Skimmer Replacement Bond beam repair deck shear

[mikes112]

So I took some advice and made the hole bigger and was able to get the new skimmer fitted in, but now I have to bend and fit in the rebar. I also worked on all the spalling of the bond beam and was considering using rebar in staple shapes so this doesn't happen again. It has been so much work fixing this this weekend. What would people recommend to prevent the spalling under the coping in the bond beam? I know I have to leave a gap with foam and waterproofing between the back of the bond beam and coping and the pool deck like in the drawing I recently posted. I had to drill out the a lot of the bottom of the skimmer to get it to fit.

 

[Flying Tivo]

Nice work on the PVC, make sure you sand the outside but just slightly not too much.

 

[mikes112]

Thanks. Yeah I had to drill around to get the old outside pipe out and then the outer pipe just peeled away. Next I had to drill even deeper around the pipe and even drill out from under the skimmer bottom. I'll get more photos tomorrow.

 

[MinerJason]

I know, my contractor friend is using his info to get me the stuff. So aggravated, no one will sell it to the general public. I don't understand, its like a monopoly. Ok, I will try to get the thinset you mentioned I was already at HD and lowes and they all say not submergable in water on any of the thinset products, I was able to contact Quickrete online and they reccomended their thinset multipurpose 1550. I contacted custom building products but they said there mortar is not water proof, do I need to coat the concrete with a waterproffing material before I apply the thinset mortar for the tile? Or are they selling me the wrong mortar? If I use the Laticrete 254 will that waterproof the tile so the pool wont leak through the tile gaps?

Not sure who you talked to at Custom Building Products, but they have two thinsets that are rated for submerged applications, both of which are carried by most Home Depot's. As mentioned in my PM a waterproofing agent on the bond beam beneath the tile is a good idea, and I like to use cemetitious products like Merlex super blockade. And no, the thinset won't be waterproof.

I called Laticrete and they said to use their Hydro Ban before I use the Laticrete 254 thinset to attach the tile, did you use that?

FAQs

Get the resources and support you need with the industry's most comprehensive technical support program. Search FAQs on how to plan or troubleshoot your job organized by product category.

laticrete.com

I used Merlex super blockade.

So I took some advice and made the hole bigger and was able to get the new skimmer fitted in, but now I have to bend and fit in the rebar. I also worked on all the spalling of the bond beam and was considering using rebar in staple shapes so this doesn't happen again. It has been so much work fixing this this weekend. What would people recommend to prevent the spalling under the coping in the bond beam? I know I have to leave a gap with foam and waterproofing between the back of the bond beam and coping and the pool deck like in the drawing I recently posted. I had to drill out the a lot of the bottom of the skimmer to get it to fit.

Looking much better!

Spalling of the mud cap is usually due to weak concrete/mortar (rebound material is commonly used, and is very weak), a poor bond, or from expansive soil pushing against it from the back side. To prevent spalling, use a high strength mortar, do everything you can to ensure a good bond (clean surfaces thoroughly, use a bond coat, etc), build in proper expansion joints, and waterproof the joint between the coping and decking and the joint between the tile and coping to minimize water infiltration to the soil behind the bond beam.

 

[mikes112]

Thanks. I drilled holes between the bond beam and the pool deck which was overlaping the bond beam near the stairs. I now have to seal that. I want to cut back some of the pool deck in that area, but how do I cut inside curved pool decking. I am going to use a bond slurry using Sika masonary bonding agent
and just portland cement. Pics are the current state of affairs. I was able to chip off all the concrete from the underside of the coping that I removed.

 

[mikes112]

Just an updated video of my work on the pool, mostly the loose concrete has been removed, looking for suggestions and advice to what to do next. Thanks.

 

[mikes112]

It's easiest to drill the holes downward at about a 45° angle, insert the rebar loops without the skimmer in place, bend the loops down until they're flat, and then plumb the skimmer in. And make sure you get all the debris and dust out of the holes before you epoxy in the rebar, otherwise the epoxy won't bond well.

Thanks. That's exactly what I did. Used number 3 rebar, kind of had to prebend it. Glued it in with the Sitka rebar epoxy which set up real fast. In one of the photos I had to drill out part of the bottom of the skimmer to fit the existing pipe work that's already cast in the concrete. I'll get an updated photo of the rebar in the hole tonight. In the one image is where I drilled the holes for the rebar. One issue I noticed when I see videos of skimmer replacement in concrete pools is that there pouring concrete all the way up to the top of the pool deck, but that can't be right! The concrete that encases the skimmer has to be separate from the pool deck and I was going to first pour the concrete to the level at the top tile line and then add a layer of thin foam and poor the pool deck on top of that. I know the pool deck and top of the bond beam is suppose to be separate, what are these other guys doing? And most premixed concrete I see has larger rocks in it but I don't think those rocks are going to go down in between the new skimmer and existing concrete, should I just mix sand and portland cement? I did purchase a concrete vibrator to do this.

