Tips and guidance on mortar repairs

[tloomos]

My pool is in need of some repairs and I haven't been impressed with the work done by the last two masons I've had out, so I think I'm going to try to DIY it.

Looking for any tips, recommended products, etc for performing the following repairs:

1) Some of the rocks along the backside of my pool are coming loose, so I need to resecure them
2) Some of the seams in the coping are cracked and in need of repair. some are just hairline cracks while others have chunks of mortar missing
3) Some of the seams in the tile at the waterline are missing the grout or mortar or whatever should be filling them
4) There are some areas under the coping (where the side wall of the pool meets the coping that overhangs it) where the mortar is cracking and falling off

Here are some pics for better perspective...

 

[kimkats]

The hardest part will be removing all of the broken/old stuff. I am going to ping someone who knows this kind of stuff better than I
@ajw22

 

[ajw22]

1) Some of the rocks along the backside of my pool are coming loose, so I need to resecure them

The correct fix is to remove the rocks, clean the old mortar off of the rocks and shell, and put the rock back on using Type S mortar.

2) Some of the seams in the coping are cracked and in need of repair. some are just hairline cracks while others have chunks of mortar missing

Chip out the old mortar and fill the seams with Type S mortar.

3) Some of the seams in the tile at the waterline are missing the grout or mortar or whatever should be filling them

Clean out the grout joints using an oscillating tool and grout blade and regrout using pool grout...

E-Z Patch® 4 (White) Pool Tile Grout Repair

E-Z Patch® 4 (White) Pool Tile Grout Repair is our above water mixture. Grout repair products and tile grout repair.

e-zpatch.com

4) There are some areas under the coping (where the side wall of the pool meets the coping that overhangs it) where the mortar is cracking and falling off

Same as above. Clean out the deteriorating mortar and fill with mortar or grout depending on the size of the gap.

I float a tarp in the water to catch debris from the cleanup.

Lower the water level as necessary to keep the work areas dry.

 

[kimkats]

Thank you again Allen! Great info there!

 

[tloomos]

Thank you @ajw22, That was exactly the help I was looking for!!