Dealing with a tough grade
In this case, the homeowner was a previous client; the company had installed a vinyl-lined pool at their previous residence many years ago. This time, however, the side of the street the client lived on presented a highly unusual challenge—the backyard had a 2.3-m (7.5-ft) downward slope and the grade was virtually a 45-degree angle.
Beyond the extreme grade, the client’s backyard presented a number of additional challenges. The first was a walk-out basement that exited to the backyard 1.2 m (4 ft) below grade. The second was fairly extreme space limitations that would affect the ability to get equipment and materials to the jobsite, thus limit working space during the installation.
Considering these challenges, the first task was to consult with the client to determine what they envisioned for their pool and backyard environment. As a result of this discussion, the homeowner selected a 4.8- x 9.7-m (16- x 32-ft) freeform fibreglass pool.
It starts with a plan
Due to the circumstances, the design and construction process was carefully planned to comply with all local building codes, and to get the homeowner’s approval, to ensure the successful completion of the project. Managing the customer’s expectations is often the builder’s most important task. In estimating the one-month timeframe for completion it was also important to ensure all of the procedures were understood by, and agreeable with, the client.
Once all of the formalities were agreed upon, site elevations were recorded and 2D and 3D mockups of the installation were created. To accommodate the layout and space limitations, the pool’s location had to be adjusted on paper several times. As the project progressed, other questions came into play. For instance, given the extreme change of grade and location of the fencing, it was realized privacy issues could become a concern. To address this, the grade was lowered even further to provide the client more privacy.
Given the grade, a necessity for this installation was erecting a retaining wall to support the pool. With the additional grade adjustment required, it was determined a 2.3-m (7.5-ft) high retaining wall would be required. The wall was built using armour stone (large quarried blocks of uncut natural stone) as this material is resistant to wear and erosion. Finally, to allow access to the pool from all areas of the property, a wall was built by stacking the stones in receding levels, which provided a staircase around the entire pool perimeter.
