Cracks between pool coping stones.

[stawberryred68]

Hi everyone! I had my pool resurfaced with pebble tec last year and the pool guy didn’t tell us we should have done the coping at the same time. After the resurface I had a few pool decking guys from different companies come out to take a look and they said there are no lose pieces, meaning when they assessed the stones they said they weren’t moving and they said it was fine as is. I was happy to hear that but as I look at the coping between the stones I do notice that there are cracks and areas where the material between the stones isnt exactly sealed up against the stones anymore. I wondered if you guys had any advice as to what if anything I can put over these spaces to seal up those spots so water doesn’t pour into those areas? I didn’t know if putting caulk over those areas would work, and then if so what type of caulk should I buy, a special “ pool“ caulk? Or maybe there is something like a liquid caulk that’s thinker that I can put in the cracks and it will bond tightly in between those spaces instead of sitting on top of the area like caulk would? I am also open to have someone come out and dig out all the material in between and put new stuff in, but it’s really hard to get someone to do this work, pool guys in Texas are busy with the big jobs like resurfacing and installing pools and I worry with the huge cost of the resurface I don’t want anyone messing with the pool that doesn’t know what they are doing. Essentially I’m looking to seal up these cracks myself just so it’s ok long enough to schedule with the right people. Mastic behind the stones where it meets with the pool deck is new, no issues with that. Also of note if your not from Texas, when it rains it’s like a hurricane and it can rain over 3 inches in 1 hr so a lot of water is going into any open cracks. And since I have arrived in Texas we have developed a winter season where it rains and then freezes a few times a yr for a few days at a time. I have included pictures on the coping and pictures of the pool so you can see what I’m working with. Thank you! Rita

 

[JoyfulNoise]

That is stone mortar. You do not caulk it, you repair it but only if it’s significantly damaged. If the stones are all still attached to the bond beam and nothing is loose then those are simply expansion cracks in the mortar. There is nothing to fix as those cracks will just open up again. It’s cause by thermal expansion and contraction. If they were large enough, you could use a product like MorFlex but you’d be unlikely to match the color quite right and it will stick out like a sore thumb.

Just leave it alone, it is fine.

 

[ajw22]

The proper fix for the joints between stones is to grind out the old mortar and refill the joint with Type S Mortar.

Those cracks form from stone movement and thermal expansions. It is fairly common.

There is no caulk that will last and look good.

Those cracks are minor and I would ignore them.