Concrete coping crack

[dunidake]

Hello,
We have concrete pavers/coping from Stone Creek Pavers. The pool is 3 months old. This crack appeared on one coping piece a few days ago and it keeps getting wider. This is sitting on mortar on top of the pool shell. Is this normal?
We are thinking of filling it with something like travertine filler. Any other ideas?

 

[ajw22]

Normal? No.

Show us pics of your expansion joint between the coping and deck.

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Have the stone popped off the bond beam and replaced by a mason.

Make a warranty claim with your builder.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

That wet spot with the mineral efflorescence buildup on it (the white patch) is troubling as well. There’s something wrong with that section of concrete as that looks like water underneath it coming up.

Is there any plumbing runs that you know of in that area?

Ground moisture can freeze under the concrete causing it to strain and heave. If the concrete has no where to go, it will crack.

Do as @ajw22 says and put in a warranty claim with whoever did the concrete work. Also ask the PB about possible plumbing and water leaks in that area.

 

[dunidake]

That wet spot with the mineral efflorescence buildup on it (the white patch) is troubling as well. There’s something wrong with that section of concrete as that looks like water underneath it coming up.

Is there any plumbing runs that you know of in that area?

Ground moisture can freeze under the concrete causing it to strain and heave. If the concrete has no where to go, it will crack.

Do as @ajw22 says and put in a warranty claim with whoever did the concrete work. Also ask the PB about possible plumbing and water leaks in that area.

This area in red is where the coping cracked -but we’re not losing any water (we’ve done the bucket test). Thank you for all your help!

 

[dunidake]

Normal? No.

Show us pics of your expansion joint between the coping and deck.

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Have the stone popped off the bond beam and replaced by a mason.

Make a warranty claim with your builder.

I’ll post pic of expansion joint in the am. Thank you!

 

[dunidake]

Normal? No.

Show us pics of your expansion joint between the coping and deck.

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Have the stone popped off the bond beam and replaced by a mason.

Make a warranty claim with your builder.

Here are the pics of the area: the joint between coping and pavers is poly sand - the pavers are on decomposed granite and road base under that.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Ah. Ok. That looks very different when zoomed out.

The cracked coping should be replaced under warranty.

When they pull the coping, ask them to let you see the sub-base layer and look for moisture. Inspect the bond beam to make sure it’s mechanically intact and not wet looking.

 

[dunidake]

Ah. Ok. That looks very different when zoomed out.

The cracked coping should be replaced under warranty.

When they pull the coping, ask them to let you see the sub-base layer and look for moisture. Inspect the bond beam to make sure it’s mechanically intact and not wet looking.

Thank you. Any idea what could have caused the crack?

 

[Bperry]

Poly sand is cracked already. I’m not sure why that stuff is still used. The expansion joint needs to be flexible. Not sure if that’s the cause of the crack, but that tiles poly sand joint is cracked all the way into the field of pavers so may be related.

 

[dunidake]

Poly sand is flexible. What would you have used instead?

 

[JamesW]

Have the stone popped off the bond beam and replaced by a mason.

 

[Bperry]

Poly sand is flexible. What would you have used instead?

Maybe need to clarify what you mean by poly sand. The polymeric sand typically used in paver joints is just sand with glue in it. The fact that whatever is in the joint is cracked means that’s it’s not flexible.

 

[ajw22]

Poly sand is flexible. What would you have used instead?

Deck-O-Seal or Sikaflex 1A.

 

[JamesW]

The stone was probably already cracked when it was installed.

Also, if the mortar is not evenly distributed, it can cause cracks where the stone is not supported.

Have them remove the stone and take a picture of the mortar to see if it is evenly supporting the stone or if there are gaps.

The expansion joint looks too hard and it needs to be flexible.

Can you show pictures from the front?