loose coping stone

[poolwilly]

Hi,
We have one loose coping stone (see photo). (Lots of missing tiles on our pool, but we don't have the money to fix them. I don't mind that it's not so pretty; mostly I just want a place for my kids to play. What would folks recommend to fix this? I've read recommendations for Type S Mortar Mix, also retaining wall glue. And would I need to add anything else to the mortar mix?
Thanks for any help! I'm totally new to this, but would love to try to do it myself.

 

[ajw22]

You can see that the mortar has very little adhesion to the coping stone. Which is likely why it came loose.

Chip out as much mortar as you can. An oscillating tool can help chip it out.

Mix up a batch in the bucket. Lay the mortar on the bond beam, butter the back of the stone, and press it down.

 

[poolwilly]

Thanks so much. Some rookie questions if you don't mind... when you say chip out the mortar: should I take out the whole 1 inch layer? Or is there a way of taking out less? (In the photo, I think I've marked this with purple). Then it would be Type S mortar?
And which oscillating tool attachment would you recommend? I found this one: DEWALT Oscillating Fast Cut Carbide Grout Removal Blade DWA4220 - The Home Depot
Would it be strong enough?
I really really appreciate your help. I'm trying to do as much as I can myself with the pool, but all of this is new to me.

 

[ajw22]

when you say chip out the mortar: should I take out the whole 1 inch layer? Or is there a way of taking out less? (In the photo, I think I've marked this with purple). Then it would be Type S mortar?

Yes, the more you remove the better.

And which oscillating tool attachment would you recommend? I found this one: DEWALT Oscillating Fast Cut Carbide Grout Removal Blade DWA4220 - The Home Depot

That should work. I have not used that exact blade. You may go through a few so get at least 2 or 3 on hand.

I like the Milwaukee Diamond grit blade...

Milwaukee 49-25-2271 Diamond Grit Grout Removal Blade

Milwaukee 49-25-2271 Diamond Grit Grout Removal Blade

greatlakespowertools.com

Float a tarp on the pool around the area you are working to catch the large debris that falls into the pool.

 

[poolwilly]

Great! Really appreciate it. After I set the stone back, I think I am going to want to fill up the gap behind where the tiles used to be (circled in red) because water washes up in there. Would the Type S mortar work for that too? Or perhaps something like Quikrete quick setting cement? Eventually, we'll tile it or plaster it over (I hope), but for now, I just want something to keep the water from washing up beneath the coping stones (which seems to be washing all sorts of grit back into the pool). Thank you for your help.

 

[ajw22]

I did not really focus on your situation until now.

You have a cracked bond beam with major deterioration. That is usually caused by lack of an expansion joint between the deck and the pool.

You can stick whatever in there but at some point you have a major repair ahead.

 

[poolwilly]

Oh no! I hadn't realized that. I've just started reading about cracked bond beams online and my family is heartbroken. Getting work out here is so difficult... and it I worry this is beyond my skill set.

So I can understand, where are you seeing the cracked bond beam? I see a crack that extends through what I think is mortar (in IMG 8806, in my first post). And in IMG 8845 (yesterday's post) the front of the bond beam (at least as I understand it) is definitely eroded. But maybe I'm not understanding... I've been reading about this all morning, but am still very much in the learning phase.

I really, really appreciate your help with this.

 

[ajw22]

Here is various information about bond beam repairs.

What is a Swimming Pool Bond Beam and Why Do You Need One? «

The importance of swimming pool bond beam.

www.triadassociatesinc.com

Bond beam repair

I recently purchased a house with an in ground pool where the tile was loose around 1/3 of the pool, and a lot of the coping sounded hollow. After removing all of the tile I discovered bond beam damage in several places. As such, I have removed the coping stones, and chiseled out the bond beam...

www.troublefreepool.com

Bond beam repair - rebar or no?

Yup @bdavis466 - hoping for your advice please! We're in the middle of a remodel, pool is demoed and they are currently fixing the cracked areas in the bond beam. They are just adding new cement without using any rebar to tie in to existing structure. PB says he doesn't recommend adding rebar...

www.troublefreepool.com

Correct way to repair cracks at the level of the bond beam (cracked tile)?

The other thing which dissuades me demo of the deck is that there are only the areas mentioned. The remainder of the pool has no cracks anywhere and there are no cracks in the deck. Do you think it would be beneficial to just demo those two sections (between expansion joints) which have a...

www.troublefreepool.com