Concrete Pool Deck Cracks
A pool deck can have cracks just like any other concrete. Find pool deck repair experts near you with Groundworks.
If you have a pool with a concrete deck, you may encounter cracks in the surface at some point. Although this can be a frustrating problem to deal with, it’s usually not too difficult to resolve. The key is to understand why the cracks are happening and how to fix them properly. At Groundworks, we offer comprehensive pool deck repair from locally trusted experts.
Why Do Pool Deck Cracks Happen?
As a pool owner, it’s important to understand the causes of pool deck cracks so you can address them promptly. Here are some reasons why cracks can develop in the concrete surrounding your pool:
- Concrete and Foundation Shifting
If your home’s foundation is shifting, the concrete surrounding your pool may also shift and crack. The pool’s proximity to the house can make it especially vulnerable to foundation issues.
- Hydrostatic Pressure
Water is heavy, and it doesn’t take much of it to cause problems for your deck. Water can accumulate beneath the concrete and create pressure that can cause cracking and shifting. This risk is higher for poolside concrete due to the hole required for the pool installation.
- Water from the Pool
The weight of water in the pool can cause cracks in the pool concrete, and water splashing out of the pool can seep into the gaps between the concrete slabs around the pool. This water can erode the soil beneath the concrete, leading to soil washout and expanding soil problems.
Common Concrete Problem Signs
Common Causes For Concrete Problems
What Can I Do to Fix Concrete Pool Deck Cracks?
When you do see pool deck cracks, you’re going to want to fix those cracks as soon as possible. However, many people don’t know what they can do to fix the problems. Here are a few strategies you might want to keep in mind.
- Fix Any Leaks from the Pool
The first step to fix pool deck cracks is to make sure no leaks are coming from the pool. You may want to look for cracks in the inside of the pool itself, very high water bills and more water usage than usual, and pool decks that seem damp or wet all the time. These are all indications that you have a pool leak.
Although this can help with some pool deck cracks, it’s important to remember that this is just a generally important piece of advice for maintaining your pool. Avoiding pool leaks makes your pool safer and easier to take care of. Additionally, when you don’t have pool leaks, you’re going to spend less money on water for your pool.
- Handle Overarching Settling and Cracking Problems
If you’ve noticed any settling and cracking problems in other areas of your home or the property you’re living on, you should handle these problems as quickly as possible. Settling and cracking problems typically have an underlying cause, and at least knowing that underlying cause can be a crucial part of keeping your home as a whole safe.
As with the first tip, this is an important element for avoiding deck cracks, but it’s also just good advice for your home’s health as a whole. The earlier you handle settling and cracking problems in your home’s foundation or the concrete around your home, the more likely it is you’ll be able to fix it without needing to invest in more in-depth repairs.
- Invest in Concrete Lifting
When you’re just having some generalized concrete settling problems that are causing issues with your pool deck, your best option may be to invest in concrete lifting options. Concrete lifting is one of the best ways to make sure your concrete slabs don’t have problems that are even more serious than the problems they’re already having.
There are several ways you can invest in concrete lifting processes. Possibly the most popular nowadays is polyurethane foam injections. Polyurethane foam injections can be an effective way to not only stop concrete settling but lift the concrete back to its initial place. Plus, it’s waterproof, making it the best option for concrete that’s going to be around your pool.
Why Are Pool Deck Concrete Cracks Important to Fix?
The biggest reason for you to fix pool deck cracks is because of the problems that can arise due to those cracks. When you have a cracked pool deck, you’re going to have many issues, including both serious problems that can impact your ability to use the pool and general problems that can just be upsetting.
- Tripping and Falling
One of the biggest problems you might have with cracked pool concrete is the livability of the area. After all, your pool deck will get a lot of foot traffic, especially from bare feet that are unprepared for ridges, rises, or deep fissures in the concrete. You shouldn’t have to worry about people tripping and falling when they’re walking around on the wet, slippery ground.
On concrete, a hard fall can result in serious bruises, broken bones, or other injuries. This is especially true for elderly people, but also small children or people of any age. Even when the pool is out of use during the winter, cracks may trip you up as you’re cleaning the area. If you fix cracks in your deck, you no longer have to worry about people getting hurt.
- Aesthetic
Although livability is a crucial element of your pool concrete, you also want it to look good. Cracks may quickly expand into fissures that stretch from all around your pool. They can even harbor mold, mildew, and bugs that thrive from the water that gathers in these cracks. It’s not only an eyesore; it may even become a health concern.
Fixing your pool’s broken concrete will help maintain your home’s aesthetic and keep your pool functioning more effectively. This can also raise your property value, with future buyers showing more interest in a pool that looks sleek and well-cared for instead of brandishing ugly signs of wear and tear.
FAQs About Concrete Pool Deck Cracks
Fixing your pool concrete deck cracks isn’t necessarily easy. You certainly can’t do it yourself; concrete patches and caulking only fix the aesthetics and don’t fix the main problem. That’s why it’s better to deal with this through an expert as opposed to a DIY fix.
