Advice on coping renovation

[Midwestpoolguy]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and I come seeking advice.

I have a roughly 20 x 40 ft pool. From what I understand, it is a gunite pool that is somewhere between 23,000 and 25,000 gallons and about 25 years old. It came with the house and I have been slowly learning about it over the past few years. From the outset, I knew that I would have to put some money into renovations as the paver coping is chipped and cracked. I believe the plaster is about 14 or 15 years old. The autcover mechanism looks quite aged and the cover fabric is about 6 years old. Every season at startup a half dozen or so tiles need to be reset. I have been told by my pool guy that they are starting to delaminate in places.

All of this to say that I was planning on a full renovation (plaster, tile, coping and autocover) next spring.

Unfortunately, my autocover has now failed in the form of a broken rope and the local company will not repair it as the fabric has a few cracks in it and they no longer deem it a safety cover. Thankfully, it is stuck in the open position.

This has jumpstarted my journey.

My current plan is to replace the paver coping with 8ft x 2 in thick x 12 (or 14) inch deep bluestone. I will drain the pool down a few feet and have the autocover guys install new undermount rails and finish the new autocover job.

Next spring, I will have the pool fully drained and then replastered and tiled.

Does this sound insane to anyone here? My stone mason is excellent and is willing to put up temporary tarps and meticulously vacuum during the coping removal and replacement process. I have worked with him before and he is a man of his word.

Will doing the coping before replacing the tile and plaster cause any issues? I don't want to invest in one part only to rip it out or cause larger problems later. Any thoughts or advice is welcome.

My alternative scenario is this: work with the autocover folks to buy a new system now, only install the fabric on the existing setup just to get things working, and then complete the renovation next spring with installation of the remaining new components (rails, motor, keypad, etc). I'd rather just buy a whole new system because my understanding is they are much more reasonable as a bundle than as individual components and I'd rather just do it all at once if I'm going to part it out over a few years for higher total cost.

That was long. Thanks for reading!

 

[HermanTX]

Welcome to TFP.
The most important thing is for the coping to be level.
For new pool construction there is a discussion in our Construction Best Practices Wiki (can be found at top left of page)

Sequence of Tile, Coping, Deck for Plaster Pool​

The consensus seems to be to do tile, then coping then deck although it can vary with the shape, materials, and contractor preference.

Simple logic is you always build from the bottom up not the top down. In a pool you want the tile to set perfectly level so the water line looks correct all the way around the pool. If the coping is set unlevel then they need to adjust the tile and the seam in between the tile and coping will not be uniform and basically throw the whole tile install off.[21]

If coping is installed first then coping forms are set with a laser transit and set from the highest point of the bond beam. Then checked numerous times before the pouring of concrete. A key point is that coping or tile needs to checked for level numerous times during the process in order insure it’s being maintained.[22]

It can be done either way and seems to be a regional preference. If you ask the actual installers most of them would prefer the tile first then coping.

 

[Midwestpoolguy]

I appreciate the reply! In this case, I think doing it bottom up is not really an option right now. I have faith in my mason to lay down a straight line. Will doing the coping first cause any issues with the pool itself? Does there need to be a special seam between the coping and the upper end of the tile line to prevent damage?

 

[HermanTX]

I appreciate the reply! In this case, I think doing it bottom up is not really an option right now. I have faith in my mason to lay down a straight line. Will doing the coping first cause any issues with the pool itself? Does there need to be a special seam between the coping and the upper end of the tile line to prevent damage?

please read

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Midwestpoolguy]

please read

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Read.

What I am looking at falls under the category of "pre-cast coping" if I am reading correctly. I have expansion joints between my poured concrete decking and existing paver coping. Those will be maintained with the new coping. With a cantilevered deck as coping it is, understandably, recommended that you do not grout the tile to the concrete. I presume this is to allow for expansion and contraction.

If I replace the coping and keep the existing tile in place, is there any risk to my pool if the upper tile is not grouted to the coping, or does it not really matter? Will it cause issues later when I need to replaster and tile. I understand that my original post is long, but that is really the crux of the question.

 

[HermanTX]

If I replace the coping and keep the existing tile in place, is there any risk to my pool if the upper tile is not grouted to the coping, or does it not really matter? Will it cause issues later when I need to replaster and tile. I understand that my original post is long, but that is really the crux of the question.

You are removing the coping and replacing it. So, think of it as if a new pool. The waterline tile is already in place so a mortar bed will be laid down to level out the new coping using the existing tile as a guide.
Then in the future, you will remove the waterline tile and the existing plaster (have it chipped completely out), they will then replace both as part of the normal process.