Seeking advice on IG venyl reno

[John Rock]

Hi,

I leave in Montreal Canada and I think that the last few winters have been reaking havoc on IG pool concrete sidewalk. I also suspect that the at diving board end of the pool, where the yard then slopes down at about 45 degrees, the earth has settled at some point causing that part of the sidewalk to "snap". I'm at at point where I'm wondering if the current damage to the pool needs to be repaired ASAP to avoid even more expenses, or if it's a "not so bad" situation that can be fixed easily. When I bought the house, the return close to the stairs wasn't working (cracked) and the vinyl is over 10 years old, so I was wondering if the moment was getting close where all these things should be fixed at the same time. Finally, I'm planning to build a 16x10 garden shed at the diving end and was wondering if one job or the other should be done before the other. Because of the expenses, I would have like pushing off the pool fixes for ever...

One thing is for sure, I can't imagine I would be having this problem if my decking was made out of the tiling instead of concrete right? I'm mean, these things are made to crack and break down it seems...

Here are pictures to help assess the damage

The pool

Small crack on right corner, stair side

Overall damage on the diving end. Garden shed would be being fence, with helical pile foundation

Zoom on the worst crack that has warped that corner of the pool

Zoom in the crack, a lot of space down there

Shot of opposite corner, pool still intact it seems

Some cracking around the skimmer

 

[JasonLion]

It seems like you could put that off for another while if you really want to, though probably not more than a year or two. The coping is failing in one corner, which will get worse over time. However, the weight of the water will tend to hold things in place and the failure process is likely to be slow.

The pool frame and the deck are mostly independent of each other. The largest danger is that the dirt will start washing away under that crack. If too much dirt washes out there won't be anything to support the pool frame. I doubt that the shed and the pool will interact much at all, aside from some very small savings by having any required concrete poured at the same time if you do them at once.

Replacing the coping & liner and repairing the deck should be done at the same time.

 

[reindeerboy]

I had some cracks as well, but not that big. I used conrete silcone to allow it to flex. Once I caulked the cracks, I used a light brush to blend it in, and then let it dry. Once that was done, I went and purchased some valspar nonskid patio paint and painted the patio. It totally did the trick and now the water just washes away without getting in those cracks.

Thats the main thing. If you can get it so that the water doesnt get into those cracks, then you should be able to delay the repair if that is what you are after. If you so wish, I can take a couple pics of mine to add if that makes any difference in your decision.

Good luck.

 

[John Rock]

Thanks for the feedback so far! So fromt the feedback I'm assuming that this is not a repair that needs to be done immediately, which suits me just fine since I can't redo everything at once. Here's what I wondering now :

- What makes the corner buckle like that and how is the copping attached?
- Is trying to put back in place the whole concrete slab on option?
- When will I know that action must be taken before the pool structure gets damaged and incurs new costs?
- Since the crack is not only wide but uneven (on side as lifted a lot), I don't think caulk could be used. Should I fill the crack with sand or self leveling ciment? (is it normal to have void space under the concrete?)
- The day the repair comes, would you go with paver/tiles instead of redoing in concrete? Seems like pavers/tiles is more of a DIY and would allow future access if pipes break.

I would appreaciate those photos reindeerboy!

BTW, these pictures were taken this morning... it snowed last night!

 

[reindeerboy]

The cracks you see now are obviously not bad; however, when we first moved in, the crackers were pretty bad. Not as serious as yours, but we first used sand as a sub base, then some self leveling cement, then calulk, and then the patio paint. It did take some time, but it tourned out good and now I dont have to do any major repairs as the water beads right off of the cement.

Your issue is a bit different. The bucking of the corner is a pretty big concern. A short term fix could be done as you have already described. What can it hurt at this point? The professionals on here who build pools will most likely give you a better idea than what I can offer, but this is how I solved my issue and it came out very good.

My only issue now is when I do plan to replace my liner, I plan to have the pool service cut into the cement and replace a metal return line. Its a really old pool and one was replaced before we moved in and I wish they would have done the other as we only have 2 return lines and 1 skimmer, which is fine. Something I plan to save up for in the next 5 years so the cost is not such a shock to the pocketbook!

Good luck my friend! I did see the snow that missed us yesterday and we just got rain. It is April and we are way ahead of schedule compared to the past 3 years as last year we had a 14 inch snow storn on 4/15/2011 so this year is starting off GREAT! I am a full month ahead of opening the pool this year compared to 2011 year! Yea Ha!

Cheers my pool friend!

 

[John Rock]

That's a pretty clean job! I think I should do this at least for my smaller cracks. Why did you use self leveling cement and then caulk? Was it to leave a small recess that was easier filled with caulk? I repaired a vertical crack a few year a ago and to get a smooth finish, I screwed a flat piece of wood over the crack and then poored liquid cement from the top until the crack was "full". Did a very nice job that I smoothed out with a grinder. Perhaps a similar technique could be used here?

For my bigger crack, I wonder if removing the loose pieces of concrete will help pop the copping back in place. Still don't understand how that thing is attached all around the pool

 

[cybernation]

i have a very similar crack in the concrete as well. Please let me know what you did to repair it.

thanks

 

[reindeerboy]

John, The self leveling was a very liquid substance. I used that as a base to fill in all the cracks as it moves around on its own. Then I finished with regular cement caulk and then painted it with the valspar paint no slip paint. It has sand in it and works awesome for the kids not slipping and busting their skull open.

Sorry for the late response. Been kind of a busy year with work.

Hope this helps and good luck. Please post updated pics as to what you ended up doing.

 

[John Rock]

Well, I'm finally redoing the pool! The cracks got worse and worse, beyond fixing, so I waited as much as I could. This time, gravel is being added before the concrete, and I installed 5 heavy duty helical piles 7 feet deep, where the yard goes downhill, to support the decking if the base starts moving again. When cracks show up again, I'll be using the method described above to keep it under control!