When You Hit The "Rock" Bottom: 2 FAQs
Several factors may increase the estimated wait time for lap pool installation in your backyard. These factors include the breaking down of pool excavation equipment and unforeseen challenges on the location of installation.
A common unforeseen challenge is the presence of enormous rocks within the lower layers of soil, which your pool contractor is likely to run into mid-way through the excavation exercise. This article answers two questions you're likely to have if you've hit the "rock" bottom.
What Options Are Available If Pool Installation Is To Continue?
Choosing a different location within your backyard is one option you can go with if enormous rocks stand in the way of the pool installation exercise. The new location might not be as favorable (e.g. it might not be as exposed to sunlight as you may have wished), but at least you'll still get to have a backyard pool.
If the "rocky" location is too good for you to consider an alternative location, ask the pool contractor if it's possible to have the pool elevated without its structural integrity being affected. If elevation is not a possibility, you can have the enormous rock(s) blasted out of the intended pool area so that excavation and the subsequent installation of the pool can continue.
What Are The Cost Implications Of Each Option?
- Choosing an alternative location: You'll need to pay for a soil test before excavation begins on the new location. The soil test will ascertain that this location is less rocky, (therefore more suitable) for lap pool installation. Your contractor is likely to increase the labour charge because he or she will have done extra work excavating the previous location up until the rocks emerged.
- Elevating the pool: You'll need to pay for the extra cost of additional building materials required for the elevation exercise. The additional cost of materials depends on how high you'll want the pool elevated. You'll also need to pay for the cost of additional fill material that will be required. You can get cheap clean fill from various sources including construction sites and landscaping companies. Resist the temptation to get "free" clean fill commonly advertised on residential curbsides. Such fill will often be given for free because it's contaminated. Even if you got it for free, you'd still need to pay for laboratory tests to ascertain the absence of contaminants before the fill can be used for elevation.
- Rock-blasting: This option might involve the use of explosives on your backyard. It may therefore not be the safest of options and it could easily cost you thousands of dollars. Equipment required for rock-blasting is complex and the labour charged by qualified drilling contractors is likely to be relatively high.
For more information, contact a construction equipment company, like Eastern Plant Hire.
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