# Pool Deck Concerns: Thickness, Rebar, Base



## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

You were correct in removing the organics from the area. 

The rebar is fine, I personally would have laid it a little closer to the edges, but you don't want it at the edges, it can rust too easy being too close to the edge.

Are they going to raise the rebar off the ground when pouring, or have little perches put in to get it in the mid depth of the pour.

And unless you are going to be driving on it, the 1.5 inch skirts should be fine too. 

And those rocks on the edging looks sloppy to me, but I too am a bit perfectionistic. 

Watch to make sure that they raise that rebar up when pouring, or it will be a failure.


ED


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## ClarksonCote (Jul 7, 2017)

de-nagorg said:


> You were correct in removing the organics from the area.
> 
> The rebar is fine, I personally would have laid it a little closer to the edges, but you don't want it at the edges, it can rust too easy being too close to the edge.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the response, I'm guessing they'll do something with the rebar to raise it since they're the experts and have done so many. What about the larger rock that is sitting within the crushed stone base, any concern there?


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Being the contractor has done thousands of pools references by the dozens should have been available. How many did you get?


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## ClarksonCote (Jul 7, 2017)

SeniorSitizen said:


> Being the contractor has done thousands of pools references by the dozens should have been available. How many did you get?


The contractor came with the pool supplier. My focus in choosing the pool supplier was based on general pool reviews and the pool installation at the time and didn't focus particularly on concrete.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Anticipating if this recommended contractor makes a relief cut at each angle directional change. If he doesn't, expect a uncontrolled crack at each of those.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

Just for clarification. There is NO rebar in any of your pictures. What you have is welded wire mesh which is fine for the job.


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## ClarksonCote (Jul 7, 2017)

joed said:


> Just for clarification. There is NO rebar in any of your pictures. What you have is welded wire mesh which is fine for the job.


Yep, thanks for pointing that out, very sloppy use of the term on my part (okay, downright incorrect). I'll fix my post.  EDIT: Darn, I can't seem to edit my original post anymore, hmm.



SeniorSitizen said:


> Anticipating if this recommended contractor makes a relief cut at each angle directional change. If he doesn't, expect a uncontrolled crack at each of those.


I suspect they will do this, but I will keep an eye out. I'll also have everything well documented with photos if things go south with the concrete in a "this wasn't done correctly" kind of way.

They also said they don't do literal cuts, but use a tool to make the relief joint. They claim that cuts will cut through the wire mesh and that's not preferred.

I guess it's good that I don't have a bunch of "OMG that's some shoddy work" posts, so feeling a bit better though still not exactly reassured. 

Here's another picture and question too, this area by the coping there's a gap in the rails and no rocks in it. If the concrete is poured and extends into this area could it potentially cause cracking later? I'm thinking of the walls moving slightly when the concrete doesn't want to since it's a different plane, maybe that's very unlikely.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

ClarksonCote said:


> Thanks for the response, I'm guessing they'll do something with the rebar to raise it since they're the experts and have done so many. What about the larger rock that is sitting within the crushed stone base, any concern there?


That stone is of little concern. 

Using anything available as fill, is done often. 

I have seen broken brick, chunks of concrete, rocks, and almost anything imaginable by contractors wanting to get rid of something, instead of hauling it away. 

Your one rock looks to be flat, and not too big, I would not fuss about it. 

That void in the one corner is a no no, and should be packed better. 

ED


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

I always place concrete bricks about 2 feet apart under the mesh.


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## Gregsoldtruck79 (Dec 21, 2017)

IMO, I do not see the concrete crew putting "chairs" under the wire mesh. Raised wire mesh is very HARD to work on top of when pouring concrete, because it has to be stepped on while pouring the concrete out.

Nothing like taking a header face down in fresh concrete to make ones day, after tripping over raised wired mesh. Chaired re-bar is different, as it is usually spaced far enough apart to have "walkways" around it while pouring.

So one has to just about depend on the workers to pull the mesh up in to the concrete as they back away from the pour, as most concrete workers will do (or should do). JMO


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## ClarksonCote (Jul 7, 2017)

Gregsoldtruck79 said:


> IMO, I do not see the concrete crew putting "chairs" under the wire mesh. Raised wire mesh is very HARD to work on top of when pouring concrete, because it has to be stepped on while pouring the concrete out.
> 
> Nothing like taking a header face down in fresh concrete to make ones day, after tripping over raised wired mesh. Chaired re-bar is different, as it is usually spaced far enough apart to have "walkways" around it while pouring.
> 
> So one has to just about depend on the workers to pull the mesh up in to the concrete as they back away from the pour, as most concrete workers will do (or should do). JMO


Yeah, they were pulling up the mesh with a rake as they went (in at least some places?), but then stepping on that area after, so it's kind of hard to imagine it stayed very suspended but who knows.


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## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

"Yeah, they were pulling up the mesh with a rake as they went (in at least some places?), but then stepping on that area after, so it's kind of hard to imagine it stayed very suspended but who knows."

That's why chairs should be placed every 2 feet, to keep the mesh suspended, where it's at now it's useless.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

*mesh serves 2 purposes: 1, it adds strength to the conc while curing to resist tension which's trying to pull the conc apart ( think random cracking ); & 2, makes it a pita to remove when the conc breaks. we never use mesh unless ordered by spec, pool contractor, or owner,,, better concentrate on correct joint pattern to resolve the issue of random cracking
4" conc can be grooved 3/4" to satisfy tension force & create proper contraction jnt IF done at the right time
while the conc jabonies are tramping thru the mud, who's to know if the mesh is in the right place anyway ? it must be at 2" ( vertical height / 2 ) +/- 5" - that's .1" - kind of a tight spec for pool jabonies

chairs for mesh ? :vs_laugh: doobies are better im-n-s-h-fo*


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## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

+1 to what stadry said, i like hand tooling the joints, which to me look neat, clean, and give the job a professional look, as opposed to saw cutting, which looks like an after thought.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

The mess also helps to keep the concrete level when it cracks. It holds the two pieces together so one piece can't rise or drop below the one beside it.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

*'mesh also helps to keep the concrete level when it cracks' - haven't seen this happen previously - eg, there's usually mesh in conc hgwys yet crks still have a high AND low side,,, not saying mesh doesn't - i just haven't see it perform successfully in 35yrs of paving*


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## ClarksonCote (Jul 7, 2017)

Just as a quick (though very late) follow up here... They did hand tool the joints, and it looks good. As long as the thin slab doesn't cause any issues I should be all set.

I'll also add, though, that when it gets wet initially, there's a ton of hairline micro cracks visible. I did some reading and I guess this is pretty typical, though mine are very close together (like 1/2 inch spider web spacing).

I'm guessing that's because the first part of the cure (3 hours or so?) was in some direct sun and fairly warm (80F) conditions. Over the following week or so, it was actually pretty cool (60s) and I kept it watered as often as I could.


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