maintaining and/or replacing waterline tile on fiberglass pool

bosmama · Sep 3, 2019

We are putting in a pool for the first time. We have chosen the Trilogy Axiom and are planning to add waterline tile to it. I read the following online today:

"3. How long of the service life of border tiles on a fiberglass pool?
One important factor of the pool waterline tiles’ service life is that how well the pool owners keeps their water balanced. Generally, swimming pool tiles will last 8~14 years on average.
4. How much will waterline tiles cost?
It depends. But remember that the initial cost of the pool waterline tiles is much lower than the replacement costs which takes approximately double times. So regular maintenance is vital to the pool.
5. What’s the best time to add the border tiles?
Some pool owners ask if waterline tiles can be added later, while although it is possible to install perimeter tile on the fiberglass at any time, it is still very hard to do it in a way that looks professional if done after the pool’s coping has been done.
Essentially, something needs to be done when the swimming pool is initially installed."

My questions are...if they last only 8-14 years, and replacement is very costly and can be very hard to look good after coping is complete...how do you replace and it look well it when it wears out? Please share your opinions, thoughts, experiences with me.

ajw22 · Sep 5, 2019

I think those are nonsense answers that give no specifics because there are too many variables.

Tile life depends more on quality of the installation and materials used. Does the crew laying the tile know what they are doing? Are high quality materials being used? Is the tile and grout maintained by the owner? The variables are case by case and can't be generalized.

You can see the difference in tile work between experienced professionals and amateur hacks.

Gopokes okc · Sep 6, 2019

My fiberglass pool installer said he only does tile after the pool is done. He claimed it was easier, but by the time we got to that point, I wasn't going to let him or his crew back on my property. So unfortunately, I got to learn how to do it myself. After some research on the internet, and talking to the tile people at the store, I ended up doing it myself with the silicone based adhesive and caulk. I'm sure it would have looked better if it was done before the coping, but it turned out ok for my first time. The caulking process is crazy time consuming though. I only did part of it, and am going to go back and finish it in the next few weeks. In the last pic, you can see the grey caulk lines to the left side.

duraleigh · Sep 6, 2019

A "tile person at the store" told you to use silicone to set the tiles? Epoxy thinset is all I have ever heard of anyone using??

keithw · Sep 6, 2019

I installed my own tile line as well many years after I installed my FG pool (tile installed in 2012, I think I installed the pool in 2005) & used silicone for the adhesive and the grout. I contacted a number of companies back then that sold "kits" for fiberglass pools that included the tile, adhesive and grout any they all used silicone. I ended up buying one from such a company and for the life of me I cannot find them on the web anymore but it was basically just regular pool tile and standard tubes of 100% silicone. They sold me white for the adhesive and I went with grey for the grout but if I were to do it over I would have just gotten all grey so that you wouldn't have to worry about seeing a different color. I ended up having to trim some spots of white before grouting.

To install the tile drop the water line down to where you want the bottom of the tile to start. Get a wax pencil and make a line around the pool at that level. Drop the water more. Tile up to the underside of your coping leaving a small gap between the top of the tile (cut if necessary) and the coping. Let set.

Grouting with silicone is actually pretty easy.

You buy a bunch of scrubbies similar to these, Amazon.com: B07DP3VB44

Apply the silicone grout liberally over the tile. I grouted right up to the underside of my cantilevered deck sealing the tile/pool to the deck. That bond with silicone allows for the movement that you get between pool and deck and has remained solid. Get a bucket of warm water and add a little dish soap. Soak a scrubbie in it and use that to smear the silicone into the cracks. The soap repels the silicone and does a great job pushing it into the gaps as well as cleaning the tile and pool surface. When the scrubby gets completely gunked up toss it and get a new one. Takes a bit to get the hang of it but not too much. When you finish let it dry and you are done.

I am going on year seven now and it looks very good still. I would say that 14yrs+ would seem more realistic if you take care of the pool based on how mine looks and has aged. I documented some of my tile install in the link below.

New pool proj.Flagstoning around (and on) my fiberglass pool

Hello all. It is pool project time for me again. I installed a fiberglass pool a few years ago and built a raised cement deck I around half of it and a wood deck around the other half. keithw-s-pool-pics-t166.html?hilit=keithw It has served me well over the past few years but I have been...

www.troublefreepool.com

Gopokes okc · Sep 6, 2019

Yes, the tile store folks were fully behind this product. They only use this on any fiberglass work they do. Here is the product they sell at the tile store locally here in OKC. I also read good things about the flextile.com stuff too, but decided to buy local just in case.

Keith is dead on with the process I used. I think the reason the caulking was so time consuming for me, is that my wife picked out tile with multiple pieces on each instead of one big tile if that makes sense. I found some of the sites I referenced when "learning" how to do it.

Products - Flextile.com

Check out our patented silicone adhesive, silicone grout, and everything else you'll need to turn your RV into the envy of the neighborhood.

flextile.com

duraleigh · Sep 6, 2019

That is really interesting. I wonder why tile guys mess with epoxy when this stuff is available? Is this product pretty new?

Gopokes okc · Sep 6, 2019

duraleigh said:
That is really interesting. I wonder why tile guys mess with epoxy when this stuff is available? Is this product pretty new?

I'm not sure how new it is, but the guy that has the videos for the flextile stuff claims that he came up with the formula for his stuff. I had never heard of doing tile like this either until I started doing research for the pool.

duraleigh · Sep 6, 2019

Well, I am very intrigued. For a DIY, it would be extremely easier to work with water soluble silicone than epoxy.

mknauss · Sep 6, 2019

I have used that Novagard silicone product to repair tile on our fiberglass pool. It should have been used when installed. My fault for not insisting.

It is expensive, ~$14 per tube.

Gopokes okc · Sep 6, 2019

duraleigh said:
Well, I am very intrigued. For a DIY, it would be extremely easier to work with water soluble silicone than epoxy.

If I can do it, I would think most people can as well. Other than making sure you don't get the level out of wack, there isn't much to it.

mknauss said:
I have used that Novagard silicone product to repair tile on our fiberglass pool. It should have been used when installed. My fault for not insisting.

It is expensive, ~$14 per tube.

They are definitely proud of it. Oh, and I read that when you buy it, verify the date on the bottom of the bottle because you don't want to use old product. I guess the shelf life isn't great, and there was a horror story from a guy that used expired stuff without checking, and his tile all fell off.

bosmama · Sep 8, 2019

Does anyone have waterline tile installed in the fiberglass pool? How easy is it to maintain? What if it needs replacing in 10 years, is that feasible?

mknauss · Sep 8, 2019

We do. If it is installed using Silicone adhesive/grout (Novagard is one brand) and properly installed, it should last a very long time.

I was not as versed as I am now and the installers used a silicone adhesive but a cement grout. Big mistake. I am slowly repairing the grout with the Novagard product.

YippeeSkippy · Sep 9, 2019

I don't have it on mine and prefer that. Simple and one less thing to manage.

Maddie :flower:

ajw22 · Sep 9, 2019

See his thread...