Pool Tile Repair and Replacement in Flower Mound, TX

Porcelain, ceramic, stone and glass

LATICRETE's pool guide allows only impervious tile, under 0.5 percent water absorption, or vitreous tile, under 3.0 percent, because tile that absorbs more than 3 percent may permanently expand from moisture. For mosaics it recommends paper face-mounted sheets and urges caution with sheets held by PVC dots or adhesive mesh, whose bond can be very low once soaked in pool water; the glass maker Interstyle requires face-mounted or dot-mounted glass under water, so the two makers differ on dot mounting. Glass also chips and cracks more readily than porcelain, so keeping spare tiles for later repairs is the usual advice. A pool tiled all over, not just at the waterline, is covered under glass tile pool finishes.

Thin-set, grout and the standards

The 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code points to ANSI A108, A118 and A136.1, the American National Standards for installing tile and for tile-setting materials, for tile in pool and spa shells. MAPEI's pool specification, published with Daltile, follows the Tile Council of North America's method P602: a cement bond coat to ANSI A118.4 or better, epoxy grout to ANSI A118.3 or cement grout to ANSI A118.6 or better, and a flexible sealant meeting ASTM C920. LATICRETE's epoxy grouts contain no portland cement and aren't affected by pool water treatment, and it says cement grouts break down in submerged work more often than a good epoxy grout.

Glass needs more care. Interstyle makes back-buttering mandatory so water can't collect in voids behind the tile, LATICRETE asks for at least 95 percent mortar coverage after the tile is beaten in, and Oceanside Glass & Tile lists bright-white thin-sets because the setting material and flattened trowel marks decide how translucent glass looks. Grout sand is disputed: Oceanside says its tile takes sanded cement grout without scratching, while LATICRETE and Interstyle say sand may scratch glass and point to unsanded or epoxy grout.

Flower Mound Pool Resurfacing will talk through the tile, the thin-set and the grout that suit your pool.

Cutting out cracked or loose tile

Each cracked or loose tile is cut out around its edges with an angle grinder or circular saw fitted with a dust attachment, the old thin-set is ground off down to the concrete, and the new tile goes back in a submersion-rated adhesive, with care not to damage any waterproofing membrane underneath. LATICRETE wants the shell free of dirt, dust, curing compounds, sealers and any residue that could act as a bond breaker, with no standing water, and doesn't recommend acid-cleaning it when other methods will do, since poorly rinsed acid can leave chlorides that weaken the bond.

Regrouting the tile line

To regrout, LATICRETE removes the old grout with a medium- to high-pressure washer, or saw-cuts the joints with diamond blades, down to sound grout or bedding mortar, then vacuums, rinses and lets the joints dry completely. For cracked grout at the waterline alone, the usual repair lowers the water below the tile line, clears the loose grout with a grout saw or an oscillating tool, presses in new grout and lets it set before the water goes back up.

New tile over old

New tile can go over existing pool tile with a suitable thin-set, LATICRETE says, but only when the pool is in good condition and the old tile is well bonded: the old tile is scrubbed and rinsed, loose or damaged pieces are fixed, a thin skim coat goes on, and the new tile is beaten into fresh mortar.

Cure time and the refill

LATICRETE's minimum cure before refilling is 14 days at 70°F for latex-fortified cement grout and 10 days at 70°F for epoxy grout, and Oceanside asks for at least 21 days for its submerged tile unless the thin-set and grout maker says otherwise. No acid-based cleaner touches LATICRETE grout before the fill, and the water then goes in at about 2 feet per 24 hours, the same rate LATICRETE uses for draining, so pressure from behind can't pop tile or mortar loose.

• Tile absorption under 3.0% (LATICRETE)
• Movement joints every 8 ft for glass, 12 ft for porcelain (Oceanside)
• Cement grout cures 14 days at 70°F (LATICRETE)
• Fill and drain about 2 ft per 24 hours (LATICRETE)

Pebble Technology International notes that a remodel usually does the pool finish and the waterline tile at the same time, which is where pool remodeling comes in. Flower Mound Pool Resurfacing will talk through a spot repair, a regrout or a new tile line.