New Pool Owner/Old Pool

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C

Cwian

0
Jun 6, 2015
3
Reedsville, pa
New member here:

We purchased our house last fall and the pool was already closed. When I took the winter cover off a few weeks ago I found this lovely concrete that is chipping away. It looks like someone already attempted to repair it once and now the repairs are cracking. Does anyone have ideas on how to fix this or what the procedure would be? I am getting sick of picking up chunks from the pool floor. Thanks in advance!

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Too bad you did not see that before the closing! Oh well that is water under the bridge now.

Here is what I THINK.........................get a dremel tool and use it to remove the red bricks one at a time. You might be able to fix some kind of shield to keep the most of the stuff out of the pool. Once they are out replace them with new coping. I am just saying what I would THINK about doing. I do not know what is under the bricks so that could impact what you do and how.

Kim
 
Welcome to TFP! That is a shame, and it looks like it could be quite a task. The pics are tilted for me, but it appears those are brick or brick-style tiles for coping around the pool edge/surface right? Typically when a pool is constructed, there is an insulation foam, mortar, and/or sealant that prevents water from slipping in between the lip of the pool and the coping so water doesn't continually go under the concrete where you walk. It prevents erosion and such over time. I agree with Kim in that you will generate a bit of a mess to remove those. Not sure a Dremel tool will have the durability. You might actually need a grinder with a cutting wheel since the grout may be stubborn and you may need to cut/flatten the mortar underneath each stone/tile in preparation for the new material. I would think that it will generate a lot of debris into the pool - much like when my pool was originally build and coping was installed. Just no way to avoid it. Could be a considerable amount of work. Are you doing this as a DIY?

What kind of filter do you have? I have a cartridge filter, so at the later part of construction, when the pool was full of water, we placed on "old" filter in-service as we vacuumed-up the debris. In any case, if you're not confident in those skills, this may be one of those unfortunate jobs where you hire-out someone who does stone/tile work everyday. :(

Also, please consider adding your pool info to your signature by going to the top of the TFP web page (just under the Pool School button) and select "SETTINGS". On the next page look to the left for a menu bar that says, “MY SETTINGS” and go to "EDIT SIGNATURE" to enter your pool and equipment info there. It will help us later.
 
Are those actually separate red bricks? With the surface texture being the same as the adjacent concrete, it almost looks like the whole thing is stamped concrete and then the different areas were just stained different colors. I think that is the first thing you need to determine. If they are separate blocks you should be able to remove them and replace, as kimkats said. If however, it is one continuous slab of concrete, you would either have to saw the concrete at the joint and put in blocks/bricks or remove the whole thing and start over.

In either case, that's a most unusual problem, I would also be interested in how thick the material is. It didn't stand up to the side pressure that the coping put on it very well!
 
astrolite said:
Are those actually separate red bricks? With the surface texture being the same as the adjacent concrete, it almost looks like the whole thing is stamped concrete and then the different areas were just stained different colors. I think that is the first thing you need to determine. If they are separate blocks you should be able to remove them and replace, as kimkats said. If however, it is one continuous slab of concrete, you would either have to saw the concrete at the joint and put in blocks/bricks or remove the whole thing and start over.

!
Click to expand...

Looking at the pics again with the above in mine it DOES look like stamped, colored concrete. Very interesting. Let us know what you find when you dig around a little.

Kim
 
It looks like the tan/beige area could do with some diluted bleach to remove the black mildew or discoloration. It looks clean near the red brick area but dirty farther from the pool. I wonder if it's because the chlorinated pool water that gets splashed up keeps it clean?

p.s. at least the water looks good!
 
It is very interesting because it is not deep like the concrete behind it. The concrete behind that area is maybe 1.5-2 feet deep. This is maybe 3/4-1 inch thick and is dirt underneath and almost like a skim coat. It is not separate brick. I'll take a better picture tomorrow and post it. Of course, I would like to DIY on this project, but with me not being 100% familiar with pool setup, I would be a tad uncertain with doing that as I don't want to cave my pool in (I don't have good luck. lol).

If possible I was thinking of taking a chisel along the edges of getting that section out that is cracking and then pouring new concrete along the edges. Is that possible without replacing the white capping around the edges?

I was talking to one of the neighbors and he thinks the previous owner drained the pool about half way every winter. Would that pressure cause any buckling at the edges such as this?

- - - Updated - - -

I'm going to try taking the pressure washer to the rest of the deck. Hopefully that will do the trick!
 

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Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm I am thinking (very dangerous LOL) that maybe you could take out the old and VERY carefully put in new cement. I would find a way to make sure NONE of the it got on the pool part that is white. Make some kind of barrier or form made out of ??????????????? plastic? oh what about a funnel?? with a large hole. It would be slow but it would be very controllable.

Just thinking out loud.

Kim
 
I work for a concrete producer and sometimes do a little trouble shooting for them. Looking at the latest pictures I would say that, that is what we call a fine grout mix, not concrete. The only real difference is that fine grout does not have a coarse aggregate (stone) in the mix, only sand. If it was put down only 3/4 to 1 inch thick directly over dirt you probably got frost heave, during the winter, which put pressure on the thin slab and broke it up. In a good sidewalk the concrete should be the depth of a 2"x4" form with at least 3"-4" of stone base under it. I would get an estimate from a reputable contractor and contact my lawyer. You may need to do a complete tear out and replace and the previous homeowner may be responsible for the cost.
 
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