Is this salt water / SWG damage on my coping?
- Thread starter Bart
- Start date
I agree with @zimm. It looks like water infiltration/freezing damage. Especially the mortar in between your stone coping. That looks like standard thermal expansion cracking. That is easily repaired and/or patched.
Look at the top of the tile line in the pool starting at the top of the tile. Do you see any separation or gap between the top of the tile and bottom of the coping?
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Look at the top of the tile line in the pool starting at the top of the tile. Do you see any separation or gap between the top of the tile and bottom of the coping?
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Thanks folks!
Yes, Sunny, there is some separation between the top of the tile and the coping in certain spots. What does that mean? More freeze damage? I drain the pool to below the tile line before closing it in winter and cover the pool with a "solid" cover that covers the entire pool and all of the coping.
Yes, Sunny, there is some separation between the top of the tile and the coping in certain spots. What does that mean? More freeze damage? I drain the pool to below the tile line before closing it in winter and cover the pool with a "solid" cover that covers the entire pool and all of the coping.
You need to seal those separations with a water tight sanded caulk or grout intended for pool use. If you allow water to infiltrate between the bond beam and the coping, any trapped water under the coping will freeze over winter and cause the coping to shift and move. That is why your mortar is cracking - water is infiltrating that area and cause the ground beneath it to shift.
Can you probe the separations to see how deep they go? Something like a very thin metal or plastic spatula night work or a thin plastic flexible ruler.
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Can you probe the separations to see how deep they go? Something like a very thin metal or plastic spatula night work or a thin plastic flexible ruler.
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- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,761
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
Salt damage on stone usually appears as erosion. It just looks like accelerated weathering of the surface. As the others said, that looks like frost damage. If those cracks aren't sealed up watertight, when winter comes it will get worse.
Ugg, but thanks for the info!!!
Does the area between the top of the tile and bottom of the coping need to be patched or just the cracks in the mortor?
Does the area between the top of the tile and bottom of the coping need to be patched or just the cracks in the mortor?
The separations between the tile line and the coping are critical. You have a giant source of water just inches away from them. The pool area will always be warmer and more humid than the surrounding area. Even if water doesn't splash there (a big IF) then water vapor will condense and freeze in those gaps. That can easily lead to more cracking.
The surface cracks in the mortar between the coping are easier to fix. Those are secondary in my opinion.
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The surface cracks in the mortar between the coping are easier to fix. Those are secondary in my opinion.
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Since your pool is only 4 years old, you could always ask the PB or the sub that did the stone & tile works for a quick patch job.
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skylar18
LifeTime Supporter
I agree with the others that it is not salt damage.
I think that some of the damage is likely due to freezing water.
I think that there might be other stresses in the stones due to inadequate expansion joints. While it looks like there is some expansion joint, it does not look like it is complete. Also, some expansion joint might look good on the surface, but be insufficient underneath.
I think that some of the damage is likely due to freezing water.
I think that there might be other stresses in the stones due to inadequate expansion joints. While it looks like there is some expansion joint, it does not look like it is complete. Also, some expansion joint might look good on the surface, but be insufficient underneath.
Can we get a picture of the whole pool with coping? I'm wondering whats causing the movement. It may be freezing but it might be more.
Unfortunately I don't have any perfect pictures of the pool and deck on my phone and the pool is at our little weekend place, so I can get more shots tomorrow, but here's the best of what I have right now:
(I can send full size images too, if you need to zoom in on a specific area)
(I can send full size images too, if you need to zoom in on a specific area)
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Sweet place! Where in NOVA are you? Sure as heck isn't Annandale where I am- no mountains in my view.