Dye test found a leak in the tile grout. Is the bond beam cracked for sure?

[acl]

After my pool cleaner informed me that I had a leak, I had two different leak detection companies test our pool. Dye tests were performed, and both of them found a leak in the tile line at the deep end of the pool.

The first guy said that he'd grind out the grout line "an inch deep" and reseal with a "hydraulic cement". The second guy said that the fix would be to repair the bond beam, which he said was cracked. I asked the first guy if he thought the bond beam needed to be repaired, and he said that it's not necessary. So I'm not sure who to believe.

The second guy also pointed out the cracks all around the deck, some hairline cracks in the coping, and the deck concrete lifting higher than the coping. My understanding is that these are indicators that the bond beam may have cracked. However, this is happening all around the pool, and the leak is only present at the deep end of the pool.

It's not 100% clear to me how he's certain that the bond beam has cracked. The second guy sent me a video of the dye test: video. My question is, can one be certain that it's a bond beam issue without actually taking off the tiles and seeing the bond beam?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Remove some tiles and have a good look at the bond beam. That is the only way you will know what is going on behind it.

I agree your bond beam is probably cracked and slapping some hydraulic cement would be a temporary fix and crack again.

You lack an expansion joint between the deck and coping. The ground movement is putting pressure on the pool structure and cracking the bond beam. Until you repair the bond beam and install an expansion joint the damage will continue.

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[acl]

Thanks for the quick response, super helpful.

All four sides of the pool lack an expansion joint between the deck and coping. But the leak is only on the deep end, and the quote to rebuild the bond beam is just for that 15ft section of the pool ($6,800). Am I eventually going to experience issues with the other three sides of the pool? Optimistically, will having an expansion joint just on one side of the pool help alleviate the overall pressure on the pool structure and possibly prevent the other bond beams from cracking? Wondering if it's inevitable that I'll need to fix the bond beams on the other sides.

 

[ajw22]

Am I eventually going to experience issues with the other three sides of the pool? Optimistically, will having an expansion joint just on one side of the pool help alleviate the overall pressure on the pool structure and possibly prevent the other bond beams from cracking? Wondering if it's inevitable that I'll need to fix the bond beams on the other sides.

There is no telling which way the ground will move over the years and where the pressure points on the bond beam will be.

You may be fine or at some point it may bite you. The areas without an expansion joint are not protected from ground movement.

 

[acl]

Thanks again! I'll get the bond beam fixed and an expansion joint on the cracked side, and hope for the best for the other areas. I asked my pool contractor about adding expansion joints around the other sides and I'm waiting for an estimate, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it'll be quite expensive. Hopefully the existing cracks in the deck will continue to act as control joints.

 

[keithw]

It might not be that expensive. You could actually DIY it with a cement saw rental from Home Depot.

 

[acl]

The pool contractor says they'd need to remove the coping. It sounds like you're suggesting to take a cement saw to the deck and carve out 1/2" without removing the coping?

 

[ajw22]

If the bond beam is cracked the coping needs to be removed to repair it.

 

[keithw]

Obviously you need to remove the tile to check if the bond beam is cracked and deal with that. I am just suggesting that a cement saw could be used to cut all around the pool to create the expansion joint