Mail order pool plans have a major problem... they do not comply with all of the requirements of the International Building Code (IBC).
How can this be?
Site Conditions
The IBC requires that all structures (including swimming pools) be designed to resist any site conditions and surcharges. "Site conditions" are features of the location that may influence the performance of the structure. "Surcharges" are things that may exert pressure upon the structure.
Site conditions can be the downward pressure (surcharge) of a nearby up slope, weakness of an adjacent down slope, ocean waves (storm or wind driven), surcharges of seasonal snow loads, surcharges of prevailing or storm wind loads, expansive soil surcharges, weak or incompetent soils, high water tables or other nearby structures (retaining walls, building foundations, etc.).
With out reviewing the actual site, topographical map (for sloping properties), a site plan and a soils report, there is absolutely no way for the mail order structural engineer to comply with the conditions of the IBC.
Soil Conditions
The IBC also requires that structural engineering be designed to overcome any soils conditions. With out reviewing a geological report (aka: soils report), the structural engineer has no way to know if his structure will survive.
Soils may be too loose or sand to support the weight of a structure. The soils may be expansive soils that want to compress the structure when they expand in the presence of water. The earth may have fissures or vertical sheer planes that will tear the structure apart. A hillside may be unstable or of uncompacted fill, unable to bear the weight of a structure.
Without a proper, thorough and competent review of the requisite reports by the structural engineer, generic mail order structural engineering has no place in any construction project.
Paolo Benedetti, SWD, Principal
Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa
© www.AquaticTechnology.com
International Aquatic Consultant, Watershape Engineering, Swimming Pool Design, Expert Witness, Hydraulic Designer, Landscape Design, Owner's Rep
Office: 408-776-8220
Email: info@aquatictechnology.com
Major Markets Serviced:
San Francisco, Palo Alto, Atherton, Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Clemente, Pacific Palisades, Escondido, Scottsdale, Seattle, Phoenix, Tempe, Portland, Aspen, Vail, Park City, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, New Orleans, Madison, Detroit, East Hamptons, South Hamptons, Cape May, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cherry Hill, Toms River, Salt lake City, Boise, Denver, Santa Barbaara, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Oceanside, Big Sur, Napa, Sonoma, Sausalito, Danville, Belvedere, Montecito, Palm Springs, Midland, Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Osaka, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York, Tokyo, Cairo, Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Lisbon, Bonn.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Swimming Pool Construction Defects Expert - Water Bonding NEC National Electrical Code 680.26(C)
The National Electrical Code (NEC) 680.26(C) requires that the actual water of a pool or spa be bonded. However, some devices used for the purpose of bonding the water, may be negated by their installation or placement.
Bonding the water
Bonding the pool water is required by the National Electric Code. This used to be accomplished without much thought, because pools and spas contained high voltage lights that were housed in stainless steel, brass or combination plastic and stainless steel niches. Hand railings in the water provided bonding through their brass anchors.
With the advent of plastic and fiberglass hand railings and fiberoptic and low voltage LED lighting, the need for anchors and niches were eliminated.
Some pools were "saved" because they had a gas or electric heater at the equipment pad. But, some installations could have the water isolated from this inadvertent bonding.
Plumbing methods
In most pool/spa combinations, the pool and spa share a common heat source. The suction and return lines are dedicated, and the flow through the heat source is controlled by automated valving.
AND, therein lies the problem.
If a heater is being relied upon to provide the "water bonding," then one body of water is isolated from the water bonding when the valves are in either the <POOL> or <SPA> mode.
Brass umbrella sleeves embedded in the top step of a pool or spa will provide a permanent source of "water bonding" (provided that they are correctly bonded to the reinforcing steel).
To maintain "water bonding," the bonding source cannot be isolated from the vessel by a valve. Therefore, a separate water bonding conductor needs to be placed in every vessel (or it's plumbing - after any valving).
Paolo Benedetti, SWD, Principal
Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa
©www.AquaticTechnology.com
International Aquatic Consultant, Watershape Engineering, Swimming Pool Design, Expert Witness, Hydraulic Designer, Landscape Design, Owner's Rep
Office: 408-776-8220
Email: info@aquatictechnology.com
Major Markets Serviced: San Francisco, Palo Alto, Atherton, Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Clemente, Pacific Palisades, Escondido, Scottsdale, Seattle, Phoenix, Tempe, Portland, Aspen, Vail, Park City, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, New Orleans, Madison, Detroit, East Hamptons, South Hamptons, Cape May, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cherry Hill, Toms River, Salt lake City, Boise, Denver, Santa Barbaara, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Oceanside, Big Sur, Napa, Sonoma, Sausalito, Danville, Belvedere, Montecito, Palm Springs, Midland, Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Osaka, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York, Tokyo, Cairo, Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Lisbon, Bonn.
Bonding the water
Bonding the pool water is required by the National Electric Code. This used to be accomplished without much thought, because pools and spas contained high voltage lights that were housed in stainless steel, brass or combination plastic and stainless steel niches. Hand railings in the water provided bonding through their brass anchors.
With the advent of plastic and fiberglass hand railings and fiberoptic and low voltage LED lighting, the need for anchors and niches were eliminated.
Some pools were "saved" because they had a gas or electric heater at the equipment pad. But, some installations could have the water isolated from this inadvertent bonding.
