Leaking above waterline tile

[Tlaw]

We finished our pool about 3 weeks ago and have just noticed a crack on the top of waterline tile. When I water my planter area near it i can see that there is water leaking from the cracks of the grout (top part of the grout) into the pool. We were the pool builder on our pool. We’ve also been told it is a good idea to seal this area with, I think, some sort of sealer but I’m not sure what exactly. The tiler just used the grout in this area which I hear doesn’t flex as well. Does anyone know if this is normal and we just need to seal this area or do we have a bigger problem?

 

[ajw22]

You built a cantilevered deck and coping over the pool. There needs to be an expansion joint between the deck and the pool. The deck and the pool are two separate structures that need to be able to move independently. If the deck and pool are joined they will put pressure on each other and cause cracking in the deck or tile.

Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Those planters are going to leak water towards the pool and shell unless you dig them out and put a waterproof membrane between the planter and the pool. I think those planter areas will always cause you pool trouble and I would tell you to get rid of them and fill them in.

 

[cowboycasey]

You have a couple things going on..

1. The shell should be sprayed with AQURON CPSP in that area for shell waterproofing
2. where you have the grout on top of the tile and under the coping is an expansion joint and should have 100% silicone.. https://cdnmedia.mapei.com/docs/lib...nts/3000247-mapesil-t-en.pdf?sfvrsn=58c54cd_0
3. You will need to find a way to stop all water on the backside from coming into the pool... I think a waterproof coating like the MiraFlex Membrane C or MAPEI Mapelastic Aquadefense may work to stop all water from getting into the pool from the back...

Hope this helps

 

[Tlaw]

Super helpful! Thank you for this diagram. Wish I would have checked here before planting everything but still better to know now than too late.