Pool side concrete repair

[kemo sabe]

I just purchased this house with pool 2.5 years ago. Pool is average size with Diamond Brite in good condition, except for some staining discoloration, and water line tile is in good condition. My problem is above the tile. It appears at sometime, the pool was resurfaced, then recently, the pool deck was raised from concrete surface to 2" thick pavers. So, to deal with the 2" height increase the contractor just added a 2" strip of concrete above the waterline tiles, then added the 2" radius edge paver around perimeter of pool. Now that 2" concrete fill has cracked around most of the pool. My plan is to cut out the cracked 2" void of concrete with a grinder carefully, as to not damage the tile directly below it and refill with concrete again. Maybe, adding a 2" tile if I can find something that matches waterline tile. Question is, what would the correct product to use. I would want it to match the existing color of tile grout. Or does anyone recommend a different fix?
And, if you can see in last picture, the pool has been resurfaced once in the past. You can see the top of the old tile under the new tile where the concrete has chipped off.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Your pool lacks an expansion joint between the coping sitting on the bond beam and the deck. The pool and the deck are separate structures that need to move independently. Those cracks were caused by the movement of the pool and the deck. If you dont put in an expansion joint around the pool any repair will crack again.

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

The coping detached itself from the bond beam at the cracks and created cantilevered coping to allow movement.

 

[Bperry]

I just purchased this house with pool 2.5 years ago. Pool is average size with Diamond Brite in good condition, except for some staining discoloration, and water line tile is in good condition. My problem is above the tile. It appears at sometime, the pool was resurfaced, then recently, the pool deck was raised from concrete surface to 2" thick pavers. So, to deal with the 2" height increase the contractor just added a 2" strip of concrete above the waterline tiles, then added the 2" radius edge paver around perimeter of pool. Now that 2" concrete fill has cracked around most of the pool. My plan is to cut out the cracked 2" void of concrete with a grinder carefully, as to not damage the tile directly below it and refill with concrete again. Maybe, adding a 2" tile if I can find something that matches waterline tile. Question is, what would the correct product to use. I would want it to match the existing color of tile grout. Or does anyone recommend a different fix?
And, if you can see in last picture, the pool has been resurfaced once in the past. You can see the top of the old tile under the new tile where the concrete has chipped off.

You have a couple problems:
1. You have no expansion joint between the coping stones and the rest of the deck. As the decking pavers expand and contract they add pressure to the coping and cause cracks like you see.

2. The concrete that’s cracked and falling off should not be concrete. It should be grout and is made to fill joints ~1/4” wide, not 2”. Not sure of what to do there.

But concrete decks are usually 3-4” thick, I’m curious why the deck addition is only 2” extra?

 

[kemo sabe]

Welcome to TFP.

Your pool lacks an expansion joint between the coping sitting on the bond beam and the deck. The pool and the deck are separate structures that need to move independently. Those cracks were caused by the movement of the pool and the deck. If you dont put in an expansion joint around the pool any repair will crack again.

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

The coping detached itself from the bond beam at the cracks and created cantilevered coping to allow movement.

Thank you for responding. I have added more photos after removing some of the pavers to give a better view of my current application. I am currently doing my own research, but am open to suggestionsto point me in the right direction, rather than wasting time researching stuff that does not apply. So, If i were to cut all the pavers a 1/2" back from the coping(as indicated by photo with blue tape) that would be sufficient for an expansion gap? what would be recommended to fill the expansion gap?

 

[kemo sabe]

Thank you for responding. I have added more photos after removing some of the pavers to give a better view of my current application. I am currently doing my own research, but am open to suggestionsto point me in the right direction, rather than wasting time researching stuff that does not apply. So, If i were to cut all the pavers a 1/2" back from the coping(as indicated by photo with blue tape) that would be sufficient for an expansion gap? what would be recommended to fill the expansion gap?

 

[kemo sabe]

View attachment 543364View attachment 543365View attachment 543366View attachment 543367View attachment 543368View attachment 543369View attachment 543370View attachment 543371View attachment 543372View attachment 543373

You have a couple problems:
1. You have no expansion joint between the coping stones and the rest of the deck. As the decking pavers expand and contract they add pressure to the coping and cause cracks like you see.

