A few tiles on the pool floor, a row that sounds hollow when you tap it, or a section that has come away from the wall. Tile rarely fails on its own. Something behind it has changed.
What Causes It
- Water behind the tile. When the mastic joint or the grout fails, water gets in behind the tile line and breaks the bond.
- Freezing. Water trapped behind tile expands when it freezes and pushes the tile off.
- Pressure from the deck. If the joint between the deck and the pool has closed up, the deck pushes on the coping and tile every time the ground moves.
- Movement in the pool wall. Cracks in the top of the shell show up first as cracked or loose tile.
- Age. Old setting material eventually lets go.
When It Is More Than Tile
- A crack runs through several tiles in a line.
- The coping above the loose tile is also loose or lifted.
- The same area has been repaired before.
- Tile is coming off in more than one place.
Why Gluing It Back Rarely Lasts
Sticking a tile back on fixes what you can see. If water is still getting in behind it, or the deck is still pushing on it, the next tile along comes off within a season. The repair that lasts is the one that deals with the cause.
How We Repair It
We find out why the tile let go, repair what is behind it, and reset or replace the tile so it matches. Where tile and coping are both failing, it usually makes sense to redo them together with new mastic. We'll show you what we find and give you a firm price for each option.
Tile coming loose?
Save the pieces and call us. We'll find out what's behind it.