We recently embarked on repairing the bond beam due to damage over the years. Tiles were popping off, horizontal cracks in the tile line, etc... We removed the coping and tile and then demo'ed the bond beam down to a point where it was solid again. We have rebuilt most of the beam back up using a product called JetSet http://www.jetsetcement.com/products_completerepair.php. We did not use forms because it would have been too challenging to get the forms set in just the right way to pour in the mortar/cement. So the top edge of the bond beam and vertical tile edge are not perfectly flat.

But my thought is we can compensate for the unevenness of the top and side edge of the bond beam when we set in the tile and coping. Is this assumption correct?

What material should we use to set the new tile and coping?

How many days should we wait for the bond beam to cure before completing the tile and coping replacement?

Should we set the tile or coping first?

Thanks
Mike

Without pix of what you did, we can't really say if what you did was OK.

Tile is set with thinset. Coping is with mortar. Usually, coping comes first.

The material you used appears to be either a fast set or hydaulic cement product. I would give it a week at the least.

Scott

PoolGuyNJ,

Thanks for responding.

I have attached a few photos. The pictures were taken with my phone so quality is poor. The photos are of the bond beam post repair.

Is there a specific thinset product you recommend? What about mortar?

Can we just use plaster to set the waterline tiles?

Should we use plaster for the grout lines on the tile?

The top looks fine. The front appears to be cut in too much. That is too large a gap to fill with plaster and tile. I would chip some more plaster, apply a bonding agent to the face, form it and add more cement to bring the edge closer to the original shell's plane.

Plaster is not used as grout between tile. Grout is. Thin lines dictate unsanded grout and thick (greater than 1/4") lines use sanded grout.

Scott