New Owner of an Old Pool - Coping, Deck and Plaster issues

[jami20]

Hi All,

I'm new to the boards and just posted my first post about my water a few minutes ago. Now I'm seeking advice on what I should do in regards to starting planning for renovation of the old pool in the fall.

Here's a little background. My wife and I just purchased and moved into a Mid Century Modern home that was built back in 1955. The house came with a pool that was built in 1989 and hasn't had really any work done to it since then... kind of like the house itself. The plaster/gunite is in terrible shape and is soft and is breaking away from the floor and wall in many spots. The tile around the pool is falling off in many places. And the places where it isn't falling off most of it could be pulled off fairly easily if I wanted too. Both of those seem to be fairly standard issues for older pools that haven't been shown much care.

The biggest issue I see right now though is that the concrete decking around the pool comes right up to the ledge and there is no other coping. This is created a pretty big issue with concrete movement since there is no true coping and expansion joint that separate most pools from the deck. The decking can easily move and cause problems with the tile. Not to mention that it has caused the skimmers to become cracked. (I tried to deal with the skimmer cracking today by filling a really large crack with epoxy putty.)

Since I'm also renovating the house most of my funds are going into that project for the first year. I'm guessing that the best solution to all of this is to take out all the decking and then pour new decking but this time do it correctly with an expansion joint and coping around the pool. However, I'm not sure if I'll have the funds to tackle that project just yet. Do you think it would be possible to cut away some of the concrete around the edge of the pool in order to make space for installing proper coping and an expansion joint, as well as replacing the old skimmers? Or is that a poor fix that might not really be worth it, or even not that much of a cost saver?

I know that I need to have the pool re-finished and re-tiled But until the issue with the deck and coping is handled I really can't/shouldn't do anything else. So I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle this semi-affordably

Here are some photos.

 

[MommaJ]

I really am no help since we are in the process of building our first pool But, your yard looks beautiful and your pool has lots of potential! Hope you get some help. You came to the right place!

 

[AmyJo]

Beautiful setting for a pool! Love the shape and look. Your decking has an integrated coping. Not sure that's the exact term and I am by no means an expert (still learning myself), but I'm pretty sure you have an expansion joint under the decking/coping and the shell. It's not incorrect, but just another way of building. The white plastic strip looks just like what we have above the tile in our pool in our "expansion joint" - which is also topped by integrated coping. Maybe you're in better shape than you think? I think the integrated coping gives a very mid-century modern look to your pool. I like it very much! Google photos of Palm Springs houses and pools. Good luck with all of your renovations - and welcome! [emoji4]