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braindead_gw

cracked Kool decking

braindead
13 years ago

Our pool was finished at the end of September 2010, and we now have two crackers in the Kool decking around the pool. One is a hairline crack, but the other is more significant. One runs the length of the pool and the other runs the width of it.

Our PB has recommended cutting out the cracked area and re-pouring it with new concrete (although he does intend to do this all the way around the pool to keep it symetrical - basically it will look like a frame in the middle of the decking). I am very concerned about this on many levels as cosmetically it will be noticeable (i.e., the saw lines visible and I've been told they can't match the colors of the Kool decking 100%), but more importantly, the root of the problem has not been addressed.

My instinct is telling me to have them pull the entire decking up (leaving the 6" coping in place where there are no issues) and start over.

What are your suggestions/opinions? THANKS for the input!

Comments (11)

  • just-a-pb
    13 years ago

    Pictures would help.
    What part of the country are you in?
    How was the deck done. Is there rebar, or wire in it?

  • braindead
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I am working on getting the pictures e-mailed from home so i can try and figure out how to attach them.

    We live in middle Georgia.

    There is rebar in the coping and the pool shell, but no rebar or wire in the decking.

  • braindead
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Here are the pictures....hopefully they will download okay. I tried posting photos on this site before and was never successful.

    Here is a link that might be useful: cracked pool

  • golfgeek
    13 years ago

    braindead,
    Is the Kool Deck cantilevered or is there a separate coping on the pool? Can't tell from the close up pictures you provided.
    Cracks that run parallel to the pool, where cantilever decks are used, are usually the result of having no slip joint between the bond beam and the deck.
    The cracks you show could be shrinkage and might suggest that the base concrete may have had too much water added at the time it was poured.

  • braindead
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    There is a separate concrete coping on the pool which has rebar in it. I have attached two photos that might help you see what I'm talking about.

    I'm concerned about their recommendation to cut out the cracks and re-pour. I think this will mean we will have problems with additional cracking later on. Plus the fact that I will be able to see the seams where the concrete has been cut out and replaced.

    Here is a link that might be useful: pool

  • renovxpt
    13 years ago

    I think you might be confusing "coping" with bond beam. What you have is a cantilever patio which needs to be free to move separately from the pool shell(bond beam). If they are connected, it is one of the reasons your patio has cracked.

  • golfgeek
    13 years ago

    You do have a cntilever deck. The second photo doesn't show much in the way of expansion joints. I saw 2 at the corner in the first picture. There should be expansion joints at least every 6 feet running from the edge of the pool to back of the deck. Kool Deck is easy to match, but repairs should be made from expansion to expansion. In other words removing deck between expansions and NOT cutting somewhere in the middle to make a repair.
    Good luck.

  • braindead
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    As is obvious, I am a novice at all this. I apologize for my confusion on the coping issue. This has definitely been a learning experience, and I have learned so much from this forum.

    renovxpt -- the bond beam was poured separately from the decking (done on different days) and there is a thin strip of rubber ( I believe) between the two. I know they put something there, just not sure what it was made of.

    golfgeek - we do have expansion joints every 6 feet, the photos I had available on the computer don't really show that very well. I appreciate the advice on repairing expansion to expansion...that makes perfect sense!

    I talked with our PB again this morning, and he understands my concerns and has agreed to remove the entire decking on the shallow end of the pool (what I call the front) and the left hand side (the locations where the two cracks are). They will cut 6" from the pool edge and remove the stated decking. They will also score the other two sides to make them all look uniform when complete.

    I hope this is the right choice...I REALLY appreciate all your input!

  • golfgeek
    13 years ago

    Cutting 6" from the edge doesn't make any sense to me. There will be a cold joint when they repour this portion and it will separate and allow water to penetrate in the future. Deck should be removed including the nose(cantilever) from expansion to expansion that are outside the cracked area. Good luck.

  • mandajill
    10 years ago

    I came across this forum while searching for options on repairing our pool/Kool Deck that was installed November 2012. Within a week, the concrete cracked resulting in chipped/flaking Kool Deck. This was our number one concern when choosing a deck, but our builder assured us that if applied correctly, Kool Deck will not crack/flake, and said that he had not had a problem with this in his 20+ years experience. However, when he came to look at the problem, he said of course you understand that the cracked concrete is what caused this and that is out of my control. (Concrete slab was freshly poured as part of brand new deck) The largest crack runs 10 feet long from brick coping all the way down the side of the deck to the dirt ground. It runs parallel to an expansion joint - about 9 inches away. The Kool Deck is chipping/flaking off along this crack. The other two cracks are not as large; however, one of them spans across an expansion joint, affecting two sections. Our builder offered to chisel off the Kool Deck and cut out the concrete and redo that small section (cutting an inch to the other side of the crack and creating a new expansion joint between 10 -12 inches from the other joint). He did not offer to fix the other two places. I do not like this solution at all! We haven't even used our pool yet! Braindead, what did you end up doing? I just don't understand how one can spend almost $100K with a 100% guarantee on workmanship and end up in this predicament.

  • mandajill
    10 years ago

    Anyone have any advice to offer?