Pool Retaining Walls

Putting a pool on a sloping block almost always means retaining something, and walls near a pool are a distinct problem from walls anywhere else on a property. They interact with a large structure, they usually need engineering, and they have a fencing question attached that catches people out after the fact.

The loads run both ways

A retaining wall uphill of a pool holds back the bank so the pool area can be cut in flat. A wall downhill of a pool retains the fill that supports the pool surround, and it is potentially carrying load from the pool shell itself depending on how close it sits.

That second case is the one to be careful with. A pool full of water is extremely heavy, and if a wall is close enough to be within the zone of influence of the shell, it is carrying part of that load. A wall specified as a garden wall in that position is under-designed, and the failure takes the pool surround with it.

Distance from the shell, the depth of the pool, and the ground conditions all feed into it, which is why walls in this position are almost always engineered rather than picked from a standard detail.

Fencing, decided before the wall

Pool barrier requirements are strict and they interact with retaining walls in ways that are expensive to discover late.

The height of a barrier is measured from the finished ground level on the outside, so a retaining wall that raises the ground on one side of a fence changes what that fence has to be. A wall can form part of a barrier where it is high enough and detailed correctly. And climbable features within the non-climbable zone matter, which means a stepped or terraced wall next to a pool fence needs thinking about before it is built rather than after an inspection.

Getting the wall and the barrier set out together avoids the situation where a finished wall has to be modified because the pool cannot be certified.

Where the water goes

Drainage behind any wall near a pool cannot simply discharge into the pool surround or into a paved area that drains back toward the pool. It has to be routed to a legal discharge point, and on a sloping block with a pool cut into it that route is often the constraint that shapes the whole design.

Sequencing with the pool build

Where a pool is being installed at the same time, the retaining and the pool have to be sequenced together: excavation, wall, shell, backfill, surround, fencing. Doing the wall after the pool is in is usually harder and occasionally impossible, because the machine access that was available before the shell went in is gone.

If a pool is planned, this is a conversation worth having before the pool contract is signed rather than after.

Call 0468 066 055 with the site and the pool position, or send the form.