Busy pools wear in the same places.

Trouble spots in a busy lane pool

A pool with high bather numbers, daily cleaning and constant dosing tends to show wear in the same few places: lane lines, step nosings, edge tiles and the grout around outlets and channels.

Dark lane line tiles can crack or lift, and grout can soften or wash out where use is heaviest while the rest of the pool still looks fine. When the problem is local and the background is sound, a targeted repair is often enough.

Lane and target tiles are usually a contrasting dark colour, and a close replacement can take a while to source. If a closure is coming up, order early.

• Lane line and target tiles
• Step nosings and entry steps
• Edge and channel tiles
• Grout around outlets and returns
• Pool surrounds and drainage gratings

Plan the closure around the timetable

For a leisure or school pool, arranging the closure is often harder than the tiling. We tell you early what the job is likely to involve, from draining and inspection through to curing and refill, so lessons, clubs and public sessions can be moved.

Surround tiling and changing room repairs can sometimes be phased on their own. Work on the pool shell nearly always means draining.

We are happy to look at a pool well ahead of a planned closure, so materials can be ordered and the sequence agreed in time.

Pools used for training and teaching

A pool that runs club training and lessons alongside public sessions needs clear lane markings, sound steps and intact edges.

On a training pool we pay close attention to the end walls, where swimmers turn and push off, and to the target tiles on them. Then we separate what needs doing now from what can wait for a later closure, so the operator can prioritise.

• End walls and target tiles
• Lane lines along the floor
• Learner pool steps and shallow floors
• Edge tiles and nosings

Down the M6 from Warrington

Crewe is an easy drive from our Warrington base, as are Nantwich, Sandbach and the villages around them, and Stoke-on-Trent over the border in Staffordshire. For pools much further away, we plan travel and accommodation around the job.

Dan and Jay carry out the tiling themselves, so the people who inspect the pool are the people who do the work.