was backfilled with the dirt they removed. They actually built it up a few feet so the pool is somewhat elevated - though I'm not really sure why since we have some slope but it's really not that much at all. Then they brought in a bobcat, pushed the dirt up to the level of the walls, put down rebar and pliable baseboard (forms) and poured the concrete. No compacting or ground prep other than the rebar, lying on the ground (not elevated) and forms. A few weeks later we have four serious cracks that are apparently completely through the deck. It appears to me that the weight of the stone waterfall caused the deck to crack on either side in approximately the middle of the pool. The builder saw the cracks and said, "we better keep an eye on that," or something to that effect.


We're about 65 days in to this. The pool is filled and we are using it, but one side of the deck has an approximate 3' drop-off. The builder told us a while back he was going to bring in some dirt level it up a little. We're also waiting on a lot of other things he hasn't finished, but...