2. The concrete that’s cracked and falling off should not be concrete. It should be grout and is made to fill joints ~1/4” wide, not 2”. Not sure of what to do there.

But concrete decks are usually 3-4” thick, I’m curious why the deck addition is only 2” extra?

Thanks for responding. please see additional photos posted.

 

[kemo sabe]

I just purchased this house with pool 2.5 years ago. Pool is average size with Diamond Brite in good condition, except for some staining discoloration, and water line tile is in good condition. My problem is above the tile. It appears at sometime, the pool was resurfaced, then recently, the pool deck was raised from concrete surface to 2" thick pavers. So, to deal with the 2" height increase the contractor just added a 2" strip of concrete above the waterline tiles, then added the 2" radius edge paver around perimeter of pool. Now that 2" concrete fill has cracked around most of the pool. My plan is to cut out the cracked 2" void of concrete with a grinder carefully, as to not damage the tile directly below it and refill with concrete again. Maybe, adding a 2" tile if I can find something that matches waterline tile. Question is, what would the correct product to use. I would want it to match the existing color of tile grout. Or does anyone recommend a different fix?
And, if you can see in last picture, the pool has been resurfaced once in the past. You can see the top of the old tile under the new tile where the concrete has chipped off.

 

[Bperry]

You generally fill the gap with a foam backer rod and then cap it off with a flexible sealant like sikaflex.

Is there a layer of concrete below the pavers? If so, there needs to be a flexible expansion joint between that and the pool shell as well, otherwise you run into the same problem.

 

[ajw22]

Your coping bricks are too short and don't fully cover the bond beam.

In the pic below I put a red box over the part of the bond beam the pavers do not cover.

None of the deck pavers can touch or sit on the bond beam. The expansion joint needs to begin at the edge of the bond beam which is and inch or two from the edge of the coping bricks. That is too wide for just an expansion joint.

You would need to cut some bricks to fill the space and fit on the bond beam before the expansion joint.

You can see the edge of the bond beam well in the second picture and the natural joint at the edge of the bond beam that the expansion joint should align with.

 

[Bperry]

Your coping bricks are too short and don't fully cover the bond beam.

In the pic below I put a red box over the part of the bond beam the pavers do not cover.

None of the deck pavers can touch or sit on the bond beam. The expansion joint needs to begin at the edge of the bond beam which is and inch or two from the edge of the coping bricks. That is too wide for just an expansion joint.

You would need to cut some bricks to fill the space and fit on the bond beam before the expansion joint.

You can see the edge of the bond beam well in the second picture and the natural joint at the edge of the bond beam that the expansion joint should align with.

View attachment 543462

Are you sure that’s exposed bond beam and not older coping stones on top of the bond beam? I can see air under that thin layer. I’m wondering if the pavers are a renovation added on top of previous work.

 

[ajw22]

Are you sure that’s exposed bond beam and not older coping stones on top of the bond beam? I can see air under that thin layer. I’m wondering if the pavers are a renovation added on top of previous work.

Even if they are older coping stones on top of the bond beam the expansion joint needs to be past it. You do not want the deck touching the bond beam or it’s stones at any point.

Some bricks should be lifted off the bond beam by the crack to see what is going on with the bond beam and what the buildup is on top.

 

[MAPR-Austin]

The material protruding from under the coping bricks looks to be the backside of the mortar pour they did to raise the beam when going from 4" coping to 2" coping. I think it is hitting the concrete sub base under the sand base that the pavers are set on. With the pavers being set on sand I have a hard time seeing them put enough pressure on the coping pavers to cracks the mortar, but it is possible.

I think trimming that mortar back and seeing what is going on would help. Might need to trim that back all around the pool to keep it from continuing.

The mortar has already broken and come loose by the looks of it. Any real fix is going to involve replacing that mortar completely.

I think a full fix would be stripping the coping and finding a 4" stone to replace the 2" coping, as well as making sure there is a good expansion joint in place.

You might be able to patch up the mortar under the face of the coping, then use a 4" grinder to cut a (deep) joint above the tile. Then put sealant in the joint in an effort to isolate all of the movement into that joint and keep the mortar from cracking up.