Coping to pool deck joint

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Belldiver

0
Sep 7, 2007
344
Lafayette, Louisiana
What do the concrete guys pack around the back of the coping and in between a poured concrete deck to leave room for caulking later? It appears to leave about a 3/8"-1/2" gap that is cleared afterwards and then caulked.

Anybody know what it is called or where I can get some?

Thanks...
 
duraleigh said:
Belldiver, are you talking about the caulk that goes in the crack or the material underneath the caulk?
Click to expand...

Well kinda both. I need to find the stuff they wrap around the back of the coping to leave the gap and what fills that gap later on. I'm self contracting this build, so I'm having to make sure some of this detail stuff happens myself.

Thanks...

Jim
 
Well, I have seen a product that I believe would work well. It's a 3" or 4" roll of 1/2 inch thick polyfoam....available at concrete materials companies. The polyfoam goes up against the bond beam (coping) and the decking is poured right up to it....at this point, it functions like a normal expansion joint.

Then, when the deck is cured, the top 1/2 inch of the polyfoam is lifted out (it's perfed 1/2" from the top) and it leaves a 1/2" by 1/2" trough to put the sealer in. I have not seen it used much in pool construction but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

Polyurethane caulk, while a real PITA to work with, makes a beautiful seal and remains flexible for years and years....I wouldn't use anything else. The brand I've used is "Vulkem 911" for about 4-5 bucks a tube...it really makes a far better joint than silicone or acrylic.
 
That polyfoam sounds like what I need. Any idea where to get it? I'm not sure what a concrete materials company is???

I've located a couple different types of caulking used for this joint and another item called "backing rod" for backfilling the joint. I just didn't know what exactly to back up the coping with for the concrete deck pour.
 
look in the yellow pages for concrete supplies. If you use this perfed polyfoam, you don't need backer rod....backer rod is if you don't have anything to fill the gap.

I just didn't know what exactly to back up the coping with for the concrete deck pour.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what you mean. I'm saying this polyfoam expansion joint material will serve that purpose.
 
Belldiver,
Home Depot has this polyfoam stuff you're looking for. It's back in the concrete section. They actually call it expansion joint, but it looks to work just like what you're talking about and Duraleigh describes.

Not to highjack, but you're kind of making me nervous now..... My PB didn't put any type of expansion joint or caulking in between the brick coping and the decking....



Can you or someone chime in here and tell me if I'm in trouble down the road??? At this point, nothing would not surprise me.

Karen
 
I'm certainly no expert on pools (yet), but have worked around construction of various types most of my life. I travelled around town and looked real close at a bunch of pools. I saw pools done both ways, with and without the joint. I only saw problems with one of the pools that did not have the expansion joint, but I don't think it was due to that, I think the decking was too thin where it overlapped the back of the exposed bond beam and it cracked about 2 inches from the coping all the way around the pool. I don't think the lack of expansion joint was the cause of that though.

Where I do think it would make a difference is if your pool deck is going to be exposed to movement, like up north with frost heave or where you might have a fair amount of settling under your deck due to compaction of the soil. You might end up with the decking pushing on the coping (frost heaves) or pulling away (compaction).

...and Duraleigh, I'll check out the polyfoam, I think that's what I need. Thanks...

Jim
 
duraleigh said:
Well, I have seen a product that I believe would work well. It's a 3" or 4" roll of 1/2 inch thick polyfoam....available at concrete materials companies. The polyfoam goes up against the bond beam (coping) and the decking is poured right up to it....at this point, it functions like a normal expansion joint.

Then, when the deck is cured, the top 1/2 inch of the polyfoam is lifted out (it's perfed 1/2" from the top) and it leaves a 1/2" by 1/2" trough to put the sealer in. I have not seen it used much in pool construction but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what they did on my pool. They poured the mastic in the gap after removing the polyfoam and sprinkled a fine sand on top for a nice finish-out.
 

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caulk

duraleigh,
we also have to caulk around the pool...can you tell me whether the Vulkem 911 is better to use or the Vulkem 45 SSL. When I did a search on pool caulk the 45 SSL came up. Also where can this be purchased, do the big box/wholesale chains have it? and if we also need the foam backer rod where can this be found?

thanks,
Chris

40yr old IG 20 x 40 gunite
 
Chris,

I found a concrete supply store here in Raleigh and they carried the backer Rod as well as the caulk. It was the only caulk they carried so I'm not sure if the other is suitable for your purposes.

Home Depot has backer rod in many stores and, as long as the caulk is polyurethane, it will probably do fine....this stuff just worked exceptionally well (although you must be careful with it or you'll make a mess).
 
txborn said:
duraleigh said:
Well, I have seen a product that I believe would work well. It's a 3" or 4" roll of 1/2 inch thick polyfoam....available at concrete materials companies. The polyfoam goes up against the bond beam (coping) and the decking is poured right up to it....at this point, it functions like a normal expansion joint.

Then, when the deck is cured, the top 1/2 inch of the polyfoam is lifted out (it's perfed 1/2" from the top) and it leaves a 1/2" by 1/2" trough to put the sealer in. I have not seen it used much in pool construction but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what they did on my pool. They poured the mastic in the gap after removing the polyfoam and sprinkled a fine sand on top for a nice finish-out.
Click to expand...

Ditto here. Did Hobert do your pool? They did ours and I see we're both in DFW. They also installed that same joint detail between the existing patio/ sidewalk and the new decking.

As a sidebar, I don't know why they call the joint filler material "mastic" in the pool industry. In the construction industry mastic is an adhesive used for things like glueing mirror to walls. Expansion joint filler is called "sealant".
 
Digging out old caulk and found the carpet cutting tool with hooked blade worked better a box cutter, but still hard work. Someone recommended an electric multitool cutter. Several type blades, but the semi-circle with diamond dust works great. Now comes time to refill. Sand has been recommended the caulk. Most say self-leveling works the best, but what happens to the section the the deck has risen over an inch above pool? I heard of a powder but not had any feed back. Any suggestions?
 
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