Caulk between coping and deck?

[wbrady]

I had a gunite pool built last fall and the builder has told us we need to pull up the foam between the coping and deck and caulk it. I got a quote from the builder(funny how we need to do this , but it was not included in our building price) for $720 for 120 feet of caulk. I was wondering if anyone knows if that is a reasonable deal or not? Don't have anything to compare it to.
Thanks

 

[JasonLion]

The builder should have done that already or do it for free right now. I supose the contract might have been written to explicitly exclude the caulking, but even then if he didn't explain it to you and get your explicit agreement he would have a hard time justifying such an exclusion in court. Check the contract, if it isn't excleeded you have a very strong case that he has to do it.

You probably don't have much leverage with the builder at this point, if you can't convince them to do it for free, it isn't all that difficult of a do it yourself job (which would be much cheaper). If you want it done professionally I would look elsewhere for someone to do it instead of rewarding deceptive practices.

 

[SeanB]

Around here, mastic is almost always included in the build. What part of the country are you in?

Like Jason said, check the contract.

Sounds like they are just trying to squeeze you for something they should already have done.

I would mention that this would make the difference as to whether or not you would recommend them to anyone else looking for a builder and if that doesn't work, you should let them know you will file a complaint with the BBB. T

 

[wbrady]

I looked over the contract last night and could only find mention of an expansion joint would be installed between the coping and deck. I have the expansion joint with the foam in it. No mention of them filling it with caulk. I live on the east coast (Maryland). I have called 2 other pool companies in the area for a price quote, but have not received one yet. Once I find out if they are over charging me, I will call (or write a letter or email) with my complaints of why this is not included.

I hate to bash the builder to bad, overall they have done everything the said they would and done it on schedule making for a pretty pain free pool building experience. From what I've read on this board and others, I got off pretty easy. Thanks for the responses and I'll let you know what I find out.
Thanks

 

[divnkd101]

That verbage would be enough to request the PB finish the process. The foam is temporary while your deck is being installed. I believe Sean made mention of mastic. Here are a few shots of the finishing touches of the mastic to give you an idea. It is available in different colors.

 

[sammm]

Not to hi-jack the thread, but how hard would it be to DIY? What type/brand of mastic is used in this application? It doesn't appear to be too difficult if you know how to use a caulking gun.

 

[Hpdrifter]

Are you sure you need to caulk that? My contract says that if I hire someone else to do decking that they must "protect the pool shell, coping and tile by using a standard expansion joint of one-half by four inches of polysulfide or equalvant expansion joint material." I did hire someone else and I currently have some black foam like looking substance which I'm guessing is polysulfide. Do I need to remove this and caulk?

 

[wbrady]

Thanks for the pics. The way I understand it, is that the foam is temporary and should be replaced by caulk or mastic to prevent water from entering the expansion joint.

Still waiting for the other quotes.

 

[stevenbrla]

My pool builder did a few things real good... or at least paid someone to do a few things real good.... and installing the mastic was one of them.

I don't know what the rest of your deck looks like, but my coping is brick, with of course, mortar between the bricks. This guy poured the mastic in, and then then covered it with a gray sand which made the mastic look like mortar.

I would think this would look good with most all decking, especially if mortar was used anywhere else. Sorry now that I didn't write down the material that he used, but I found some of the sand he used... it was white, but somehow he turned it gray... magic?

I bet you could google "mastic mortar sand" and find his materials and method.

It is strange that the pb wouldn't do this for you... kinda like buying a car and having to install your own air filter.

of course, there was plenty of things that I expected my pb to do that seemed a stretch to him (like read the installation instructions to ANYTHING)

Good luck

 

[wbrady]

Called PB to complain about the caulk not being included and am still waiting to here from the PB president.

In the mean time I received a quote from another local PB. The guy who called me said he works for many of the PB in the area and when he mentioned some names, my PB was included. Then he told me the price. He wants $3 a foot for a total of $360. That is exactly half ($720) of what my PB wanted to charge me. Now I guess I can let the PB know that he was over charging my by just a little bit. I can see the PB wanting make little money but double, nothing like gouging the customer.

 

[Underwater Man]

My pool builder used a product called deck o seal. You can see the product here. www.deckoseal.com/788.htm I watched the guys put it down and it went quickly and smoothly. It's a two part mix that they applied from a squeeze bottle that had the tip cut to size. It's also self leveling, so it should be pretty easy for a do it yourself job. As another post stated, after application a thin layer of sand is applied to give it a mortar looking appearance. It needs about 24 hours to cure, but remains very elastic. Seems like a very good product. This is my first reply to a post, so the photo I am trying to include may not show up. If not, feel free to contact me and I can e-mail the photo.

Good Luck... and as most others are saying, this should have been included in the job.

 

[tagprod]

My pool builder did a few things real good... or at least paid someone to do a few things real good.... and installing the mastic was one of them.

I don't know what the rest of your deck looks like, but my coping is brick, with of course, mortar between the bricks. This guy poured the mastic in, and then then covered it with a gray sand which made the mastic look like mortar.

I would think this would look good with most all decking, especially if mortar was used anywhere else. Sorry now that I didn't write down the material that he used, but I found some of the sand he used... it was white, but somehow he turned it gray... magic?

I bet you could google "mastic mortar sand" and find his materials and method.

It is strange that the pb wouldn't do this for you... kinda like buying a car and having to install your own air filter.

of course, there was plenty of things that I expected my pb to do that seemed a stretch to him (like read the installation instructions to ANYTHING)

Good luck

How could this not be included in a pool bid? That's "dirty pool" in my book.

 

[irongaitsfarm]

I have had a hard knock lesson in pool construction. The white foam is disposable and should be filled in with a sealant. Don't use mortar! It will crack within days as I found out.

I called several builders after fighting with my own and they just sub-contract it out. I found the trick on price is to find the companies that are reputable and do quality mastic or Decoseal installations for the builders. Most have their own businesses.

I found on Google pretty easy. They quoted me 1.65 per foot, no tax or anything and that's what it was when all was said and done. Did a very nice job and billed me. Search: Mastic, Decoseal, Texas (or the city you are in).

That's my world in 60 seconds.

 

[chem geek]

Re:

My pool builder used a product called deck o seal. You can see the product here. http://www.deckoseal.com/788.htm I watched the guys put it down and it went quickly and smoothly. It's a two part mix that they applied from a squeeze bottle that had the tip cut to size. It's also self leveling, so it should be pretty easy for a do it yourself job. As another post stated, after application a thin layer of sand is applied to give it a mortar looking appearance. It needs about 24 hours to cure, but remains very elastic. Seems like a very good product. This is my first reply to a post, so the photo I am trying to include may not show up. If not, feel free to contact me and I can e-mail the photo.

Good Luck... and as most others are saying, this should have been included in the job.

I believe I also have this same product between the cement coping and the cement hardscape (simulated flagstone) in my pool. It stays elastic -- you can push it and it's like soft rubber or foam -- and it's lasted 6 years so far with no problems. It's holding up better than some of the grout between some cement sections.