Lynne, what type of decking is this? Some more info and some pics would help alot help. The folks here can give some great advice that may save you thousands.

It's taken me a while to get back to the computer! The decking is the type that comes with a Wilkes pool. It's wood covered by some type of textured vinyl. The vinyl is peeling off. I have included some pictures.

overall pool - it's above ground (obviously)

close up of the deck under the vinyl (and my toes)

picture of the cracked and peeling rest of deck

How about stripping off the old vinyl, sand it smooth, replace any plywood as needed, and using a couple coats of exterior house paint?

Scott

Hi Scott,

Yeah, I thought of that, but we sanded off sticky residue on a sub floor once, and it totally gummed up the sander. This residue stays moist due to the heat and water it is exposed to. DH said scrape it, but I am afraid of doing damage to the wood. I was hoping someone might have had some experience in a product or chemical that would remove the glue.

Regarding the latex paint - I am thinking it won't hold up with all the moisture. Whatever we do, I really don't want to have to be doing it again the next year. I'd like it to last a few years.

I told DH that I just want to put peel and stick vinyl tile over it - I was thinking we could even put it over the glue since we want it sticky anyway. And, I was thinking we wouldn't even have to remove the other vinyl. The only thing is that the deck is only 21" wide, and most tiles are 12" square, so we would end up having to purchase twice the amount of tile to cover it.

Lynne

Just wondering Lynne, did you replace/repair the vinyl? We actually just bought a pool with a deck that needs to be fixed as well. Wondering what your solution was and if it worked??

Did you find anything that worked? I have the same problem. Thanks

We have the same problem with our wilkes decking. My husband is thinking astro turf but I don't like that idea. Thinking it would hold too much moisture.I am thinking maybe linoleum or maybe even ceramic tile. peel and stick may work and even though you'd have to buy more tiles

I have a friend who bought a home with a pool very similar to this. Its not a Wilkes, but it is a fiberglass pool shell built into a raised deck against the back of the house. It had non slip heavily textured vinyl on the decking. It was old and cracked, he replaced it with light colored outdoor carpet, much denser than astro turf and it looks great and drains well.

I had this exact problem with a Gibraltar/Wilkes pool. I manually ripped up as much of the damaged vinyl as possible. I then installed a light-colored outdoor carpeting on the entire thing. It looks great, was (relatively) inexpensive and drains the water fairly well.

My Gibraltar pool did the same thing and the vinyl did not come off well. It was spotty and sticky like yours. Gibraltar only wants to sell new pools. Try looking underneath the decking and you will see the deck is screwed to metal crossmembers. I removed the screws and turned the boards over, then painted them with a quality pool paint, (white). That was four years ago and it still looks good. Lot of physical work with 2 people buy it worked. I would doubt that Wilkes vinyl coated both sides of your pool deck boards. Good luck, Ed

The pool ended up weakening in one area and then collapsing. My husband didn't want to get another pool, but I did. I found a used one and had it uninstalled, moved, and reinstalled. It was newer (with the aluminum decking) and bigger. We've enjoyed it going on 8 years now.

Our Wilkes pool wall just collapsed too. any tips?