Fiberglass Pool Repair?

[philios123]

We have a fiberglass pool that is about 15-20 years old, and has developed a crack where the shallow end starts to transition to the deep end. It also feels like there is a bit of an air pocket under this area.

The water level was actually this low when I removed the winter cover, I just put the pump there to get the water down another 1" or so to evaluate the crack.

Does anyone have any idea what type of repair would be needed? I imagine they would cut out the damage section, fill the air pocket under the crack, and then replace the damaged section with a new gel coat? Any other options?

Thanks for your time!

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

What type of deck do you have?

I would look to fill the pocket by burrowing under the pool and not cutting a section out.

Talk to people in your area who do fiberglass repairs on autos, like Corvettes, or fiberglass boats on how they would repair the crack.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! I could envision a company drilling some small holes in the shell and injecting a supporting foam product to help fill that void (if needed). I had some recent work done to support shifting concrete and that stuff is amazing. As long as the base is protecting from further settling, the crack can be repaired with a decent cosmetic result.

 

[philios123]

Welcome to TFP.

What type of deck do you have?

I would look to fill the pocket by burrowing under the pool and not cutting a section out.

Talk to people in your area who do fiberglass repairs on autos, like Corvettes, or fiberglass boats on how they would repair the crack.

It is a 4" concrete pad that comes over the lip of the fiberglass tub. My initial thought was to fill in the crack with underwater epoxy, then put a strip of pool tile across the crack so it looks ok cosmetically. Am worried that without fixing the underlying problem (which may be an air pocket under the fiberglass), this repair option would just fail in a year or 2.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Just a word of caution - you should never drain an FG pool without bracing the walls at the top. They can collapse very easily especially if there is any ground water around the pool. I suggest you fill the pool immediately to avoid a cave-in.

 

[MAPR-Austin]

We have done several pools like this. If that is the extent of the crack and it has not fully separated, I think you are on the right track with the epoxy.

The shell will flex once it is full and the air pocket will probably be displaced accordingly.

Getting into cutting the shell, draining the pool, etc is a significant endeavor.

I would seal up the crack and get the pool filled back up ASAP. The longer it sits, the more likely the crack gets worse or you develop other issues.

Also figure out why it lost water over the winter, and get that sorted out asap.