Deep cracks between coping and skirt. Fill with sand?

[charles.merriam]

I purchased our house earlier this month and now have a pool.

It has missing or decaying mastic between the coping and the concrete skirt, perhaps a 12" or deeper in spots. I hope I am using the right terms; this is where the mastic has decayed away. The interior of the pool looks good, if currently green. So, should I start by pouring sand into these cracks, or some foam thing? I was thinking sand and then filling the last inch with some sort of mastic. I'll need to replace the screeds as well.

Any advice would be helpful. Is this a "pay the nice pool man about $600 to fix it"? Or is this a weekend's project.

Thank you,

Charles

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

There is no way to really know how much of the back fill washed away from the back of the shell as it is covered by the deck. Pouring in dry mason sand and gently washing it in to fill the voids is a good idea if you are confident the washed out areas are as small as you think. Fill to 1/2 the width of the space between the coping and deck.

If you find a spot that keeps taking sand, say more than 20 lbs per foot, a foam backer may be used but I still suggest adding the sand to fill the void to support the shell and deck.

Scott

 

[charles.merriam]

Thank you! I'll give it a try later today.