A two part article authored by Chuck Grosse.
Part I: Hazardous Conditions
Prelude: I started this project a few days ago and decided to break it into two parts for ease of reading. The following is part one with part two to follow shortly.
As an experienced pool builder it is hard to keep my eye off of pools wherever I am. As a pool designer, pool construction supervisor and a pool project manager I still appreciate the beauty of design, colors and shapes and settings, but I find myself always drifting my eye towards the same things that make all of the pools I participate in a bit more than standard. I can’t manage not to look at the smaller details when looking at a pool, no matter how many Pacific coast margaritas or Caribbean mojitos I have swallowed. I also see projects under construction, not actively seeking them out but rather, allowing my interest in observing how the Mexican people are uniquely different from Americans to lead the way.
Please don’t get me wrong here. There is nothing bad about being different, and that interest in those differences is what actually brought me to Ensenada, Baja California Sur on that fateful afternoon nearly 20 years ago and put me in the famous Hussongs Bar. On that day I spotted my now-to-be wife, who was visiting a school-girl friend of hers, sitting on a bar-stool and nervously giggling with those other two lovely girls. I asked if I could get them a drink, and from that moment on the rest is history. We now have two beautiful children, a boy and a girl, and live in northern San Diego County near the beach. At my house, although my wife speaks perfectly good English, we speak two languages. She speaks to me and the kids in Spanish, and I speak to her and the kids in English. Of course the kids speak English at school, but none-the-less we are a completely bilingual family. It did help that I studied 4 years of Spanish in middle school and college, and that in my early days of work I was in both restaurants and construction. I think a true measure of mastery of a language, at least in the conversational sense, is to be able to listen to that language on the radio. Without the visual clues of body language and facial expression, if you can hang with the topic and comprehend the conversation you can be pretty sure you’ve got it down. Well, as a family we “have it down” in both English and Spanish, thanks to my curiosity and that one fateful day.
Well today I am in the pool business, or that is what most people think. Whatever they want to think, I am actually in the business of providing fun. What could be more fun than having that same resort feel you get when visiting a five star hotel right in your own backyard? I mean if you could actually vacation everyday, just by walking through the front door could life really get any better?
At the same time my wife is in the travel business, and we make sure to take advantage of all the perks that come with that. Because of her Mexican roots, and the fact that she has family there we always seem to be looking to visit Mexico at least twice a year. We also tend to not visit the same area twice, and if we do we still plan our visit to explore new places wherever we go. We’ve been to Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa, Morelia, Colima, Merida, Progresso, Cancun, La Paz, Mazatlan, Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, Puerto Aventuras, Veracruz, and Los Cabos, plus a lot of other smaller places in between.
Our most recent trip, just a few weeks ago in late October of 2010, took us to the southern tip of Baja to the city of Cabo San Lucas and the city of La Paz. At the airport we rented a car to get around, and in one weeks’ time we actually hotel hopped across the peninsula staying in three different hotels. One was and older but nicer place in La Paz, and two were nearly brand new four-star resorts in Los Cabos. Of course all three had really nice pools. At least that is the impression that 99 and 44/100 percent of the guest staying there believed. I can’t really say that they were not in fact really nice swimming pools. They were great places to swim, and one of them even had such high-tech features as a “beach” entry and “wet-edge” spa. It looked like everyone was having a really good time both in and around the pools. I could see that, but I could also see more.
At one of the pools I first entered the water at the beckoning of my kids, who were thrilled by the pool, actually at the last resort stop of the trip, because the main feature is a large waterfall and 40-foot long waterslide. I did not climb into the pool, nor jump in head-first. Instead I put down my ice-cold mojito and trudged up two flights of stairs to the top of the slide. There my kids were jumping up and down and telling me of their previous 30 trips each down the slide. We had only been there for about 30 minutes, but you know how kids are. I step up to the edge of the slide and looked down the throat of the beast. It took a long slow curve to the left and I could not see the pool or where the slide entered the pool. How could I go down the slide safely if I couldn’t see the water I was landing in. Oh well. I yelled “clear” hoping that would get anyone down there out of the way, and sat down. Now my feet were being sprayed by the water sloshing down the slide. Just beyond my feet were two areas of blistered slide paint, with sharp raised edges, right in the middle of the slide. There was no way to maneuver around those blisters, so I pulled my bathing suit up and down, at the same time and eased forward. Down the slide I went. It was a nice fast ride with good acceleration, just what the kids wanted. Near the bottom the pool came into view and the water was clear. There was no stopping me anyways, but I was sure happy not to see granny and a baby treading water at the rate I was going. The impact wasn’t too bad, and I popped up and swan to the nearest edge, where a swim ladder was conveniently located which would place you near the slide stairs once you exited the pool. I reached up for the ladder and found the notches in the wall for my feet and gave a pull to lift my body out of the water. As my body weight went on the ladder both of the rungs were loose and they wiggled so much it was almost hard to hold on to them. It didn’t stop me from getting out and head back up the slide stairs to see what my kids had to says, but it did attract my attention and make me think about what other minor, or major construction defects might there be at this particular pool. Now sure a bit of chipped paint, and a slightly obstructed view, and a loose ladder aren’t the end of the world, but……we just got there. Within 30 minutes at the pool and without even looking I found three things that would be major “show-stoppers” on one of my projects, here at a four star resort and cosmetically the finest of the three hotels we visited on that trip. Later I’ll describe to you other “problems” I have seen that appear to be nearly endemic in the construction of inground pools south of the border and suggest how you can avoid including these mistakes in your project.
