Crack in newish mini-pebble

[dalstrs]

Hi all, I was just scrubbing my pool since the weather here warmed up a bit and found a crack along the edge of the bench in my pool. The pool was replastered with mini-pebble last Feb-March, so I think this should still be under warranty. What would cause something like this? I plan to call the company that did the replaster but wanted some advice on what I should be asking for as far as remediation and some ideas of what could cause it.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

This is how I would look into the failure of the plaster. Drain pool to 12” below the crack, chip out half of the plaster crack and see if it’s due to the substrate that’s failed under neath the plaster (Shotcrete/Gunite).

 

[kimkats]

I am sure @Aqua-Holics did not mean for YOU to chip it out at least I hope not. That is what the plaster company many do to see what the problem is.

 

[6XSBChamps]

update on here with any developments. I have a crack on my bench after only 6 months. The PB says its a check crack and not an issue. I am watching it closely. 1 year warranty would be up end of June.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

The builder should do all the investigation into the crack. Can you see Shotcrete/Gunite through the crack? If so it IS an issue and even if not it’s not up to industry standard.

 

[dalstrs]

I can't see the Gunite through the crack due to the angle/ light but it looks like it might be deep enough to hit the gunite. Hopefully, it's not the substrate. When they replastered I don't think they did any substrate repairs in that area and only minor stuff around the rest of the pool.

 

[Zmann]

I agree that crack is probably all the way thru to the gunite and needs to be addressed even if it is just for cosmetic reasons
if your old plaster did not have that issue I would say the drama from plaster removal and may have fractured the gunite at that lip
so they should do exactly what Aqua-Holics suggested

 

[MAPR-Austin]

I'm going to go against the trend here...that looks like a 1"x1" highlight tile, is that correct?

If so, you're probably looking at 3/8"-1/2" thickness delaminating from the vertical surface of the step. That's the thickness of the plaster finish.

Can you take something metallic - maybe like a butter knife - and tap/drag on a different area of the pool and then on the area below the crack? See if you can make out any hollow sound.

My guess is some kind of dust or contaminant prevented a good bond there. What kind of prep did they do on the old surface before replastering?

 

[ajw22]

There is no such thing as a “check crack” in plaster. That is a concrete term as concrete will crack. Plaster should not crack. Don’t let your builder blow you off with that BS.

 

[6XSBChamps]

can cracked plaster be spot repaired? or is it a whole redo? my hesitation on going to battle over a crack is the idea of draining and waiting who knows how long

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Yes it can be repaired but it will most likely not match perfectly to the surrounding plaster. The deeper in the water the repair the less it will be noticeable and you may be the only one who knows. It’s still not to industry standards in my opinion and that alone would have me demanding it be corrected.

 

[Zmann]

it also looks like that is crack going to keep growing ,

 

[dalstrs]

A small update. The pool company finally had someone come out today to start repairs. It looks like it separated a good way down the wall. Still haven't figured out what the cause was, but I don't see any cracks in the substrate. I also found a few tiles that were cracked in line with the coating above them.

 

[dalstrs]

Looks like there is a hairline crack in the gunite that probably caused the crack. They are going to repair the cracked area and then the mini pebble tomorrow.

 

[6XSBChamps]

Looks like there is a hairline crack in the gunite that probably caused the crack. They are going to repair the cracked area and then the mini pebble tomorrow.

did they seem alarmed that the gunite was cracked? Is that somewhat normal?

 

[dalstrs]

They didn't seem alarmed. It's fairly common that the ground shifts here (north TX) and my pool is older. According to my pool guy, it seems to be random around here. He said his pool shifted and cracked 6 months after it was built and after they fixed that it hasn't cracked again in 15 years.

 

[6XSBChamps]

They didn't seem alarmed. It's fairly common that the ground shifts here (north TX) and my pool is older. According to my pool guy, it seems to be random around here. He said his pool shifted and cracked 6 months after it was built and after they fixed that it hasn't cracked again in 15 years.

Thanks for that info. I'm in Longview Tx so it's similar soil. I have a crack in my plaster that I'm watching closely and I lose sleep over the worst case scenario that the shell could be cracked and that would mean catastrophic things. Best case scenario, poor plaster job. mid range, ground moved, shell cracked but can be fixed if needed.

 

[dalstrs]

Finally got it fixed today and have the pool filling back up. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be here when they were doing the work so I didn't get pictures of the repair, but here is a picture of the patch.

 

[ajw22]

The patch will not be as noticeable once underwater.

 

[Casey]

That patch is very close in color to the original. Wow. They did great in color matching. Hopefully it will withstand the test of time.