View attachment 115678View attachment 115685View attachment 115683View attachment 115684

 

[mikes112]

Used my laser level to run a new line for the bottom of the tile line in my pool. One side of the pool seems to be 5/8" higher then the rest so ill eventually have to bring that tile lower as well. I tried the red 360 laser first and couldnt see it at all in daylight so I bought a green 360 rotary laser. Gives an interesting effect. Good way to predict how your final waterline will be even around the pool. But now I wonder if the concrete pool will settle once water has been added?lo

 

[MinerJason]

One issue I noticed when I see videos of skimmer replacement in concrete pools is that there pouring concrete all the way up to the top of the pool deck, but that can't be right! The concrete that encases the skimmer has to be separate from the pool deck and I was going to first pour the concrete to the level at the top tile line and then add a layer of thin foam and poor the pool deck on top of that. I know the pool deck and top of the bond beam is suppose to be separate, what are these other guys doing?

Go back and read the article in post #12 of this thread. There's an expansion joint between the decking and the skimmer pour. You sort of have the right idea, but it'll be a lot easier to do in one pour making the separation/expansion joints vertical rather than horizontal as you're describing. It'll also be easier and look nicer if you saw cut the hole for the skimmer pour nice and square.

And most premixed concrete I see has larger rocks in it but I don't think those rocks are going to go down in between the new skimmer and existing concrete, should I just mix sand and portland cement? I did purchase a concrete vibrator to do this.

If you don't have room between the skimmer and existing concrete for standard per-mix aggregate to fit with plenty of room, then you didn't chip enough concrete out. The vibrator is a very good tool to use for this, but if the aggregate can't fit in those gaps, then your vibrator probably won't either, so it won't do much good.

 

[mikes112]

Could I just use sand and portland cement to make sure its going to get all the way under the skimmer?
Do pool skimmers crack because water is left in them and then they freeze and crack so when I winterize should I bring the water level down to a point?

 

[ajw22]

Do pool skimmers crack because water is left in them and then they freeze and crack so when I winterize should I bring the water level down to a point?

When you winterize you should bring the water below the tile line to keep water from getting behind tiles and popping them off.

Ice does not crack skimmers because the ice can expand up out of the skimmer. Ice cracks pipes when water is trapped and has no place to expand.

Skimmers crack due to deck and soil pressure on them if the ground shifts or adequate structures are not put around them.

 

[MinerJason]

Could I just use sand and portland cement to make sure its going to get all the way under the skimmer?

You could, but you'll need to add a plasticizer to get it to flow into a space that small with the proper water to cement ratio. Even then I'd be worried about voids.

 

[mikes112]

So I built some scaffolding and I have a really small crack that runs along the bottom of one side of the pool. Originally when I put the rubber plug into the main drain of my pool to keep out the ground water I noticed some water coming back into the pool from the outside of the pool shell through this crack, should I remove the plaster and install staples? Or will just replastering this fix the problem? I know that this can cause the pool to lift out of the ground by plugging the static pressure hole at the bottom of my pool but I only did it for like 20 hours and the pool did not lift out of the ground, and I did remove all the ground water before I temporarily plugged it. I have found the little giant pool cover pump to be the best pump to keep the bottom of the pool dry while working on it. Its automatic and it pumps out to like only 1 inch of water left in the pool.

 

[mikes112]

Finally got to cementing in the skimmer. Used Sitkas rebar epoxy to glue in two half rings of rebar after I drilled holes into good bondbeam material. I put wet plaster at the base of the new skimmer both on top of the pool shell and under the skimmer itself at the same time as I glued in the skimmer plumbing ( a little nerve racking). And then filled in more plaster around the flange of the new skimmer. The poured flowable mortar around the base of the skimmer. I regret how wet I had to make it but I had no choice. Used Rapidsets mortar mix. Then poured regular concrete mix over that. Im now thinking to just leave room for the coping and pour concrete up to the level of the pool decking and put a gasket between that and the pool deck? Or continue the pool deck to around the top of the skimmer and put an expansion joint around the top of the skimmer?