# Forum Home Renovation Paving  Pool Coping Loose.  Best temporary Fix?

## stevemac

Hi, 
Long time lurker in these these forums & am now in need of some advice. 
We had a concrete pool built about 2 years ago. It's salt chlorinated. The pool coping is bluestone with sandstone paving surrounding it. Several pieces of the coping are now loose. The coping was laid on a sand / cement bed. There is an expansion joint between the coping approx every 3 - 3.5m and one between the coping and the sandstone paving. The underside of the coping and the sand / cement bed exposed to the salt water was sealed. 
The builder's warranty on the coping was 12 months so will not be covered.   
I'm guessing the bond failed for more than one reason.  It looks as if some pool water has made between the coping the the sand/cement bed. Unclear if this was the initial failure or if it made its way in laterSuspect there should have been more expansion joints (as the coping with the expansion joints hasn't failed).Sand / cement bed doesn't allow much movement. Suspect the heating & cooling of the pavers has contributed.Any other thoughts? 
Financially we're not in a position to remove it all (about 38 lm) & start again so looking for a temporary fix that can last a couple of years. My thoughts are the following Remove the loose bluestone piecesClean the top of the sand cement bed / bottom of the coping to remove any salt / calcium buildup - is Hydrochloric acid the best thing to use?With a diamond angle grinder wheel, cut some groves in the sand cement bed & remove the top leading edge of the bed. Clean surfacesApply sikaflex to the groves & reseat the copingapply sikaflex to the seam between the bed & the coping (to prevent any pool water entering)apply sikaflex between coping peices (as an expansion joint)apply sikaflex between bluestone and Sandstone (as an expansion joint)Does this sound like a reasonable approach - do you have any other suggestions? 
thanks, 
Steve

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## Bedford

:Bump:

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## cherub65

What did you seal the pavers with? How did you seal the bed, or was it bondcrete or similar
Expansion every 3000mm is enough but is there a expansion joint where the pool edge finishes?  
Would grind existing bed down a few mm and use tile adhesive.
Check all pavers by tapping to see if any are drummy, not a fan of wet fix for coping would normally screed and glue

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## stevemac

Hi, 
Thanks for the recommendation 
Underside of coping & exposed bed was sealed with a stone & tile sealant called "PLUS" by Solutions.  I do not know if bondcrete was added to the sand / cement bed.  Gut feeling is that it wasn't.
There is an expansion joint all the way around the pool (about 10mm between it & reinforced concrete slab - using the gray foam stuff & then sealed with Sikaflex) and between the coping and the surrounding sandstone paving (about 3mm gap sealed with Sikaflex) 
There are several pieces that are drummy & several that you can see where the bond between the coping & bed has failed. 
Will take your advice & grind down the bed & use a tile adhesive.  Any recommendations on an adhesive that will stand up to salt water / chlorine?  Once done should the underside & exposed bed be resealed? 
thanks, 
Steve

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## cherub65

Pop off all drummy pavers, Just make sure bed is sound also. Would use high quality adhesive check out your local tile supply shop for something similar to ParexDavco: Australia
clean out excessive adhesive so you can re grout to match existing

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## PlatypusGardens

Wow that looks dodgy.
No wonder he only guaranteed it for a year.  
I used to do pools years ago and we always used flexible adhesive for the coping.
Can't remember the name of it now - some grey powder stuff. 
Mix it in a bucket with one of those drill attachment thingos and spread it with a notch trowel.    

> we're not in a position to remove it all (about 38 lm) & start again so looking for a temporary fix that can last a couple of years.

  Weeeeeeeelllllll if a couple are coming loose it probably won't be long until the rest of them start popping.
You might be spending the next couple of years gradually fixing that edge up.     :Frown:

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## willy72

Was the guy who applied these a registered builder, the landscape industry is now regulated and are controlled by the same laws as unlimited builders. That being the case your warranty goes from '12 months' to 6.5 years or something to that effect. 
It doesn't look like a great job, with cavities in your mortar like that, its no wonder it drums. 
As a landscaper, when we did pools, we took into account many things such as the width of the pool beam ( what the coping adheres to), the product we were sticking down (bluestone can behave badly in hot situations) and a worst case scenario. 
If the coping is wider than the pool beam and they usually are. we used a flexible exterior grade tile adhesive for the section attached to the beam and where it met the adjoining concrete surface we would use a 50% washed sand and brick sand mortar mix. The reason for the 2 products was that if there was movement, the failure would be against the adjoining concrete and not the pool beam, hence you don't have your coping popping. The pool company that we worked with became more aware of this and used to pour their top beams to match the coping size. 
i always say you don't trust a bad substrate, and this surface has let you down. If the builder won't come to the party, make sure they are in the right first. The best fix from experience is to remove it and make an assessment on the height suitability to adhesive. If it is over 10mm which it looks like a washed sand, grout screed should be applied to get it to a level where you can use the appropriate tile adhesive. 
Sorry, quick fixes Im all for but Im not convinced the sika products will remove the drumming and stop water penetration. 
regards, 
Willy

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