Hairline crack on side of pool - no leak... yet

[jtown]

Hi,

Today I noticed a hairline crack in the side of our pool. It's about 6 inches long on a ledge/seat on the wall at the deep end of the pool and extends down maybe 3 feet. It's very narrow, maybe 1/32" at the widest (at the top). Our pool is 50+ years old, and the plaster was last resurfaced about 15 years ago.

I did a little reading, and it seems the crack may be caused by loss of soil (pool is sort of at the top of a hill), or changing levels of moisture in our soil (dry in the summer, wet in the winter). I'm not sure how much I can do about either of these.

Even though there is no leak, is it a good idea to patch it now?

Is this something I, a reasonably handy pool-owner, can tackle?

If so, what should I use to patch it?

I appreciate the help.

Best,

J

 

[kimkats]

For the shifting soil quite a few people in TX have a drip system around their houses and pool. This keep the ground moist during the dry time to keep it from shrinking.

I will call in someone who may know what to use to patch that crack @jimmythegreek

I will also suggestion to a "bucket test" to see if you are losing any water. A bucket test is where you use a 5 gal bucket and fill it up to a marked spot on the bucket and put it on one of the steps or such in the pool. That will show you if the pool is losing any water if the pool and bucket match at the end of the day or week. It is VERY important you turn off the autofill if you have one for this as that will hide any leaks.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Pretty easy to patch those. You can use pool putty, 2 part epoxy, 3m 5200, etc. Drain some water out so its dry and clean any gunk up then patch. There are some underwater potties avail. You could even open up the crack somewhat with a diamond wheel amd mix up a small batch of plain plaster and patch that way too

 

[cowboycasey]

3m 5200 will be there FOREVER , that stuff is crazzy... I have used the 4200 as sometimes you want to remove the part...

 

[jimmythegreek]

Yeah 5200 is boat builder stuff. Meant for underwater use. I seal my boat holes with it gotta grind it off

 

[jtown]

Thank you for the advice. I will confirm whether it is leaking, and look into the products that were suggested.

 

[sktn77a]

I doubt you'll have any leaking through such a small crack. Drop some food dye on it and see if you get any movement into the crack.