Swimming pools blog

We are in the process of our gunite pool going in. I need help on quality
assurance.
Is it ok if they only tie every other bar in the rebar instead of every one?
I am not sure if they are dome yet, but this is how they are doing it.
Also, my plumbing is being run inside the pool shell where it will be under
the gunite when the pool is shot. It is about 12 inces beloew surface level.
They said the ground would collapse if they dug a trench to put it in. They
said it will be fine for our NW Arkansas climate, that it is below the
freeze line. I can post a picture if it will be helpful.
My plumbing is a mixture of 2 inch pvc in what looks to be the skimmer and
the dedicated vac line. The main drain is also 2 inch. Then it goes to 1.5
inch somewhere in between the skimmer and the jets. It further reduces to 1
inch to the last 2 jets that circle the deep end. Is this adequate? I will
have a 1.5 hp pump that is level with the pool and it is about 30 feet away
from the pool. Also, the line coming from the skimmer to the main drain is

exposed under the rebar - touching it. Shouldn’t this be covered with sand?
What about pea gravel? They are lining the deep end with pea gravel now. I
am not sure if they will bring it to the shallow end or not.
I overheard the workers talking about the company having a problem with
skimmers cracking when the decks settle on new pools. It causes a lot of
water loss. How can I avoid this happening? Is there something I can be sure
they do during construction to avaid this problem later?
I think I will go ahead and post pictures after I send this.
Thanks, Michelle