what product should I use to repair crack in bond beam and chipped pebble finish?

[kamejinjess]

Hi everyone!

I found a leak in my spa and it appears to be from a crack in the bond beam. Removed our tiles (quite a few fell so was planning to DIY and replace them all) and the crack is rather large... nearly across the entire half of the tub.

Besides the crack in the bond beam, also realized the pebble finish has chipped off quite a lot.
Does anyone know what's the best way to patch these up?

What product is best to be used to fill the crack in the bond beam, and is there a way to fix the broken pebbles...?

<long horizontal crack in the bond beam>

<chipped pebble finish>

 

[cowboycasey]

The issue is "why did the bond beam crack?" Is there a good perimeter joint?
Look at this document online.. OGT-Pool-Water-Feature-Installation >> Glasstile

If the root of the problem is not fixed it will just crack again... is there just deck on the other side of the spa? has the deck cracked also? anything else move or cracked?... In you area I just do not see much freeze thaw damage happening but I can see heat moving it...

I would hate for you to repair it and in a couple years it breaks everything again...

 

[wireform]

The pool deck being not being installed with proper gap/technique can be pushing or pulling on the bond beam causing that sort of cracking.

 

[kamejinjess]

The issue is "why did the bond beam crack?" Is there a good perimeter joint?
Look at this document online.. OGT-Pool-Water-Feature-Installation >> Glasstile

If the root of the problem is not fixed it will just crack again... is there just deck on the other side of the spa? has the deck cracked also? anything else move or cracked?... In you area I just do not see much freeze thaw damage happening but I can see heat moving it...

I would hate for you to repair it and in a couple years it breaks everything again...

Thank you for the input!
Yes it’s just deck on the other side and there’s no visible cracks on the deck. At this point I’ll probably just try to patch it up myself (even if it’s just a temporary fix)... any suggestions on what can be used to seal that crack?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

That horizontal cracking is a sign that your expansion joint that should protect the pool bond beam from the pressure of your deck is not correct.

The pool structure and deck need to be able to move independently as two separate structures. Otherwise the deck puts pressure on the bond beam and causes that type of cracking. If you don't fix the root cause it will just crack again.

Read Expansion Joints and Coping - Further Reading and post pics of the top of your deck and coping.

Simply filling the horizontal bond beam crack will not fix structural problems you now have with the bond beam if the crack is all the way through and you basically have two layers. The long term fix is to remove the copings stones; determine if the bond beam is cracked through; if so remove the cracked layer, epoxy rebar bars for structural support, and pour a new bond beam top; install the coping; and fix the expansion joint.

Then you can install tiles and repair the plaster.