Patched pools, looked at properly.

When a pool has been patched before

A pool that has been in use for decades has usually been repaired more than once. Layers of old repairs, different grouts and odd replacement tiles are common, and each one says something about how the pool has behaved.

We look at those old repairs closely before suggesting a scope. A repair that keeps failing in the same place usually has a cause behind it: movement, a failed bed, or a movement joint that someone grouted when it should have stayed flexible.

• Repeat failures in the same area
• Mixed grout types and colours
• Hollow patches around earlier repairs
• Rigid grout in movement or perimeter joints
• Cracking that follows a line across tiles

Schools, clubs and private homes

Around Macclesfield we take on public leisure pools, school pools and health clubs, and private pools in homes out towards Prestbury, Bollington and the rural edge of the town.

School pools need work in the holidays. Private owners are usually more flexible on dates and more particular about the finish. We fit the plan to the pool.

If a club runs a spa pool or steam room alongside the main pool, it makes sense to inspect those on the same visit. Warm, busy areas can wear faster.

Sometimes repair, sometimes retile

A targeted repair and regrout is sometimes the sensible route. Other times there is so much hollow or failed tiling that retiling a wall or floor is better value over the life of the pool. We explain both, and why.

Macclesfield is within reach of our Warrington base, as are Wilmslow, Alderley Edge, Congleton and Stockport. We work much further afield too, anywhere in the UK.

What to have ready for a first visit

A little information helps us give useful advice from the start. It does not need to be formal, and gaps are normal on older pools.

Photographs of the problem areas, any record of past repairs and an idea of when the pool could close all help. We then look at the pool ourselves before agreeing a scope.

• Photos of loose, cracked or hollow areas
• Notes on past repairs, if known
• Grout type used previously, if known
• Likely closure windows
• Any changes to cleaning or water treatment