Cracking / broken cement

[x2rider]

The extended 100+ degree weather here is taking toll on the clay soil in our area, I had to start a soaker hose around the house, and the cracks in the concrete around the pool ate getting bigger in some places. One is pretty bad, we just had a 12 x 20+ concrete "lay in the sun" pad portion near the shallow end replaced.

From what I understand, this is a lot of work since the coping is actually in the concrete?

 

[JamesW]

It might not be so bad. You could use a concrete saw to cut out the cracks and fill them in with new concrete.

 

[x2rider]

But Wait! There's MORE! haha

The crack on the right (above) didn't open up until this year.. i mean, it was there but for 2 years it was the same.

 

[x2rider]

corners and skimmer...

 

[JamesW]

I know that it looks bad. However, I think that if you just use a diamond saw blade to cut the cracks out and then fill them in with a sand mix concrete, it won't be so bad. You could use a deck paint to give the deck one consistent color and look.

Just draw straight lines along the cracks and cut on the lines. You can rent a diamond blade concrete saw from a rental place. If there is any part of a crack that is unlevel, and might present a trip hazard, you should cut back a little bit to create a smooth transition.

For the smaller cracks, you could use sanded tile grout or mortar to fill in the cracks and then paint the deck to get a good overall look.

Tape some plastic up as a barrier to prevent concrete dust and chips from getting into the pool.

 

[x2rider]

On the corner that has separated and seems to be floating away, and not level with the adjoining peice, would it make sense to have that whole corner replaced?

I just had the sundeck portion and another slab behind my house redone, and there was no reinforcement in the concrete. I have a good cement guy.

 

[Poolsean]

How old is your pool? There's a possibility that your ground is not compacted well enough. There's also a possibility of a leak in your pool, in that area, eroding the soil below that part of the deck.
You may want to check with your builder, to see if this is a covered warranty item.

 

[JamesW]

On the corner that has separated and seems to be floating away, and not level with the adjoining peice, would it make sense to have that whole corner replaced?

Yes, if it is substantially unlevel, then removing and repouring the section might be the best way to go. Cut straight lines and remove the bad section. I think that I would avoid trying to remove the concrete from the coping as that might end up causing more problems unless you think that it will come out easily.

Poolsean make a good point, is there any reason to suspect a leak?

 

[x2rider]

I'm not sure how old the pool is, but it has been here a looong time. When we moved in, the liner was faded bad and both corners of the shallow end had holes at the top.
This pool, and another pool up the block from us were put in at the same time, and not by a builder, but by the owners.
The house was built in 74, and the pool was either put in shortly after, or early 80's.

The sundeck next to this piece was really bad cracked (which you can see in the picture), which we had replaced this year, and there was no rebar in it.
We moved in Nov 08, and put a new liner in spring 09.

The guy that installed the liner thought we would get maybe anther 10 years out of her before it would have to be redone, or filled in.

 

[x2rider]

new liner