Poor Craftsmanship in Lansdale, PA Swimming Pool Results in Major Repairs

Inground swimming pools that have not been built to industry standards will see more issues and damage down the line. This is especially true in the winter months, when the ground may expand and contract due to freezing temperatures. Swimming Pool Inspection Services was called out to inspect a Lansdale, PA pool to determine the cause of broken tiling, and found a much bigger problem.The homeowner stated that his coping sounded hollow and that damage was only sustained to one side of his pool. Our inspector determined that this pool had several issues that needed to be addressed to keep this pool in good working condition.

When our inspector arrived, he noted that the pool was closed for the winter. He pulled back part of the cover in order to perform the inspection.

Lansdale, PA Swimming Pool Inspection and Observations

During his assessment, our inspector made the following observations:

• Two areas of tiling were missing, totaling four linear feet
• The standard brick coping was not loose and all bricks were intact
• The gap between the pool and cement deck was filled with mortar

Our inspector noted that it is common for coping to sound hollow—that alone does not indicate damage to the swimming pool. However, he also stated that the current brick coping was not installed to industry standards, as pool builders use a special brick bull nose coping that is specifically designed for swimming pool application.  Failure to do so will leave the coping susceptible to chipping.

A Cement and Mortar Mistake

Our inspector noted that it is not industry standard to fill the gap between the pool and cement deck with mortar, because it does not allow for expansion or contraction. Rather, it should have been filled in with flexible vulkem perimeter caulk, which is designed to accommodate the expansion and contraction that can occur during the winter months.

Repair Estimates for Lansdale, PA Pool

Our inspector determined that the cause of the tile breaking was the degradation of the bond beam behind the tiling, which, again, was not installed to industry standards. It was estimated that it was cost around $800 to replace the four linear feet of broken tiling. Unfortunately, the style of the tile that was used has since been discontinued. Replacing all of the tiling in the pool in order to ensure that the tiling matches throughout the pool would cost around $4,980.  Because of the poor craftsmanship of this pool, a huge cost had to be incurred to restore this swimming pool to the focal point it previously was.

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Photo Credit: Swimming Pool Inspection Services