The floating pool. The dirty lie that salesmen from concrete pool contractors have perpetuated for years is about to be blown out of the water. The common myth perpetuated by pool builders that do not build fiberglass pools is that only fiberglass pool float.
Any builder with any level of experience or integrity knows that any pool, if not built or engineered properly, will float. Concrete Pools, Vinyl Pools and Fiberglass alike all have the ability to float if not properly built or due to extreme weather conditions or hydrological ground changes after the pool is built.
Above is a picture of a concrete pool that has floated 3' out of the ground in the deep end. Pretty amazing site. To the right is a picture of a fiberglass pool that floated and below that is a
picture of a vinyl pool that floated its liner. Demonstrating that all pools can float.
Now, let's get to the reason that pools in general float. Floating pools are caused by groundwater pressure. When a pool is built with no ability to alleviate groundwater pressure on the pool, it will push the pool out of the ground until the pressure is released.
This problem is managed in different ways for different pools. Concrete Pools or Gunite Pools built properly have gravel under the deep end of the pool with a hydrostatic relief valve built into the shell. This hydrostatic relief valve is 2" in diameter and when the groundwater pressure reaches a certain point it will activate the valve and allow the groundwater to enter the inside of the pool instead of floating the pool out of the ground. If a hydrostatic relief valve is not installed, is defective or fails, it will not allow for the release of groundwater pressure. This will lead to the potential movement of the pool or worse the pool will float out of the ground.
The same can be said for vinyl in-ground pools, except the pool liner will float rather than pushing up on the wall panels.
For fiberglass pools a hydrostatic relief valve can be used on the shell to eliminate groundwater as well. However Pool Pros has a unique system that incorporates an 8" hydrostatic relief valve that is not part of the pool shell, which eliminates potential leaks and allows for removal of groundwater by use of a submersible pump. It is also 4 times the size of what is recommended by
the APSP and is 4 times larger than what our competitors use. Pool Pros hydrostatic relief valve extends to 24" below the deep end of the pool so any groundwater that is in and around the pool will drain to the pipe and can be easily removed and the pressure is alleviated. The picture to the right shows the hydrostatic relief system Pool Pros uses for all of its fiberglass pool projects.
The myth that only fiberglass pools can float has officially been busted.Not only can any type of pool float but Pool Pros has more images of floated concrete in-ground pools than any other type of in-ground pool.
The biggest factor in whether a pool will float is how it is built, not what type of pool it is. When considering an in-ground pool, ask the potential builder how they plan to eliminate the potential for groundwater damage.
For more information on the Pool Pros system please contact us today for a free in-home consultation.
