Using roof tar - good idea?

[EH]

Hello all,


I am replacing an above ground 18' circulAr pool that was rusting away on the bottom.

I had read that when people are burying above ground pools (which i am NOT doing) they often coat the walls with roof tar to extend the pool life.

While my pool will be sitting on/at the ground level, i do wish to grade some dirt around the bottom edge so that rain and splashes run away from the pool. Also, i was considering coating the bottom rail (since it sits on the ground) and the wall (to about 4" up) with roof tar. Lastly, I was also planning to coat the wall's bottom edge and "fill" the bottom rail as much as possible with roof tar as well (to prevemt any water from pooling inside the rails themselves. The goal is to slow the oxidation/rust process as much as possible. (I do plan to put plastic against the wall for the grading as well, but not underneath the wall as that would just cause the water to pool under the wall instead on soaking into ground.

Has anyone else used roof tar in this manner? Is it a good idea or a bad idea?

Thanks.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I don't know about roofing tar but several people here have used spray-on bed liner or undercoating.

 

[DaneCE]

I do roofing work and I've used literally tons of roofing tar or "roof cement" in my life. It is intended to be used with any type of metal so it will be fine to use it in the way you describe. Just be sure to wear old clothes...that stuff will jump out of the can onto you.lol

Last spring I removed my old vinyl liner to discover 100 or more small rust holes near the base of the steel walls on my 15'x30' above ground. My fix involved cleaning the areas, then using high quality caulking (NP-1) to seal the holes(finger applied inside and outside of walls) after priming with spray paint.Then I painted the entire wall with Rust-oleum. After that I installed 26 guage galvanized(G90) around the entire pool walls but only up 2 feet. I then painted the galvanized and sealed the top edge to prevent any water from getting in between the 2 layers of metal. I used padding over the metal walls before the liner went in.

 

[jmborchers]

Aren't current AGP's metal frames now powder coated, Instead of the old style zinc paint coatings?

The thing I hate about roofing cement is it eventually cracks after a few years and once it does water penetrates it. If it were me I would be powder coating it or two part epoxy coating it, if it doesn't have that kind of coating already.

 

[DaneCE]

Aren't current AGP's metal frames now powder coated, Instead of the old style zinc paint coatings?

The thing I hate about roofing cement is it eventually cracks after a few years and once it does water penetrates it. If it were me I would be powder coating it or two part epoxy coating it, if it doesn't have that kind of coating already.

Hi. I have no idea what type of finish my pool walls are because I bought my house with the pool and don't know the history. Mine looks like a basic finish, not powder coated.

You are correct about some roofing cements cracking. The best quality brands that I've used would last for several years exposed to sunlight. There's no need to put a thick coat either...1/8" would be enough. If the area is always shaded, like mine is with a deck all around, there would be no damage from UV and I'd expect 5+ years service life.

The two part epoxy would be better I agree. I have in mind another product that I've used which would be a few steps above an asphalt based sealant in longevity. It is a brushable tripolymer coating made by Geocel. It's clear so it would look nearly invisible if that was a concern.

http://www.geocelusa.com/roofing.html?p ... duct_id=48

 

[jmborchers]

That stuff looks interesting.

 

[EH]

I was planning on using the synthetic roof cement. It is supposed to last longer. The tripolymer stuff sounds good but probably cannot get it around here. The tripolymer sounds alot like FlashSeal (used to seal leaking chimneys/roof areas).

I am planning on sealing this today so hopefully the synthetic roof tar will work well enough. It will be in direct sunshine area but behind plastic and dirt grade (to keep water form accumulating around pool. I think i will make a point to check it every other year and recoat as needed. Wont be able to recoat the part in and under the rail, but some water accumulation in the rail is probably unavoidable. Mainly i am hoping to slow the corrosion process down, but stopping it altogether seem impossible until someone designs a pool with a steel core encased in flexible resin (like some decking materials do with a wood core).

Thanks everyone for the advice.