Crack Repair

[Mike0893]

Hello TFP members, I recently had a suction side leak in my pool that required a skimmer replacement. I also had a crack in the pool that was about 3 feet long starting from the skimmer and going to the floor of the pool. I had previously asked here about a repair for the crack and received an answer for a plaster patch material.

While the skimmer was being replaced the repair tech applied pool putty to the crack. He did this while I wasn't there but said he needed to because water was filling his skimmer replacement hole. He didn't charge for this but also said there wasn't any guarantee. The pool putty worked for a while.

I did a bucket test yesterday and the pool is losing 3/4" or more of water per day. I need to get this crack repaired. You can see in the attached photos how the crack looked before it was puttied up and what it looks like now.

So my question is what type of repair do I need to have done. Some repair companies talk about pressure filling the cracks with epoxy, others talk about removing concrete in a V shape, installing rebar, refilling with hydraulic cement and replaster. Is that all the choices. Input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ajw22]

The plaster needs to be removed to determine if the crack is in the gunite.

The repair process is different if you have cracked gunite versus just a plaster crack.

 

[Mike0893]

When the skimmer was replaced , water was entering the hole where the skimmer was. Doesn’t that mean the crack went all the way through the gunite

 

[ajw22]

When the skimmer was replaced , water was entering the hole where the skimmer was. Doesn’t that mean the crack went all the way through the gunite

If that is correct then you may need to strip the plaster and tile around the skimmer mouth.

Concrete staples may be required to repair. You only know once you dig into it and see the size and depth of the cracking.

Torque Lock

Concrete Crack Repair Staples for Swimming Pools and Pool Decks | AquaStitch

 

[Mike0893]

Thanks ajw

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Can you provide pictures of the surrounding area deck/yard where the crack is located?

 

[Mike0893]

Is this what your looking for? Here you can see the skimmer in the center of the photo. The crack is on the right side of the skimmer

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Is that a giant crack in the deck to the left ??

If so, if would I suspect the pool and ground has had some serious settling at one point. Vertical cracks in a pool wall are a bad sign of poor structural integrity and soil movement. What the skimmer repair guy did was just a patch/hack job. Sadly, what you need is a much more intrusive analysis of the pool and surrounding area. At the very least the pool will need to be drained and the plaster removed to see the extent of the cracking. A real fix will involve removing all the plaster and inspecting the entire shell for damage. If there’s one crack on that side of the pool, it’s entirely possible there are more cracks you cannot see.

This is where legal advise might help. Pool shells (gunite) are warrantied by the builder. The warranties are usually fairly long and are sometimes lifetime (ie, assuming the builder is still in business). I don’t know the age of the pool but if the builder is still around, you may be able to get the repairs covered under warranty.

Lots of questions right now but not lots of answers. Sorry.

 

[Mike0893]

We think this pool is 25 years old. The original homeowner had it done when the house was built. We've lived here for three years. The crack in the deck was there when we moved in. But it was grown in the last 6 months. We became aware of the crack in the pool just this summer. Everything was good until then. The water loss we have now is a very recent thing which has prompted me search for repair options.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Is this the shallow end of the pool? If so, this looks like signs of the ramp not being properly compacted during the excavation process of the pool construction.