Leak repair - pebbletec and gunnite

WisCal · Jul 19, 2015

American leak detection just discovered three leaks in my spa. They are all hairline cracks ranging between 6 inches to 12 inches running horizontally about an inch below the lip of the seat. It's a Gunite pool with pebble Tec and I'm wondering if I use a repair epoxy (a plus b putty) will it permeate deep enough through the pebble tec to seal the underlying leak in the gunnite shell. What I want to avoid is paying ALD $1200 which they quoted me. They mentioned a more liquid repair material which would be sucked through the entirety of the leak and seal it throughout.

What at should I do?

pooldv · Jul 19, 2015

My pool got a crack in the pebble sheen and leaked within 2 months of being built. PB used black epoxy or something like it and it has been fine ever since. And I added a micro-irrigation system around my pool to keep soil moisture even year round and solved my cracking problem also.

gwegan · Jul 20, 2015

Welcome to TFP!!!!

How old is your pool? I haven't seen pictures and have not seen your pool. But you might call your Pool Builder and make a warranty claim. That sounds like the PB used gunite rebound to finish the steps in the spa. I can't tell that but your description of the location is suspicious. It never hurts to make the warranty claim.

My next suggestion would be to find out what the warranty is on the ALD work-- If its a reasonable warranty and they give you assurances that the work will match the pebbletec then I might go for it. If they can fix it and give you reasonable assurances it will have some life to it I would probably go for that. Otherwise its difficult to repair leaks without cleaning the cracks and cementing then attempting to match the plaster.

WisCal · Jul 20, 2015

pooldv said:
My pool got a crack in the pebble sheen and leaked within 2 months of being built. PB used black epoxy or something like it and it has been fine ever since. And I added a micro-irrigation system around my pool to keep soil moisture even year round and solved my cracking problem also.

Thanks POOLDV, Do you know if the epoxy was liquid or a putty substance?

WisCal · Jul 20, 2015

gwegan said:
Welcome to TFP!!!!

How old is your pool? I haven't seen pictures and have not seen your pool. But you might call your Pool Builder and make a warranty claim. That sounds like the PB used gunite rebound to finish the steps in the spa. I can't tell that but your description of the location is suspicious. It never hurts to make the warranty claim.

My next suggestion would be to find out what the warranty is on the ALD work-- If its a reasonable warranty and they give you assurances that the work will match the pebbletec then I might go for it. If they can fix it and give you reasonable assurances it will have some life to it I would probably go for that. Otherwise its difficult to repair leaks without cleaning the cracks and cementing then attempting to match the plaster.

The pool is roughly 10 years old. We moved in last year and are inheriting some hardware and pool issues. To be expected I guess.

I've attached some pictures to get an idea of the cracks and to show the pool as a whole. Looking at the image where A, B, and C are labeled in the spa the cracks are all right under the lip of the seat. The arrow for C is actually pointing to the right spot.

Unfortunately the warranty is no longer in place. I agree that the warranty that may come with the ALD fix is a huge perk but I'd still like to approach this as a DIY in an effort to save a ton of money. If I have to do it several times during the life of what would be the warranty I still think I'd come out way ahead. Any DIY advice?

CRACK A

CRACK B

- - - Updated - - -

There are a few of these white lines in the spa as well running along the horizontal part of the seat. Do these look like repairs or part of the original build?

-Matt

gwegan · Jul 21, 2015

We are a bit beyond me here-- those clearly go to gunite-- I would be afraid of making them worse and having a chunk come off.

This is the best (in my view) Thread on here re pool crack repair: DIY Pool restoration project Its not the same as yours but he shows you what he used and talks about what worked. And he uses epoxy! So go look at thread for the ultimate DIY crack repair!

WisCal · Jul 22, 2015

gwegan said:
We are a bit beyond me here-- those clearly go to gunite-- I would be afraid of making them worse and having a chunk come off.

This is the best (in my view) Thread on here re pool crack repair: DIY Pool restoration project Its not the same as yours but he shows you what he used and talks about what worked. And he uses epoxy! So go look at thread for the ultimate DIY crack repair!

Thanks for your insight!