Tiles Falling Off

[TimmyR]

My pool has had 3 border tiles fall off in the last 24 hours where the spa flows into the pool (which is how it runs normally unless we switch the valves to "Spa" and recirculate that water. I believe it is simply due to age. We have lived here 10-years and the pool has to be at least 20-years old. I have just moved from test strips to using a proper test kit. Below are my most recent test results. My wife asks if the tiles falling off could be due to all the chemicals I am adding. My Pool Math Log is linked below as well.

FC 7.0​

CC 0.5​

pH 8.2 (probably higher)​

TA 90​

CH 300​

CYA 30​

I am just transitioning from taking FC to 20 ppm after finding animal scat in the pool. I am now working on lowering my pH. If you look in my historic log, my CH was pretty low and I've just about moved that into a proper range. After that last reading I added dry stabilizer and muriatic acid (last night).

Is this an easy fix I can do to reattach the tiles? Is there something I may be doing to accelerate this?

 

[ajw22]

Nothing you did caused the tiles to fall off.

I can see cracked grout lines above the area. Water gets into the cracks and erodes the thinset. It is the same way water created the Grand Canyon. To prevent tiles from coming loose you need to maintain the grout lines and fix any cracks.

Turn off the spillover or stop your pump.

Strip the area of all the loose tiles. Clean off the old thinset from the gunite using an oscillating tool with a grout blade and clean off the back of the tiles. Preparation is 80% of the work.

Mix a batch of thinset and apply it to the pool using a notched trowel. Butter the back of the tile and press it in place. Use plastic spacers to maintain the grout lines. Let it set for a day.

Tile

e-zpatch.com

Then identify all the cracked grout lines. Remove any loose grout with a grout saw. Mix a batch of grout and cover the fixed tiles and all the grout lines that need repair.

Watch some YouTube videos on the tile thinset and grout techniques.

 

[TimmyR]

Nothing you did caused the tiles to fall off.

I can see cracked grout lines above the area. Water gets into the cracks and erodes the thinset. It is the same way water created the Grand Canyon. To prevent tiles from coming loose you need to maintain the grout lines and fix any cracks.

Turn off the spillover or stop your pump.

Strip the area of all the loose tiles. Clean off the old thinset from the gunite using an oscillating tool with a grout blade and clean off the back of the tiles. Preparation is 80% of the work.

Mix a batch of thinset and apply it to the pool using a notched trowel. Butter the back of the tile and press it in place. Use plastic spacers to maintain the grout lines. Let it set for a day.

Tile

e-zpatch.com

Then identify all the cracked grout lines. Remove any loose grout with a grout saw. Mix a batch of grout and cover the fixed tiles and all the grout lines that need repair.

Watch some YouTube videos on the tile thinset and grout techniques.

Thanks. I've obviously not noticed the cracks. I'll do some internet searching and figure it out.