 |  |
There are a couple of causes of uneven concrete pool decks. Pool decks settle because voids form under them, due to settlement or erosion. Settlement comes from improper compaction at construction time, and erosion can be caused by precipitation, pool water being splashed onto the deck, or leaks in your pool or plumbing.
When an air space forms under the pool deck, the concrete becomes unsupported and slowly settles down and becomes uneven. Often, concrete slabs will teeter-totter as they settle, so if part of a slab is higher than it originally was, chances are this was caused by the opposite side or corner dropping.
There two basic types of pool; those with stone or brick coping separate from the concrete pool deck (usually concrete & gunite pools) and those without stone or brick coping (usually vinyl-lined pools). The four diagrams below show a pool that has coping stones, click here to see diagrams of pools that do not have coping stones or bricks.
A site visit is the best way to assess what has happened to your pool deck and the best way to restore it; to request a free site visit, click here!
When your pool is constructed, fill material is placed around the pool to prepare for the concrete pool deck installation. Because pools and their plumbing are fragile, it is difficult even under the best circumstances to get really good compaction around pools during construction.
As the fill material placed below the pool deck during installation settles, an air void (1) forms under the pool deck. Settlement is accelerated by water that is splashed out of, or overflows from the pool. Water can also cause erosion of the fill material beneath your slab, particularly if it is built on the edge of an embankment or is elevated above the surrounding terrain. As air voids form under the pool deck, the only thing holding it up is the friction between it and the surrounding slabs or pool edge. For pool-side slabs, this can apply lateral pressure against the pool wall, which can cause structural damage such as cracks, or break coping and tiles loose. Surface cracks often form during this step of the settlement process.
Over time, the concrete slabs start to settle as their weight overcomes the friction holding them up. The slabs drop below the level of adjacent structures (1), and sometimes teeter-totter, which causes the opposite corner or edge from the settlement to rise up above its original level (2). As slabs start to move, what were originally hairline cracks in the surface can open up and become enlarged.
Concrete Jack's skilled technicians assess the areas of settlement for the amount of drop, extent of adjacent voids and identify any areas of teeter-tottering. Based on the technicians' findings, access holes are drilled through the surface of the pool deck, and Concrete Jack's custom blend of grout material is injected under the slab to relevel the slabs to their original positions and fill any voids under areas that are not supported. For almost all residential pools, this process takes just one day, and you can use your pool immediately!
Ready to request a quote? Click here, call (757) 592-0452 or (804) 643-0112
|
| |
|