Is this as bad as I think it is? - grout and tile failing on new pool

[ajw22]

I think you have to find a happy medium for the repair between what your pool builder did and what the 2nd company recommended.

I am not surprised at the 2nd companies findings but I think there are some things that you can leave to just be ongoing maintenance headaches on the pool and patch them as they happen.

No water seal behind tile is leading to efflorescence and premature failure.

A water seal behind tile is a best practice recommended by tile companies and rarely done in a "standard" pool build. It takes the customer to request it for the builder to add it to the work.

No mastic between tile and use of grout instead is leading to grout failing and water intrusion behind tile.

I am not sure I understand where they thought mastic should be "between tile". Water intrusion behind the tile is a symptom of problems elsewhere in the structure. See the recommended tile buildup below.

There is essentially no expansion joint between cooldeck and coping and no evidence of a buffer. Also there is no mastic between cooldeck and coping. This is leading to water intrusion between cooldeck and coping cause efflorescence and issues with coping failing. Without fixing this, tiles will likely start falling off this winter. Travertine will continue to fail and bondbeam will fail over time.

The lack of the expansion joint is the root cause problems. This is the major construction flaw. You want that corrected.

There are three problems listed:

• Bondbeam cracking is the major problem. You must fix the deck/coping interface with an expansion joint to prevent that structural problem
• Tiles come loose when water gets behind the tile and erode the thinset. Prevent water intrusion and you get no thinset erosion. Tiles can also come loose from lazy improper thinset application. An occasional tile coming loose is not that big of a problem and can be put back on with thinset and grout.
• Efflorescence is more of a cosmetic annoyance. It does not have any structural impact. If you can keep water out of areas then you do not get efflorescence.

Recommendation is to remove all tile and coping. Cut back cooldeck. Add waterproofing to bondbeam. Reinstall tile and coping. Add buffer and mastic between cooldeck and coping. Add mastic between tile and coping.

What is said above is the 100% right way to fix it given no money constraints.

You need to remove all loose tiles and you need to remove coping in any areas where the bond beam is damaged to repair it. The deck needs to be cut back or demoed to install the expansion joint. Any cracks in mortar or grout should be filled. Where tiles are removed a waterproofing coat can be put on before the tiles are reinstalled.

Beyond that the work is optional. If the coping and tiles are solid in an area I am not sure I would strip it all off just to get waterproofing behind the tiles.

The total cost is a significant fraction of what we paid to have the pool installed barely over 4 years ago. I'm sort of at a loss at this point. Hoping the original builder will cooperate, but fully expecting he'll try to tell me it can be patched and hope I go away.

I think you have to focus in the lack of the expansion joint as the major defect that needs remediation. I would not argue with the builder that he should have put waterproofing under the tiles if it was not discussed before and put in the contract.

For reference here is the current recommended glass tile installation process from Oceanside Glass & Tile...

Installation Guidelines

Oceanside Glass & Tile

www.glasstile.com

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...l-Water-Feature-Installation.pdf?v=1625588595

 

[ajw22]

The rebar is what was holding your bonding wire which is required by code. If it was cut, then you may not have a bonded structure anymore.

You do not need to have all those rebar tails that long to connect the required bonding wires.

It is a valid but independent question if the pool structure is properly bonded. Hopefully that was checked during any town inspections.

 

[Bperry]

You do not need to have all those rebar tails that long to connect the required bonding wires.

It is a valid but independent question if the pool structure is properly bonded. Hopefully that was checked during any town inspections.

Maybe so. Im assuming the rebar wasnt cut… If they did cut it, the lugs are pretty far away from the surface of the shell and so would still be sticking out a good bit. Unless they loosened and moved all the lugs closer before cutting them.

 

[deelowe]

The rebar is what was holding your bonding wire which is required by code. If it was cut, then you may not have a bonded structure anymore.

Thanks

 

[deelowe]

The rebar is what was holding your bonding wire which is required by code. If it was cut, then you may not have a bonded structure anymore.

Good to know.