Cracked in ground pool steps-HELP!

[Rondanick]

I am a total newbie. I bought a house with a pool that has sat for three years with no lovin. I am so happy to have found this forum!!! Lord knows I need all the help I can get. I'd like to thank everyone that replies with advice. Just reading the old threads has been very helpful.

I just found out that my cracked pool steps are not fiberglass but plastic. Just the top step is cracked and around the edge. I am in the process of replacing the liner. The Pool store says I need new stairs , that nothing will stick to it. A fiberglass repair guy told me he can resurface them for $1600 ( all the stairs) Someone else told me that's a waste of money and you can't put fiberglass on plastic. They want $8900 to install new steps. I just spent $3,000 on the liner. Has anyone repaired plastic steps with success? Should I just bite the bullet and replace the steps now since I'm already doing the liner.? They are ten years old.

 

[kimkats]

Re: Hi Everyone

Ronda my husband, who has worked with fiberglass, says it is not worth it better to start over since you will already redoing the liner.

Kim :cat:

 

[Texas Splash]

Re: Hi Everyone

Welcome to TFP! I hope your repairs go smoothly.

 

[Rondanick]

Re: Hi Everyone

Thanks Kim, did he say why? Will it not adhere properly? Can it be patched with a plastic? The stairs are so much money

 

[kimkats]

Re: Hi Everyone

He says it will be VERY hard to make it stick and get it smooth. You can try but he is VERY worried it will not work and you will be out quite a bit of money. You will have to find a way to back fill the steps to keep this from happening again and you cannot really do that without taking the steps out.

I am so sorry

Kim:cat:

 

[Rondanick]

Thanks again Kim. I found this online about it.......

simple you cant. It can be done, but only using a Methyl Methacrylate Adhesive. Do not allow fiberglass to be used for the repair, all plastic steps manufactured to date are made of ABS plastic regardless of the name (Rovel, Centrex, Weatherpro, Geloy,) all are ABS with the above names as the weather-able top coating. Fiberglass emits gasses during the cure process that get trapped between the repair and the ABS that causes deterioration of the ABS and eventual failure of any repair made with fiberglass. Once the repair fails the gasses from the fiberglass usually renders the ABS too weak to accept any type of repair, then the step will need to be replaced.

Has anyone repaired theirs with success? Thanks.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Just an odd thought from someone who doesn't have a vinyl lined pool- While the old liner is out, can you have them build you some sort of rebar/cement steps that then can be covered in the new liner?

 

[Rondanick]

Yes, but unfortunately we already had the liner made when we discovered the stair problem. I found out the the guy at the pool store was totally wrong, my steps are fiberglass and not Rovel! Rovel or thermoplastic stairs don't blister and mine are blistered. So it looks like I can just have then refinished. Yay! I now know more about pool stairs than I ever thought I would. I spoke with a chemist that works for a manufacturer of the thermoplastic. He gave me the names of the materials you can patch with. It's the same process as fiberglass you just have to use different chemical compounds.

 

[Mo23871]

I know this is an old thread, but dealing with the same issue only stairs are plastic, Ronda do you happen to have the name of the chemicals they said would adhere to plastic?