pool tiles fell off and found a crack on the wall

[dagger]

Hi,

I have an in-ground pool with tiles at the water level. One of the tiles fell off about a year ago, but I didn't fix it thinking that it wouldn't affect the structure of the pool.

Then a few of days ago, my daughter pulled the tile next to it and it fell off too. And while checking the wall behind those two tiles, I found a horizontal crack on the concrete wall. The crack runs behind other tiles and I can't tell where it ends.

And it looks like water is leaking through the crack. I added water to the pool so that the water level is about 3/8"-1/2" above the crack yesterday morning. When I checked this evening (about 30 hours later), the water was at the crack level. The high temperature for yesterday and today was mid 80s.

What is the best way to fix this? Will I have to fill the crack? If so, what should I use? Should I remove other tiles as well or can I just put those two tiles back?

If I don't fix it now and just keep the water below the crack level, will the problem be worsened (like crack will get bigger/longer, more tiles will fall off, etc)

Also, the pool is right next to the house. Can the water leaked from the pool affect/damage the foundation of the house?

Thank you. I'm a total newbie and not handy at all. So any tips would be very helpful.

 

[Bama Rambler]

If the shell is cracked it needs to be repaired. You need to remove the other tiles so you can tell how far the cracks go. Posting a pic of the problem might help someone give you better advice.

 

[dagger]

Thanks. I'll try to take a pic this afternoon and post it.

One thing I forgot to mention is that the crack is at about the middle of the tiles and the surface is uneven. The top part is pushed forward a little bit compared to the bottom part.

 

[waste]

Welcome to TFP!!

It sounds like your deck 'heaved' and pushed in on the top of the wall, thereby cracking it. :x To me, this suggests a 'surface ground water' issue that would probably be corrected by installing a curtain drain in the afflicted area.

As for repairing the damage already done, hydrolic cement will be needed and properly applied. Thinset, or similar, can be used to reattach the tiles. However (!), I don't know of any way to get the wall back to level, so the tiles will look 'off' in that area and will end up not being flush with the rest of the tiles

 

[dagger]

Thank you. As long as the water level is under the crack and hopefully the leak stops, should I still be worried about the water already leaked out?

And if I just patch the crack and put the tiles back, will this problem happen again since deck will expand when it gets heated? Or the damage was made when the deck was expanded to its maximum degree so I won't have the problem at least for a while?

I guess some kind of "buffer" can be installed between the pool and the deck but I guess that means $$$. This pool is an old pool and made me spend a lot of money (mostly on equipments, though) already, so I'm hoping to find an economical solution.

 

[dagger]

Here is the pic:

The two black lines on the adjacent tiles were the water level as of

top 5/9 11am (50 hours ago)
bottom 5/10 9pm (16 hours ago)

The difference between the two lines is a little bit less than 1/2 inches.

I used to have two half tiles there. And I have concrete deck around the pool.

Thanks.

 

[suzieerrera]

I have the same problem, what ever happened to your pool situation?