We have recently been asked to repair two pools built by another contractor that have serious leaks.
One pool has a raised spill over spa that water is leaking through the peblle finish and at the spill over stone and getting behind its brick veneer before it leaks out between its brick veneer and the pool tile line.
The other pool has a vanishing edge with stone on the outside of the vanishing edge that is covered with efforvescience.
Obviously neither pool was waterproofed prior to installing the pebble finishes and the stone or brick veneer.
We normally coat the interior and exterior of an exposed pool wall with Aquafin so that the pool will not leak through and create this situation.
On an existing pool with leaks such as these do you have to remove the plaster and treat them like a new pool and waterproof them or can you waterproof the existing plaster and then replaster?
Has anyone had any experience with a similar situation?
Also since most plaster does not waterproof a pool doesn't the continual water infiltration into the structure eventually destroy the structure and does that mean we should waterproof all pools prior to plastering them?
Comments
No chlorine... if it starts to get too murky, we simply drain it. By that time the shell is cured... In my experience it takes a few weeks for the "Muck" to really start to grow, and so I don't really worry too much about it. We always plan to do a thorough cleaning and pressure wash prior to installing any finish materials anyway.
I am open to hearing different ideas and opinions on any of this as well...
Thanks David, we also like the soaker hose/sprinkler/timer method as well. Which has accidently filled a pool or two ( at least partially) for us. Do you chlorinate that accumulated water?
Bill
We cure our shells by setting up soaker hoses (that you by at Home Depot) all over the shell.
We set them up so that the every part of the shell gets wet when they are running. This typically involves using 200' - 300' of hose. We also will sometimes set up a simple oscillating lawn sprinkler on the floor of the pool as well.
We set them all up on an electronic timer (also Home Depot) and set it to run 15 - 20 minutes every 4 to 6 hours... by the end of our 2 weeks of curing, the spa is usually totally full, and the bowl of the pool is often full as well.
I understand that water is a precious commodity (I live in SoCal) BUT the importance of properly water curing your shell is paramount!
I would also factor in a very comprehensive pressure test of all the plumbing as there could be significant contribution to the leakage here. You could end up chasing a lot of different issues, who knows the skill level or integrity of those that built the pool. Price it VERY high if you do it, or Tand M.
Also David, did you cure your shotcrete/gunite by filling the vessel? I've done that by accident with no ill affects, but do you do that as a matter of course? Water is so scarce here in the Southwest, couldn't get away with it anyway. Always looking, though for new tricks.
Curiously yours
Bill Conant
Having operated a business fixing leaking pools for almost 30 years this problem is far to common and as a rule it is because of the methods used in building the shell, David sums it up with a proper answer Xypex in the Shotcrete or Spray Mix. and when i use it it is an great product and when the concrete cures and gets shrinkage cracks they most certainly seal up.
His comment the last one who touches it owns it is right, then because the owner of the pool is out to get revenge on someone and it may become you. So be careful.
Another solution is to remove the entire plaster surface and waterproof the entire pool and weir with a Mapei product called Mapeilastic that will seal it then look at a total re-tile and Plaster of the entire pool.
David Penton seams to know what he is talking about and maybe putting both your heads together would be the answer the owner would like.
Norman. www.poolquartz.co.nz
I would be concerned with the amount of water that is present within the shell currently... If you try to simply waterproof the plaster, and re-coat, I wonder if this would result in trapping that water within the shell, and eventually cause issues with the reinforcing steel.
I always have in the back of my head on these type of situations: "the last one who touches it, owns it"... You may strip back the plaster and find a problem much bigger (and different) than what you originally anticipated.
We use integral Xypex in our exposed walls (raised bond beams, spa dam walls, VE weir walls) for our primary waterproofing, and on our VE walls we use Hydroban to waterproof before stone or plaster/pebble... If you are truly concerned about waterproofing your entire shell, then you could shoot the entire pool with integral Xypex. We did this on our current project, and the pool filled most of the way up during the water curing phase, and held the water... also there was no moisture at all coming through the other side of the Vanishing Edge wall, even though the pool was filled with water.