PFA the pics of my salt water pool's wearing out pool coping and deck. I'm in central Texas. I guess, extreme summer heat and winter freeze combined with salt water (?) causing these structures to wear out, turn black, endure cracks. Looking for suggestions to repair the cracks and chips first and how to maintain them better going forward. Please enlighten!
Suggestions to repair and maintain my pool's coping & deck
- Thread starter BullishBear
- Start date
How old is all that ? Pool water didn't touch anything in your pics with any kind of frequency so its not the pools fault, just the good old fashioned elements.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 64,988
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
You have a few different things going on.
No way to repair cracked stone like this. The stone needs to be replaced.
The stone joints cannot be fixed. You can chisel out the mortar in between the stones and replace it with Type S mortar.
The interface between the steps and the wall can be chiseled out and remortared.
Cracks come from the movement of the area or from freeze/thaw cracking when water gets around the stone.
Talk to local masons, who may have some tricks. I think they will recommend waiting until you are ready to rebuild the stone areas. No patches are going to blend well or look good.
No way to repair cracked stone like this. The stone needs to be replaced.
The stone joints cannot be fixed. You can chisel out the mortar in between the stones and replace it with Type S mortar.
The interface between the steps and the wall can be chiseled out and remortared.
Cracks come from the movement of the area or from freeze/thaw cracking when water gets around the stone.
Talk to local masons, who may have some tricks. I think they will recommend waiting until you are ready to rebuild the stone areas. No patches are going to blend well or look good.
Somewhat familiar with that area. My guess is that its primarily freeze related. It’s odd that a few pavers have cracked somewhat in a line, leading me towards a subgrade thought, but that’s not uniform material either so you may have localized dips and valleys in the flatwork that hold water and just don’t freeze well.
Regarding the porous rock, my guess is soft rock (central Texas limestone) that has dissolved with time as regular overspray from a sprinkler head that has wet it repeatedly. Notice holes on the back of the rock too, landscaping side. Ain’t no pool water on that side…
Regarding the porous rock, my guess is soft rock (central Texas limestone) that has dissolved with time as regular overspray from a sprinkler head that has wet it repeatedly. Notice holes on the back of the rock too, landscaping side. Ain’t no pool water on that side…
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The structures are close to 15 to 18 years old, I guess. The coping is blistering after couple of days after pool water splashes out on them. I figured it out late, and started hosing the coping after pool use.
Thanks, appreciate your breakdown. I will research on "Type S mortar".You have a few different things going on.
No way to repair cracked stone like this. The stone needs to be replaced.
The stone joints cannot be fixed. You can chisel out the mortar in between the stones and replace it with Type S mortar.
The interface between the steps and the wall can be chiseled out and remortared.
Cracks come from the movement of the area or from freeze/thaw cracking when water gets around the stone.
Talk to local masons, who may have some tricks. I think they will recommend waiting until you are ready to rebuild the stone areas. No patches are going to blend well or look good.
Thats a good point. Yes, I have sprinkler system around the pool. I will checkout whether they are getting sprayed over! Curious, why would normal water cause this? Does that mean, rain water can cause similar damage too? Is there a way to seal them?
@ajw22 One more observation is, the boundary between the Spa wall and the stairs/deck, there is a rubber kind of buffer that runs around them (if you notice in one of the pics). Any idea whats that?
- Jul 21, 2013
- 64,988
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Probably a flexible mastic like used in expansion joints. Deck-O-Seal or Sikaflex 1A.
Also look into SL-1 (self leveling for floor application) or NP-1 (vertical surfaces). I believe that’s a common generic IIRC.
It’s just water doing its thing. Dissolving minerals out of a soft rock. Limestone is pretty notorious for it. It’s also plentiful and cheap in central TX and attractive. And it’s plentiful and cheap. Did I mention it’s cheap?
It’s a sedimentary rock, basically calcium carbonate. Water, acid rain, etc all can effect it. Some more than others, which is why your pavers, which may be from one quarry, may weather at a different rate than your boulders from another. Rain specifically can cause it because it accepts CO2 naturallyas it falls and thus lands on your rock slightly acidic.
Beyond that you’ll have to find a rock geek to explain it to you, as I am not a geologist. I just have a father in law who is, and who lives down the road from you (Boerne) with the exact same thing going on. He calls it “natural beauty” and just lives with it. I’ll have to ask him about a sealer.