Cracked Coping / Patio - First Time Opening

[bbdude]

+++Updated on June 27 Cracked Coping / Patio - First Time Opening +++

Hi All - Hope you're well and had a nice weekend! Pool company is opening the pool this morning for the first time (was built in August 2022). Coping is cracked pretty significantly near the shallow end skimmer. Pool water was below the coping when they took off the cover. Hard to tell but the cracks are deep and most of the concrete will fall out if touched.

What should I ask the pool company to do? I know they should fix it, but what do most recommend and what works? Most my experience with concrete repairs has not been pleasant and this is a new and expensive pool so really disappointing. Thanks in advance!

 

[Bperry]

Hi All - Hope you're well and had a nice weekend! Pool company is opening the pool this morning for the first time (was built in August 2022). Coping is cracked pretty significantly near the shallow end skimmer. Pool water was below the coping when they took off the cover. Hard to tell but the cracks are deep and most of the concrete will fall out if touched.

What should I ask the pool company to do? I know they should fix it, but what do most recommend and what works? Most my experience with concrete repairs has not been pleasant and this is a new and expensive pool so really disappointing. Thanks in advance!

View attachment 489638

Why is the water so high? It needs to be lowered as water will seep under the coping and erode the soil away. That may be why the coping is cracked. Is the coping bonded to the pool shell or a cantilever style?

 

[bbdude]

Why is the water so high? It needs to be lowered as water will seep under the coping and erode the soil away. That may be why the coping is cracked. Is the coping bonded to the pool shell or a cantilever style?

Thank you, @Bperry . Pool company had been preemptively adding water because they plan to vacuum out quite a bit vacuuming the pool. When they took off the cover I'd say the water level was about 1/4 to 1/2 up the tile. Guessing they should have drained more of the water out in the fall closing? We have had a lot of rain the last several weeks.

It's cantilever style.

 

[Bperry]

Thank you, @Bperry . Pool company had been preemptively adding water because they plan to vacuum out quite a bit vacuuming the pool. When they took off the cover I'd say the water level was about 1/4 to 1/2 up the tile. Guessing they should have drained more of the water out in the fall closing? We have had a lot of rain the last several weeks.

It's cantilever style.

If it’s cantilever then there should be a flexible joint between the coping and top of the tile (that may be what the plastic strip is?) The decking should be able to move independently of the pool shell. It looks like the skimmer area may be stuck to the decking and movement over winter May have caused the crack, but that’s just internet guessing without actually seeing it or how it was constructed.

They should not allow the water to get that high for any reason. It should be well below the skimmer all winter and they should vacuum it out with a portable vacuum.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Is the concerned area directly over the skimmer mouth?

 

[bbdude]

If it’s cantilever then there should be a flexible joint between the coping and top of the tile (that may be what the plastic strip is?) The decking should be able to move independently of the pool shell. It looks like the skimmer area may be stuck to the decking and movement over winter May have caused the crack, but that’s just internet guessing without actually seeing it or how it was constructed.

They should not allow the water to get that high for any reason. It should be well below the skimmer all winter and they should vacuum it out with a portable vacuum.

Found some more pics of the build so you can see for yourself. Noted to make them drain out more water during this year's closing. They did use a portable vacuum today.

 

[bbdude]

Is the concerned area directly over the skimmer mouth?

Seems to be on both side of the mouth. Right where the concrete starts going in from the pool edge.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Possibly a support issue with the coping over the skimmer mouth.
Does that saw cut in the coping continue to the horizontal deck work?

 

[bbdude]

Possibly a support issue with the coping over the skimmer mouth.
Does that saw cut in the coping continue to the horizontal deck work?

What I "think" happened is there were a few areas during the build where concrete came off when they removed the braces. They then patched a few spots with concrete. Perhaps the difference between the poured concrete and the patches cause integrity issues. I have no idea if this was one of these patch spots or not.

Saw cut does continue on down the patio surface. Whether it works or not I have no idea . There are no cracks in any of the patio surface and I have almost 2k sqft of the stuff haha.

 

[bbdude]

Curious if @AQUA~HOLICS or @Bperry or anyone else has input on how to best remediate this? From what I can tell, seems most use some type of acrylic additive and mold / brush it to cover / seal the crack?

 

[Bperry]

Curious if @AQUA~HOLICS or @Bperry or anyone else has input on how to best remediate this? From what I can tell, seems most use some type of acrylic additive and mold / brush it to cover / seal the crack?

I don’t. If it was damaged and then patched then you can maybe patch it back up. But if something else caused it, that’s beyond my skill set.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

To permanently correct the cracking the coping needs to be replaced with new concrete that’s not compromised.
An epoxy is a short term patch, I feel the coping over the skimmer is compromised in strength and the saw cut over the skimmer mouth is adding to the weakness.

 

[bbdude]

To permanently correct the cracking the coping needs to be replaced with new concrete that’s not compromised.
An epoxy is a short term patch, I feel the coping over the skimmer is compromised in strength and the saw cut over the skimmer mouth is adding to the weakness.

Thanks for the input, @AQUA~HOLICS . It is curious why they decided to perform the saw cut over the skimmer mouth where there is so little support due to their cantilever style of building.

 

[Bperry]

Thanks for the input, @AQUA~HOLICS . It is curious why they decided to perform the saw cut over the skimmer mouth where there is so little support due to their cantilever style of building.

It’s odd that my deck is cracked just like the saw cut on yours. I repaired it and embedded a rebar across it to try and prevent it from cracking again. Maybe it’s a common failure so they put the cut there to avoid an ugly crack?

 

[bbdude]

ck is cracked just like the saw cut on yours. I repaired it and embedded a rebar across it to try and prevent it from cracking again. Maybe it’s a common failure so they put the cut there to avoid an ugly crack?

Did you use quickrete to repair after putting the rebar? Interestinly, my other skimmer doesn't have a crack, but also doesn't have a cut.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

For setting rebar inside of drilled holes inspectors require an epoxy to be used.

 

[Bperry]

Did you use quickrete to repair after putting the rebar? Interestinly, my other skimmer doesn't have a crack, but also doesn't have a cut.

Yes, but you don’t want to do what I did. My deck was trashed.

 

[bbdude]

Hi All - Pool builder asked for a few weeks since they’re busy opening pools. This has give me time to more closely examine the coping/patio.

Is this type of cracking expected on a concrete patio that’s less than a year old? I know concrete is imperfect but this seems significant.

It also seems like the edge had some weird pitting. Edge is totally dry and the dark spots persist. Is this to be expected or a defect? If a defect, could this contribute to the cracks we’re seeing?

Also seems that the water is leaving stains on the patio, which I don't understand. You can see spots and some areas are blotchy, maybe because kids are sitting there often?

We saw another pool by these builders last week and it didn't have the issues above.

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[bbdude]

Hi All - Forgot to update this thread. Pool builder attempted a quikrete / epoxy remediation in August 2023. Looked fine, but separated from the deck over the winter. Now it looks like trash again. I've had several concrete guys out and they all say the only way to fix it is pull out these sections and have it repoured.

I'm guessing my builder won't repour and will probably try to settle with me. $40k or so worth of concrete and this is what I'm left with. Very frustrating.

 

[bbdude]

Hi All - Pool builder removed the quikrete and applied an epoxy remediation. Unfortunately, since most of the damage is on the cantilevered edge, epoxy began sagging as it cured so now it's uneven. Guessing builder will now have to sand down the epoxy. It will be a mess.

Wondering if anyone has ever replaced their cantilevered edge with coping tiles? In hindsight, I wish I had done this.