Damaged Skimmer in East Marion, NY Landscaping

Landscaping Inspection Services searches for the cause behind a damaged skimmer in an Eat Marion, NY landscaping.

East Marion, NY Landscaping Inspection

Landscaping Inspection Services was called out to inspect a landscaping in East Marion, NY. Our inspector spoke with a representative of the homeowner who stated that the pool had been wintered, and compensators had been place din the skimmers. A compensator is an item placed in the middle of the skimmer that takes the damage (crush) when water freezes over it, rather than breaking the skimmer. After the pool had been opened, the compensators could not be found, and one of the skimmers had sustained damage during the winter.

Landscaping Inspection Observations

Our inspector performed a thorough inspection of the landscaping and adjacent areas, and made the following observations:

• The pool had two skimmers.
• No compensators could be found.
• One skimmer received more damage than the other.
• One skimmer was in pieces and the other skimmer had a hairline crack that a pool company had attempted to fix.
• Putty had been put in place to fix the crack.
• The putty was removed to perform the inspection.
• The bricks around the skimmer sunk and settled out of place.

Analysis of Pool Damage

Usually a compensators act as a barrier to protect the skimmers. Though our inspector did not see a compensator, there was no way of telling if one was present during the winter, since the pool had been opened for the spring.

Our inspector determined that ice was the cause of the damage to the skimmers and in order to restore them, all of the steps outlined by the insured’s pool company would need to be followed. Our inspector also noted that the liner was too old to be saved. Had the liner been newer, it could have been pulled back into place.

Our inspector noted that water was able to pass through the bricks after the skimmers broke. This caused the dirt around and under the bricks to erode. As a result, the bricks sunk and settled the way they did. The skimmer that had the greater damage also had more erosion and damage to the bricks around it.

Cause of Loss in East Marion, NY Pool

Our inspector determined that the damage caused to the pool skimmers was the result of water in the skimmers freezing over and the ice expanding. When this happened, it caused them to break.

Our inspector made a point of nothing that he had never seen a skimmer break that had a compensator in it. Additionally, he’d never seen a compensator fall out of place once it had been installed. Our inspector believed that compensators had not been in place as the homeowners stated.