I see clearly three types of problems in Mexico that are evident in pools during or post construction. At this point I am not trying to identify things like difficulties in selecting a contractor, contractual or legal issues, language and cultural barriers, or baffling bureaucracy of Mexico. The above mentioned issues could and should be addressed in a separate discussion. Right now we are going to focus on the pool itself, as a product, not a construction experience.
If you plan on building a pool in Mexico you should pay close attention to my observations. Pool builders in Mexico do not seem focused on safety or quality of design (aside from cosmetic design) in their construction process. When building a pool in Mexico, or anywhere for that matter, a safe product with a solid foundation should be mandatory.
If you plan on building a pool in Mexico you should pay close attention to my observations. Pool builders in Mexico do not seem focused on safety or quality of design (aside from cosmetic design) in their construction process. When building a pool in Mexico, or anywhere for that matter, a safe product with a solid foundation should be mandatory.
Firstly there are deal breaker problems. These are things that can cause severe injury or death. They come in the form of electrical hazards, suction/drowning related hazards, and use related hazards (i.e. cuts, abrasions, and falls). There are also conditions that are not really deal breakers so to speak, but still conditions of warranted concern. These are defects or deficiencies in design and/or construction that either put the pool itself at risk, or reduce its efficiency, or both. Most are either related to the pool structure itself or in the plumbing and electrical systems, or in equipment selection and installation. Although these don’t really risk life or limb they do pose a huge financial risk if it becomes necessary to correct these types of problems during construction or in an already completed or existing pool. Lastly there are cosmetic defects, which related both to the physical appearance of the pool, its positioning and style, or how it affects the ambience of the pool environment. Here we are talking about mostly visual defects, but occasionally audible sounds or noises, or even foul smells.
I’ll start with the deal breakers. Electrical hazards, drowning hazards, and fall/cut/abrasion risks are the biggest problems that I typically notice, mostly because as a responsible father of two young kids I really keep my eye open for these foremost. At almost every pool I visit I see deal breakers or near deal breakers, which are things that we would never allow at my company and are things that we actively look for at our clients homes and correct as quickly as possible when found.
Let’s start with the various electrical hazards. The lack of GFCI protected circuitry, bare or exposed electrical wires and poor grounding along with electrical outlets, electrical cords, wiring, and electrical appliances too close to the water for safety lead the list here. I am not suggesting that these types of hazards are absent in US built pools, but I will say that current US pool building standards DO NOT permit these types of conditions to exist.
In California (and the U.S. as a whole I believe) we have to protect all pool lighting circuits with a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) which will cut off electrical supply to the pool light if short circuit conditions exist or if the grounding wire is broken. Although I have not had much of an opportunity to check on the GFCI’s of the pools I have seen, I do know for a fact that GFCI protection is very rare in Mexico and is not the industry standard (at least common practice) in that country. It seems that nowhere in Mexico is anyone familiar with the uniform electrical code standards for swimming pools (as used in the US).
Another common problem is the use of extension cords to feed electrical devices near the pool. At almost every pool I find electrical cords snaking through the landscape to provide power to something, All it takes is one wet hand to touch a frayed cable or for that cable to somehow find its way into the pool and you are in for a shocking surprise. Although this hazard is not directly related to the construction of the pool itself most of these cords could be eliminated if electrical outlets were properly distributed around the pool in anticipation of their need. At my company, Del Rancho Pools, we call this solution planning ahead.
