Pool construction update January 2022

We are pleased to report the pool project is on schedule and progressing despite the cold weather. During December and January, NVBlu has been working to remove the old pool deck and the retaining wall. Over the next few weeks into February, we will continue to see progress as the contractor installs the footers for the new retaining wall and puts in place the compacted gravel base for the new concrete deck.
This week, now that the concrete has all been removed, we asked an independent company, Hills-Carnes Engineering Associates, to conduct a site visit and take a look at the pool subgrade and the area near the BBQs where we saw some cracking on the clubhouse wall. The good news is that the cracking on the clubhouse wall appears to be superficial and nothing of concern was noted.  Hills-Carnes is the same firm that conducted a visit last year. Their previous report is on lakevale.org and the new report will be posted as soon as we receive it from the company.
Since the project started, we only have one set of change orders. These change orders amount to just over $41,000 of our planned contingency budget. With these change orders, plus the other items we anticipate ahead of us (landscaping, repairing a possible pool crack, replacing electrical conduit and a possible shade feature), we will still have a comfortable cushion remaining in the contingency budget.
The items discovered include eight cracked pool wall skimmers that need to be replaced. The cost for this is $12,000. More significantly, our 13,176 sq. ft. pool deck had little if any gravel subbase, which was likely a contributing factor to all the cracking we’ve experienced over the years. We need to cut out and dispose of 4″ of dirt (163 cubic yards) to make room for approximately 228 tons of size #57 gravel. The gravel will provide a proper sub base beneath the new pool deck and reduce the risk of future cracking. The cost to excavate, haul, and dispose of the soils and replace with gravel is $29,210. Last, some of the pool light electrical conduit was unavoidably damaged as it was embedded in the removed concrete deck. Going forward, despite intended careful removal of the soils, there may be some additional damage so we may expect to spend up to $5,000 to repair these conduits.
We are all looking forward to opening the 2022 swim season on time with a nicely refurbished pool.  Photos of the ongoing construction are posted on lakevale.org and will be updated as the project continues to make progress.  Please email the board@lakevale.org if you have any questions.