Cracks in new concrete deck

[xjrules14]

On our remodel project, we had a contractor completely remove the old and pour a new concrete deck, followed by Preferred Deck coating. The deck was poured on April 5. A few weeks ago I noticed a small crack going from the skimmer to the edge of the pool, and from the skimmer to the next expansion line (see image below). In your opinion, is this a concern or acceptable for a brand new deck? The crack was there before the application of the coating. I'm a little worried because applying the coating did cover it up initially, but it is now visible again. This is in Albuquerque, NM.

Thanks!

 

[bobby1017]

Ive been told concrete will crack somewhere. I know when they poured mine they said it will ALWAYS crack at the skimmer so they sawed a crack joint in line with both of mine.

 

[mrnick0483]

Just my opinion .... concrete will only crack if there is movement, either the soil underneath was not compact enough and or rebar/wire mesh was not used. I had 9 yards of concrete poured for my driveway with rebar in a two foot grid all the way through it and i have not had a crack in it after 4 years. I would call the contractor back for a repair, once it starts cracking... it wont stop.

 

[geomarq]

My concrete deck is 3 months old now and no cracks. I even cut expansion joints in a week later, none during the pour. The winter freeze&thaw may change that, but it's a good sign it was done correctly. But, even small cracks like that can happen to the best of contractors and conditions during the pour. Don't sweat it.

 

[Lershac]

Rule of thumb around here is if you can't stick the edge of a penny in it, it's cosmetic and not structural. But to me cosmetic is what a pool is all about!

 

[ConcreteJack]

There are three guarantees of concrete; it cracks, it gets hard, and it's tough to steal. It's not unusual to get cracks around skimmers as they are a weak point in the slab. Particularly with a decorative coating, it is phenomenally hard to repair cracks and have any aesthetic improvement; definitely no fun that it cracked, but not really anything that can be done. From my experience doing concrete pool deck repair, the best placement for control joints (the scores or cuts made in the concrete) are perpendicular with the pool wall through the center of the skimmer, as that's where they're most likely to crack. Your control joints are at a weird angle to the skimmer, which though probably part of some larger geometric scheme mostly likely set you up for this problem no matter what.

Pool decks aren't structural, so the only problem with cracks is if they become safety hazards (tripping, get a toe or finger stuck in them) or if they allow significant amounts of water through them.

 

[Nightmare]

My guys put relief joint at 3 places around the skimmers.

Both Skimmers have cracks on one of the side joints. The skimmer in the photo has a crack in the concrete right next to it too.

 

[xjrules14]

Thanks all for the responses. The contractor is coming back to cut joints like in the picture above.

 

[Nightmare]

Mine are not "Cut", they were put into the concrete with a "Groove" tool while it was still wet.

I like the look of the saw cut joints over what I have. The problem with the saw cut is that you risk an uncontrolled crack while you wait for the concrete to setup for the cutting.

My decking was installed in the middle of February, I just walked the yard and I have a total of 4 cracks. All of them are in the relief joints and they are also all running in the same direction (between the pool and the house).