Calcium on spillover/wall

[ajw22]

So again my question is what should I do? I have had multiple pool companies come out and they either don't return calls after or say its not something they want to deal with.

No pool company wants to touch it becasue they cannot guarantee they will fix the problem. And once they touch it they own the problem.

- Should i just clean it up and replace the tiles that are loose and then seal it? Also is a sealer really going to do anything since it has water running over it for an hour a day?

There is no "sealer" that will permanently keep water out.

- Should I replace the tiles and do epoxy grout?

Yes, this is your best solution.

My concern there is that if both sides aren't waterproofed, is it going to ultimately cause the tile to pop off.

You will need to repair the grout every year and tiles every 5-10 years. Just part of your pool maintenance.

- Any solution for how to stop water from penetrating the area between the pebbletec and tile?

The buildup should be Pebbletec, grout, and tile with no place for water to get in if the grout is properly maintained.

Post a pic of that area.

 

[fsworld]

Thanks for the followup, its raining today but as soon as it dries up I will take a bunch of photos.

 

[MAPR-Austin]

Just to clarify, by the 'top tiles' do you mean the tiles that sit on the horizontal section of the spillway?

If the tiles are popping off after a couple of years, and you live in a freeze/thaw area, my guess would be there are some small voids behind the tile where water collects, freezes and expands, and pops the tile loose. As they get loose, more area is created for water to collect and exacerbate the problem. This can lead to problems with the rest of the tile as well.

I don't know if epoxy grout would be a permanent fix, especially in freeze/thaw areas. I have always heard that epoxy grout has differing rates of thermal expansion/contraction than tile and can be tricky in your type of environment. If you used epoxy grout, I could see tiny capillaries or hairline gaps opening up between the grout and the tile - enough to let that efflorescence back through.

The tiles are big enough that there are not a ton of grout joints, it might be worth installing a flexible sealant that will be more forgiving in place of the grout. It would likely present as a different color than the rest of the grout.

The ultimate fix is to strip off the tile and strip down the spa interior, remove the old mortar, waterproof both sides, and reinstall. This includes the pebbletec in the spa - it is not waterproof and will let water migrate through.

I see the two variables here as what you want to spend, and how perfect you want the tiles to look.

If it were me, I would try a sealer first - that is something you can do yourself and it is the cheapest option by far. It might be that the sealer does not stop all of the efflorescence, but it will likely make it much easier to clean.

If the result of the sealer is not sufficient, you need to decide if you are going to bite the bullet and fix it correctly or live with the imperfection. Replacing the grout or even stripping off the tile and waterproofing one side of the wall really run the risk of being a waste of money which would be better spent as part of a larger investment to truly fix the problem.

**I'm curious if anyone has any recommendations for a sealer? I had a customer whose water was leaving calcium deposits on the ceramic tile and I picked up some Mr. Hard Water Pool Tile Sealant. I have not had a chance to try it yet.