question on pool deck

Hi,

We've had a really dry spring and summer this year.. That one bad corner has been like that for at least 1 year. I'm just getting worried that it may be getting worse.

All my corners appear to be moving. The coping has come off the concrete on all corners. Not as bad as the one picture. It's rained for 5 days straight in an extremely dry summer.

What's the harm of leaving it for another year or 2? i was thinking of filling the cracks with self leveling concrete for now.

Do you think it will cause more damage to the pool shell? is the concrete decking attached to the pool shell or is it seperate?

has anybody removed concrete decking themselves? I was thinking of hiring a bunch of labours to do the hard work instead of getting the pool store to fix. Thoughts?

Thanks guys!

With your additional information, I would say replace by next spring, or next autumn at the latest. The cracked portion inside the pool can wait until you replace the liner.

Adding the self leveling to the cracks may not be a good idea, however it MIGHT buy a short amount of time. Not much though, so it might not be cost effective. I don't know if it would damage the coping or liner.

When you have it done, Check with your local concrete mixing plant -- the guys with the trucks -- about recommending a contractor that would be familiar with this type of work.

When you get a few contractor names, ask each of them about the feasibility of either frost wall footings or thickened edge slab for the outer edge, away from the pool. Being that you are from fairly cold country, my bet is that a frost wall footing would be best, for ground stability. There will be extra cost in doing this, but think of it as cheap insurance against this happening again. The frost wall needs only be a 4 - 6" wide trench cut into the ground near the outside of the deck, with rebar to tie the footing to the deck. Personally, I'd widen the deck about a foot or so while I was getting this done.

Again, have them place 3/8" road base, compacted, under the slab.

For removal, yes you could do that yourself, with a little labor help. Electric jackhammers are relatively inexpensive to rent. With 1 or 2 of them, you could have the deck at least broken up in a couple of hours if not hauled out to the skip.

Good luck!

Ah ..... I wish there was a cheaper fix

Would it be cheaper to put down interlocking stone instead of concrete? Would that be a wise idea? Or should I just take the hit and get the guys to reconcrete?

Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it

Interlocking stone would be ok, but requires more prep. And with what appears to be expansive clay (more common that people know), will become uneven in a few years, from the ground water changes. I am sadly lacking in experience with installing interlocking pavers (have only helped with that twice), so can't comment beyond that.

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