Quote from: NathanS on June 25, 2022, 07:41:34 AMJust a thought - ground water levels are highest from late fall through spring. If hydrostatic pressure is an issue, and a full pool can actually be pushed out of the ground, that's when you'd want it running. Also, just from a practical standpoint, putting in and removing a sump pump as part of your maintenance routine is almost certainly something you will forget to do eventually. I know I would.

Also guessing the pool is sitting on and surrounded by non-expansive fill like sand or some type of gravel.

Quote from: JRR on June 23, 2022, 11:06:05 AM...In your situation, I would ask "why should the pool lift"?  When will you fill the pool? 

I had the same questions when we ordered the pool.  I believe the old cast in place cement pools are heavy enough to withstand the pressure from underneath.  This is a fiberglass pool, and even at a fairly large size of 32' x 14', 4 guys can move it around and adjust it prior to filling.  In fact, two guys lift a corner to allow some fill to fall under, then they jump on the edge to pack it back down to get it perfectly level.  I think with all the crazy weather we've been having these past few years, the pool companies had to come up with a way to prevent damage and liability.  In a very heavy rainstorm, the ground water can rise very quickly (we are mostly clay here).  As soon as there are a few days of nice weather, the ground dries out and becomes rock hard.

We immediately filled the pool, so it is at its max now.  I think we are in the safe zone.  We are on the island of Montreal in Canada, so freezing is my main concern with leaving the pump in the hole permanently.  Normally we have to empty all pool lines and fill the underground pipes with antifreeze for the winter.  If I were to leave the pump in over the winter, if we had a warm day with a lot of snow melt, the pump would activate and evacuate what is in the hole (if not frozen), but wouldn't the pump prevent water in the pipe from draining back into the hole and thus cause that section of pipe to freeze and burst?

This is the black 10" pipe where they want me to install the pump.  I had the electrician install a box at that location, which I will eventually screw to the underside of the skimmer lid that will be placed there once the paving stones are in place and they cut down the black pipe.


This is a view of the inside of the hole, that water level was at about 1/2 way up the pool level after 2 days of extreme rainfall.



Once cut level, the underground pipe will run from the street, next to the house and to the hole.  I will ask them put it about the same height as the electrical, so I can insert the pump with a flexible pipe, and have room to connect it to the underground pipe.



If I can, having a pump or solution that can stay year round would be ideal... I am just not sure about the possibility of freezing and how well it would work on those iffy days in the winter.

Just a thought - ground water levels are highest from late fall through spring. If hydrostatic pressure is an issue, and a full pool can actually be pushed out of the ground, that's when you'd want it running. Also, just from a practical standpoint, putting in and removing a sump pump as part of your maintenance routine is almost certainly something you will forget to do eventually. I know I would.

Also guessing the pool is sitting on and surrounded by non-expansive fill like sand or some type of gravel.

Our experience is quite different.  We inherited a, cast in place concrete, pool that had not been serviced in decades.  It looked like a swamp.  It took a summer to clean and repair. We have pretty good ground drainage, so I have never been concerned about the pool lifting even when emptied for cleaning and painting.  This is in the South, and ground freezing is never an issue.

In your situation, I would ask "why should the pool lift"?  When will you fill the pool?  Once the pool is filled, I would doubt the pool would lift unless the surrounding soil is soaked and the surface of the pool water is below soil level.  If a sump hole is to be used for this protection,  a working pump may be needed to keep the pool from lifting.  I would just watch and see, but that's me and I take foolish risks sometimes.  (My wife says "often"!)

Do you have some neighbors with pools, whom you might ask?

Making progress a lot faster than I did on the house.

I'm getting my money's worth out of this tractor. Digging in hardpan to get the pier footings poured took a whole day. At times I sheared through rock when it was embedded in the side wall of the hole. The backhoe has really proved itself as a tough piece of machinery.



Using pallet forks to lift the wood walls onto the 2' block stemwalls.



Same trick I used for the house - I made jigs to hold the ridge board in place and then installed the rafters. Safe and easy work alone.




Now I am getting ready to build the lean-tos. I have a couple questions I'm hoping people can answer about bracing.

Posts are going to sit on Simpson brackets that stand them 1" off the piers and are attached with an anchor bolt. Then the posts will be apx 7.5' tall with a 3x12 notch set into them for the beams I had my neighbor mill for me. They will be attached either with 1/2" through bolts or Thrulok's.

My understanding is that because the garage wall is braced I technically don't need any lateral bracing between the post and beam as the roof diaphragm ties everything together. However, the AWC does have a deck guide - the closest thing to a code guide for a porch roof - and it calls for bracing the corner posts and specifically excludes bracing the middle posts.

https://awc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/AWC-DCA62012-DeckGuide-1405.pdf

Somewhat related question about roofing. I am installing metal panels over 2x4 2' OC purlins. I am guessing 2 or 3 10d nails should be adequate to connect purlin to rafter? Code defers to manufacturer, and manufacturer doesn't say anything other than the roof is designed to go over purlins. For the gable roof I got "drip stop" material to control condensation. Really looking forward to not sliding around on 8-12 sheathing.

Last thing - do I need to brace the ceiling on the interior part of the garage? This would have to be done on underside, as rafters prevent me from connecting OSB to the wall.

We are having an in-ground fiberglass pool installed, and to prevent the pool from lifting, they are recommending installing a sump pump. 1/2 the guys recommend leaving the pump in the hole that goes down maybe 5' under ground, while the other half recommend just throwing it in when needed. I had the electrician install a box in the hole that I may fasten to the cover. I want to run a drain from the pit to the road. My thought was to i stall the pump in the hole in the spring, and remove it in late fall when winterizing.

My question would be, can you leave this permanently installed?
I would fear freezing, but also if you don't install it early enough, or remove it too soon, you run the risk of scrapping the pool.  They dug on Friday, by Monday there were just a few traces or water here and there. Well stayed dry all week., with the exception of a heavy rain yesterday and now I can see an inch or two of water.  There is a lt of clay here if that matters. Anyone deal with something similar? Options, recommendations?  At this point, cost is no longer a factor, I am already pushing back my retirement 7 years as a result.

Tutorial 30 - Double Brick Walls (9:32 min.)

https://youtu.be/1bfVlgh4OIE

Nice!  Keep the updates coming...

I've finally wrapped up my recent move (Utah -> Missouri) and the dust is beginning to settle some.  The next few weeks I will be working in earnest on the Floor plugin and try to get it put together and released before the end of the summer and prior to the upcoming SketchUp Basecamp. 

Version 2.8.9b - 06.06.2022
- Fixed a bug with trimmer studs for garage doors.


!!!! CRITICAL BUG FIX !!!!
Note that if you are using more than two trimmer studs on your garage doors you will get an error and your garage door will not be drawn.  Update to this latest version to fix this bug with the garage door module.

This bug has existed for some time and I was probably not aware of it or made aware of it until today because most garage doors don't use more than two trimmers/jack studs.  However, it is still strange to me how long it was able to slip by unnoticed.

Version 2.8.9 - 06.05.2022
- Added a "resolution" parameter into the General tab of the Global Settings for adjusting the smoothness of annotation text.





By default this parameter is set to 0.5 which may be a bit choppy/pixelated for some.  For maximum smoothness set this parameter to zero (as shown above).