Gunite crack repair

[PoolDoc]

Crack repair on concrete pools can be difficult.

1. If the crack is a shrinkage crack, you can just fill it in -- no reinforcement needed.

2. BUT, if the crack is structural, and penetrating, then a "Kevlar" patch on top won't begin to do what you need. Most structural cracks move, as temperatures change. Resisting that movement takes some serious reinforcement. The photos below illustrate the sort of repair process that may be required. But even with that sort of work, if the stresses causing the crack are great enough, the pool shell will simply re-crack nearby.

The movement can be caused by sub-surface settlement or shifting; this is very common when the pool is built on fill dirt. If this is the case with your pool, you may not be able to stop the cracking, without resolving the underground problem, possibly by pumping concrete into voids between the pool and the sub-surface.

Bottom line: if you can find a GOOD local gunite company that is skilled in such repairs, they are the ones you need to talk to.

[The wilt]

Thanks for the detailed response. I'll pass this onto my pool guy!