It's Cracking BEFORE it's even finished...
Cracks - everywhere...
Recently a client hired me to inspect a brand new pool that they were in the process fo having built on their estate, on the Woodside - Atherton, CA border.
It seems that the shotcrete that was placed a few weeks ago had developed cracks all over. The pool builder assured them that this was a normal occurrence and that there was nothing to be concerned about.
Many Possible Causes
There were many possible causes.
The gunite company could have used too much water in their mix design. The rapidly evaporating water would have caused shrinkage cracks.
The pool may have been cured improperly, allowing the water in the concrete to depart too rapidly, causing shrinkage cracks.
The gunite could have been mishandled after placement (e.g. walked on), forcing water to the surface. That accelerates the water loss and causes shrinkage cracks.
The gunite crews could have cleaned out their hopper, mixer and hoses by spraying that rubbish all over the inside of the pool & then "broom finishing it."
How bad is it?
After sounding the shell with a "tuning fork," it was determined that there were hollow pockets of concrete.
Only taking core samples of the concrete, directly over some of the cracks, would tell for sure. If the cracks extended through the structure, then someone had a lot of work ahead of them.
That bad
It turned out that the cracks extended through the structure. Since a swimming pool is supposed to be watertight, cracks are unacceptable.
Epoxy injection is equivalent to putting a band aid over skin cancer. It only hides the problem.
The only solution was to demolish the affected areas and to replace the shotcrete.
You would not accept a cracked concrete foundation or bridge... so why would you accept a cracked pool?
Contact the author, Paolo Benedetti of Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa at:
info@aquatictechnology.com or 408-776-8220.
Visit his website at: www.aquatictechnology.com.
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To contact the author, Paolo Benedetti of Aquatic Technology pool and Spa, email him at: info@aquatictechnology.com or call 408-776-8220.
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