- The Problems with DIY Fixes
Pool concrete deck cracks are an important thing to handle appropriately, and that means not trying DIY. If you notice hairline cracks, you may feel this is simple to fix with caulking or a bit of cement mix. Unfortunately, DIY fixes can be immensely helpful in some areas of the home, but not concrete.
Lifting concrete is a complicated and difficult venture, so leave it to a concrete repair expert. If you don’t, you may end up leaving your pool deck unsupported in certain areas or filling the cracks with material that can’t withstand the water, temperature changes, or long-term use. This can result in more cracks appearing, making your repairs null and void.
- Expert Help
It’s especially important that you get a knowledgeable concrete repair expert for pool concrete deck cracks because they can be more difficult to manage than cracks in other types of concrete. You not only have to deal with the slabs, but you also need to contend with the water, direct sunlight, chlorine, and other pool chemicals. If you don’t have the experience, this may cause your repair efforts to be ineffective.
No matter which Groundworks expert helps you, you can trust in their experience and professional-grade equipment. This will allow them to properly assess the cracks in your pool deck, make suggestions, and then apply sure-fire solutions. Sometimes, only a few minutes or hours are needed to complete the job.
Try not to think about how long you can wait before you’ll have an extremely serious problem on your hands. It’s much better to think about how your pool will fare better if you manage the concrete cracking problems early on.
- Addressing Concrete Problems Early
It’s a good idea to address pool concrete problems as early as possible, rather than waiting until those problems develop into something truly unfixable. If you don’t, you may end up with a pool that needs to be drained and thoroughly repaired. This could even involve replacing chunks of the wall or excavating the entire thing.
That is very costly. Worst of all, if the cracks have damaged the overall frame of the pool, replacement may be your only option. After all, pools need to be a water-tight structure and it’s not as simple as pouring one flat slab, so replacements can be very expensive. On the flip side, early fixes are typically more effective, less expensive, and less time-consuming.
- Noticing Cracks in the Pool
It’s a good idea to call in a concrete repair expert as soon as you notice that there are cracks in the pool concrete. It doesn’t matter if you think those cracks are serious. It won’t be an aesthetic issue, but also a safety problem and a question of whether or not your pool remains in working order.
A concrete repair expert will let you know whether you can ignore these cracks or whether you need to fix them before they spiral out of control. A free inspection will allow them to check the depth and length of the cracks, see if there are problem signs nearby, and assess when you will need repairs. At the minimum, asking for a quote will tell you how long you have to budget for the repairs.
The impacts of concrete deck cracks on your pool are pretty serious, all things considered. There are many impacts that you might see when it comes to concrete deck cracks on the efficacy of your pool. Here are just a few of the things that concrete deck cracks can cause.
- More Difficult to Use the Pool
The biggest problem is that pool cracks make it harder for people to play in and around the pool. Problems with tripping and falling are a crucial part of this, but settling and rising concrete can also create a difficult landscape all across the outside of the pool. You might find that deck chairs won’t sit evenly on the surface. Likewise, lounges and tables will be rocky and uneven.
You or your guests may also catch your bare skin on the sharp edges of cracks. Depending on how deep they are, the fissures might even catch toes, fingers, or inflatable toys, causing damage. The older these cracks get, the more bacteria and gunk they may accumulate, even with chlorine water seeping into them. This could cause some unsightly or infected scratches.
- Issues with the Inside Concrete
When it comes to pricing, however, the worst damage to your pool will be on the inside. For the most part, cracks relegate themselves to the concrete that surrounds your pool. However, if the cracks get serious enough, you might also begin to see issues with the concrete on the inside of the pool. Fissures may stretch along the lip or trail down the sides of the pool’s walls.
This may cause leaking from your pool should the cracks grow deep enough to reach the soil outside of the concrete walls. Once a single crack has made a weak point, outside damage is more likely to affect the rest of the pool. A heavy object that’s dropped, shifting soils, or weather changes may result in several cracks appearing and growing out of control. If left unattended, and if the situation gets dire enough, this could require your pool to be drained and subjected to heavy repairs.
Get an Expert to Help with Your Concrete Pool Deck Cracks
Pool deck cracks can happen for a variety of reasons. They can start large or small, expand into serious concerns or stay relatively minor, and indicate deep structural concerns or just come from generalized settling. However, it’s often hard for people to know which one of these is happening in their own home. That’s where an expert comes in.
Instead of trying to handle cracks on your own, you need to talk to a concrete repair expert. At Groundworks, all concrete repair experts know how to help clients with a variety of different concrete problems, including concrete problems with pool concrete. A local expert can help you understand your current problems, plan for other problems in the future, and install a solution that will help.
Disclaimer: “Concrete leveling” means the process by which cracked, uneven concrete is stabilized, and in many cases lifted, by means of PolyRenewal™ polyurethane foam. Groundworks does not guarantee that PolyRenewal™ can make your concrete perfectly level.