Almost as common is the use of 120 volt lighting close to the pool water. In the US the only electrical devices allowed in the pool are UL listed pool lights which have redundant electrical safety built in to them. We are also required to keep all electrically powered items at least ten feet from the pool water, even landscape lighting. In Mexico, and even fairly regularly in the U.S., I can always find an “uplight” with a broken or missing cover-plate right next to the pool water which is strategically lighting a nearby palm.. Much of this lighting is un-maintained with missing protective covers and bare wires common. Also many of these lighting circuits in Mexico lack a “ground” wire and GFCI protection, which is standard in the US and helps offer an electrical layer of shock hazard protection. Following the Uniform Building Code for Pool Electrical Installation will solve all of these potentially deadly hazards.
Although swimming pools almost by definition are a “drowning hazard” what I am referring to is actually “suction entrapment hazard” caused by the pool pump itself. In the US current law requires any suction point in a swimming pool or spa to have dual points of suction, so that if one point of suction is covered the other point of suction will continue to feed the pump water. If there were just a single suction point whatever blocked the opening would be held to the opening by a strong suction force. This force is strong enough to hold almost anyone, including a grown man, underwater. In Mexico almost no pools offer dual suction points and in some cases no protective grate or cover is present to reduce the hazard of a single inlet.
Once in Manzanillo we were staying at a place that had a waterslide which ran from an upper “starting” pool which overflowed and then spilled down the slide into the main pool about 10 feet below. The feed pipe to the upper pool was in the middle of the floor and the water was about 8” deep. We (my son who was two at the time and I) were using the slide when suddenly I noticed that the overflowing had stopped and a small whirlpool was forming over the feed pipe. That seemed like an odd thing and my curiosity caused me to put my palm over the pipe to see if I could stop the little whirlpool. As soon as my hand covered the pipe a strong suction force held my hand to the pipe and began pulling on the center of my palm. Fortunately the pipe diameter was small enough so that with moderate effort I was able to pull my hand free. Once free I looked at my palm to find a 2” diameter bulge in the center of my palm and some broken blood vessels indicating the beginning of what could have been a large blood blister. Had I been a child, or if it had been my mouth, eye, or rear end over the pipe instead of the tough skin of my palm, the outcome could have be worse and possibly gruesome (on more than one occasion a child has been disemboweled in the U.S. by sitting atop a suction hazard like this one). The cause of the suction at the point of feed, which would not normally be expected, was a power failure in the resort that caused the pump to stop pumping and allowed water to flow backward through the system. A check-valve of the type we normally install in the U.S. for most raised water-features would have prevented the suction and whirlpool from forming. An approved drain cover over the pipe would have kept my hand from being “sucked in” by the pipe. Neither were installed in this hotel’s “commercial” grade pool. Aside from this one occasion I have had no other personal incidents, but have rarely seen an installation that would pass a California based building inspection.
Injury hazards, specifically cuts, abrasions, and falls another problem which you do see in U.S. pools but seems to be taken to the next level in Mexico. Loose handrails, sharp corners, high platforms, and poor workmanship are all culprits. Since lawsuits are uncommon there is little motivation to prevent injury, especially minor to moderate injury, in Mexico. While I’m sure that no one wants someone to be injured, with no motivation to be vigilant there is little oversight to minimize the risks. To reduce injury hazards of the type listed here it really gets more personal, where design and supervision, with an eye for safety, can really make a difference. I have seen tall platforms where kids play adjacent to concreter deck surfaces with little or nothing in the way of railings to prevent falls. Most recently a barrier with openings at least 18” wide separated the start pool of the waterslide from a 10-foot vertical drop off of a waterfall platform to pool and deck. Twice in the past two years I have cut my feet on “pebble” pool finishes which appeared to be formulated by sharp-edged local pebbles rather than “water-smoothed” commercial products. Slick decking surfaces are commonly installed, even in commercial applications near kiddie pools. On many occasions I have seen slick “stamped concrete” or even polished marble or limestone in a poolside application. I could continue on and on, but the point here is that although any project could have these types of hazards a well design and well implemented project probably won’t; it will either be designed out or spotted during construction and corrected by a competent design/build team.
The point of this article is not to scare you from building a pool in Mexico nor from using a Mexican building partner to build your pool. The point is to make sure you let them know what your expectations are as far as design, planning, and quality control to make sure you end up with a quality pool which will last a lifetime without taking one along the way. If you want to be sure you get a pool built to current U.S. standards then hire a competent designer and let him (or her) set the standards for your pool clearly on the table. Then make sure your builder of choice is familiar with the standards you set and capable of implementing them. If needed hire a pool building consultant, even if it is just to stop buy at several of the critical stages of the project when corrections can still be made. If you are still in doubt hire a project manager to oversee the project through all of its phases. In pool construction the most difficult thing to fix is a finished pool.
Part II – Construction Defects coming soon
