Pool decks that are sinking or have cracks are a major symptom of a potential leak. Rust forming around skimmer and return ports, holes in your liner that have been patched, cracks in the pool floor, broken fittings - any signs of damage to the pool should be noted and heavily scrutinized to see if they are the cause of the leak or perhaps a. Nov 6, 2009 - Swimming pool patios are more prone to cracking so it. So the straight answer to the question is: Yes your concrete pool deck will crack. Dear Angie: I just had a new concrete driveway poured and the very next morning, several cracks showed up in the concrete. My contractor says that this is normal and will not affect the integrity of the concrete. My contractor had a representative from the material supplier come out and take a look and he also said that this was normal. I looked at my neighbor’s 1-year old driveway, though, and there is not a single crack in it. I elected to hold the final payment until I get a satisfactory answer. ![]() What do you think? Is this normal? – James B., Chicago. Dear James: Unfortunately, cracking is pretty common in concrete, especially during the first 30 days, while it’s curing or setting up. If a contractor does it right and the conditions are ideal, the cracks can be virtually unnoticeable from plain view, except the homeowner’s prudent eye. RELATED: RELATED: There are a number of reasons why concrete cracks. Free download pen drive password lock software downloads. The most common is because concrete shrinks as the excess water evaporates and it hardens. Unfortunately, too often contractors add too much water to the mix, which makes it easier to apply but also more vulnerable to cracking. Concrete can also crack if it dries too quickly. Weather conditions — extreme temperatures, rapid temperature changes or conditions that are too wet or too dry — also play a major factor in how well concrete cures. Another consideration is if the contractor used control joints and spaced them properly. Contractors place control joints in the concrete with the anticipation that it will crack. Also called “relief joints,” control joints are the straight lines or grooves you typically see at regular intervals on concrete sidewalks, driveways and garages. ![]() Their purpose is to relieve the pressure that leads to cracking with the cracks essentially forming in those grooves, so that, cosmetically, it’s barely discernible. I recommend you give it a little more time. Concrete takes a good month or so to really set up. By then, the cracks could be undetectable. The method the contractor uses to cure the concrete plays a big role on how well it holds up. Cement requires a moist, controlled environment to gain strength and harden fully. Talk to your contractor about his method to cure the concrete. It expands and contracts in response to the temperature. If there are fluctuations in the weather during and immediately after the pour, which is known to happen in Chicago, that can also create problems. ![]() Contractors must be good judges of those situations to determine when to seal the concrete to reduce the chances of it cracking. Those many variables alone could have played a factor as to why your neighbor’s driveway has no visible cracks. RELATED: All that said, if after it cures, the cracking is severe — big enough that you can fit a quarter in the crack — that’s an indication of a problem and deserves a conversation with your contractor about an agreeable solution. You were smart to withhold the last payment. I advise homeowners to do that precisely for situations like yours. You now have leverage in case those cracks do become worse instead of better. If you continue to have concerns about the integrity of the concrete, consider bringing in an independent or structural engineer to determine if there’s a more serious issue. RELATED: Angie Hicks is founder of Angie's List. Email questions to or tweet to #AskAngie. Follow Angie at @Angie_Hicks. Editor's note: This is an updated version of an article originally posted on June 21, 2012. Did your concrete driveway crack after being poured? Tell us about it in the comments section below! The American Concrete Institute addresses this issue in ACI 302.1-04. “Even with the best floor designs and proper construction, it is unrealistic to expect crack-free and curl-free floors. Consequently, every owner should be advised by both the designer and contractor that it is normal to expect some amount of cracking and curling on every project, and that such occurrence does not necessarily reflect adversely on either the adequacy of the floor’s design or the quality of its construction (Ytterberg1987; Campbell et al. 1976)” Please educate yourself! The ACI's standards are not standards at all. Pool Deck Crack Repair ProductsThey are the abandonment of standards. The concrete industry has been dedicated to institutionalizing the fraudulent claim that all concrete cracks. This absolves all of the unskilled concrete contractors of responsibility for their poor work practices. It also removes the consumer's recourse to bad concrete jobs that they have paid for. When the installer of my new and cracking concrete patio told me that, 'All concrete cracks.' My Pool Deck Has Cracks On Side', I told him to look down at the concrete porch that he was standing on and point to one crack. There are none. Then I pointed out that the walkways, driveway, RV pad and garage slab also have no cracks.
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