ladder: anchors how high?

[us7sail]

Hey everyone, Have been swimming in the pool the last month but have not had time to finish the deck until now. Need to figure out what height to se the anchors for the ladder and rail. The pool is vinyl lined Cantilever coping. Getting ready to pour the top concrete collar around the pool and then the pavers will go over this to form our deck and hang over the edge of the pool. Question is do the anchors need to be set into the concrete if so what is the level/ how much of the anchor needs to be exposed? Thanks chris

[GutierrezPlastering]

When i have set the anchors, i usually try to set them above my deck level height about 1/4" from the cantilever copying. Reason i say TRY because they have ended up level. But level is ok too. Reason i say above deck level is so that when winter comes or cleaning needs to be done not much debri gets into the sockets. But level is ok too.

[waste]

I agree completely with GP! The anchors need to be secured in concrete. They also should be able to drain (if you have to, put a tube in the bottom hole, so that the anchor cup drains), a lot of deck guys seal the cup with concrete, which is bad. Having them set a little higher than the deck keeps water and debris out of them (the 'escuchon' (sp ?) plates will hide the difference).

[us7sail]

Thanks guys, One more question. which way should the bolts face.

[duraleigh]

Hi, Chris,

Good question. I placed the bolts furthest from the pool......not sure that's right but it made sense and worked out OK.

[waste]

Us7 - the facing of the bolts doesn't really matter for a ladder. The thing you want to avoid is not having enough room to conveniently get a wrench on the bolt to remove or install it (some rails have the 2 ends ~6" from each other and loosening or tightening the bolt is a real pain because you can only get partial turns on them). Otherwise the positioning of the bolts doesn't come into play, as long as you have escution plates it's not a matter of aesthetics.

[us7sail]

thanks for the input. Had the Bobcat out and grading last night. Finally starting to clean up around the pool and retaining wall. looking more like a finished pool and less like a a bomb site. Chris

[us7sail]

On a different topic, how much over hang do you guys recomend for coping. I am getting ready to install my pavers after I set the top concrete collar. Do not really know what the rule of thumb is. Thanks chris

[waste]

Chris, the overhang is pretty much up to you, as a rule of thumb, the more overhang, the less secure the coping will be ( not that the difference between 3/4" and 1.25" will mean that your coping's going to fall in the pool). The real issue is how wide the pavers are, I would not feel comfortable having less than ~80% of the coping secured to the beam (& would be more comfortable with a higher %). I would suggest going with ~ 1", pick something that will allow you to use an easily available 'guide', having them ~'perfectly' straight is the 'cap stone' ( ;) ) of the look of your pool. Good luck with the finishing touches!

[us7sail]

thanks guys , an Inch sounds about right.

[GutierrezPlastering]

another thing you may consider before the concrete is done, is to put tape underneath the anchor sockets so that concrete doesn't get accumulated inside of the socket, and don't worry when it rains the water will manage to make a way out and go into the ground. And yes the best way to set the sockets is opposite of the pool copying meaning away from it so that it will be easier to use a wrench to remove the ladder

[us7sail]

Thanks for all the feedback. I put A long piece of #6 copper bonding wire I had laying around down throught the hole and into the ground. pulled out the wire before the concrete was too hard and had a hole for the water to drain into. Pour turned out great. Now to get the pavers in and set. That will have to wait as I am in WV in PA school during the week now and time is limited. Chris