Plumbing methods
In most pool/spa combinations, the pool and spa share a common heat source. The suction and return lines are dedicated, and the flow through the heat source is controlled by automated valving.
AND, therein lies the problem.
If a heater is being relied upon to provide the "water bonding," then one body of water is isolated from the water bonding when the valves are in either the <POOL> or <SPA> mode.
Brass umbrella sleeves embedded in the top step of a pool or spa will provide a permanent source of "water bonding" (provided that they are correctly bonded to the reinforcing steel).
To maintain "water bonding," the bonding source cannot be isolated from the vessel by a valve. Therefore, a separate water bonding conductor needs to be placed in every vessel (or it's plumbing - after any valving).
Paolo Benedetti, SWD, Principal
Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa
©www.AquaticTechnology.com
International Aquatic Consultant, Watershape Engineering, Swimming Pool Design, Expert Witness, Hydraulic Designer, Landscape Design, Owner's Rep
Office: 408-776-8220
Email: info@aquatictechnology.com
Major Markets Serviced: San Francisco, Palo Alto, Atherton, Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Clemente, Pacific Palisades, Escondido, Scottsdale, Seattle, Phoenix, Tempe, Portland, Aspen, Vail, Park City, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, New Orleans, Madison, Detroit, East Hamptons, South Hamptons, Cape May, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cherry Hill, Toms River, Salt lake City, Boise, Denver, Santa Barbaara, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Oceanside, Big Sur, Napa, Sonoma, Sausalito, Danville, Belvedere, Montecito, Palm Springs, Midland, Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Osaka, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York, Tokyo, Cairo, Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Lisbon, Bonn.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Swimming Pool Design Expert Heat Bending PVC Pipe
Heat bending of PVC pipe is permissible provided that it is done with caution not to burn the pipe.
Care
Care must be exercised when heat bending PVC pipe so as to not scorch or burn it. Burning the pipe creates a brittle spot that is susceptible to cracking.
(Click on an image to enlarge it.)
Heat bent pipes should show ABSOLUTELY ZERO signs of being heated. Yellowing, browning or burn sections of pipe MUST be cut out and replaced.
Cracked plumbing
A cracked pipe within a concrete or shotcrete wall is a recipe for disaster. Water within the concrete will weaken the concrete. As the water leaks into the wall it will also come into contact with the reinforcing steel.
When reinforcing steel corrodes, it expands. The expanding steel can exert sufficient force to crack the concrete.
Proper Tools
Extreme care must be taken when heating pipe with a propane torch. While the fasted method, it is also the most likely to cause burnt and brittle pipes.
An electric pipe oven or heat blanket are safer methods, as they are temperature controlled to soften but not burn the pipe (unless left in heating device for too long).
Paolo Benedetti, SWD, Principal
Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa
© www.AquaticTechnology.com
International Aquatic Consultant, Watershape Engineering, Expert Witness, Hydraulic Designer, Landscape Design, Owner's Rep Office: 408-776-8220
Email: info@aquatictechnology.com
Major Markets Serviced: San Francisco, Palo Alto, Atherton, Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Clemente, Pacific Palisades, Escondido, Scottsdale, Seattle, Phoenix, Tempe, Portland, Aspen, Vail, Park City, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, New Orleans, Madison, Detroit, East Hamptons, South Hamptons, Cape May, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cherry Hill, Toms River, Salt lake City, Boise, Denver, Santa Barbaara, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Oceanside, Big Sur, Napa, Sonoma, Sausalito, Danville, Belvedere, Montecito, Palm Springs, Midland, Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Osaka, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York, Tokyo, Cairo, Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Lisbon, Bonn.
Care
Care must be exercised when heat bending PVC pipe so as to not scorch or burn it. Burning the pipe creates a brittle spot that is susceptible to cracking.
(Click on an image to enlarge it.)
 |
| Torch burnt PVC swimming pool pipe |
 |
| Burnt swimming pool plumbing |
Cracked plumbing
A cracked pipe within a concrete or shotcrete wall is a recipe for disaster. Water within the concrete will weaken the concrete. As the water leaks into the wall it will also come into contact with the reinforcing steel.
When reinforcing steel corrodes, it expands. The expanding steel can exert sufficient force to crack the concrete.
Proper Tools
Extreme care must be taken when heating pipe with a propane torch. While the fasted method, it is also the most likely to cause burnt and brittle pipes.
An electric pipe oven or heat blanket are safer methods, as they are temperature controlled to soften but not burn the pipe (unless left in heating device for too long).
Paolo Benedetti, SWD, Principal
Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa
© www.AquaticTechnology.com
International Aquatic Consultant, Watershape Engineering, Expert Witness, Hydraulic Designer, Landscape Design, Owner's Rep Office: 408-776-8220
Email: info@aquatictechnology.com
Major Markets Serviced: San Francisco, Palo Alto, Atherton, Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Clemente, Pacific Palisades, Escondido, Scottsdale, Seattle, Phoenix, Tempe, Portland, Aspen, Vail, Park City, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, New Orleans, Madison, Detroit, East Hamptons, South Hamptons, Cape May, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cherry Hill, Toms River, Salt lake City, Boise, Denver, Santa Barbaara, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Oceanside, Big Sur, Napa, Sonoma, Sausalito, Danville, Belvedere, Montecito, Palm Springs, Midland, Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Osaka, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York, Tokyo, Cairo, Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Lisbon, Bonn.
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