Sunderland pool tiling, with every task booked into one trip.

From the Wear to the seafront

Sunderland grew up around the mouth of the River Wear, and the city now spreads from the centre out to the coast at Roker and Seaburn and inland to the suburbs and villages beyond. Its pools range from public leisure and school pools to university and college pools, hotel and health club pools, and private pools in homes on the edges of the city.

Busy public pools tend to show wear in the lanes, at the turning walls and on the steps. Private pools are usually quieter, but problems can go unnoticed for longer because nobody is looking at the tiles every day.

Getting more from a single closure

When a pool has to be drained anyway, it makes sense to look at everything that shares that closure. Before we set off we ask what else has been on the operator's list, so we can bring the right materials and tools.

• Loose, cracked or hollow tiles in the tank
• Open or washed-out grout lines
• Step nosings and edge tiles
• Poolside walkways and channels
• Showers and changing room floors

Finding the cause, not just the symptom

If the same patch of tiles keeps lifting, replacing them again rarely solves it. Movement in the structure, a missing movement joint or a failed bed underneath can all push tiles off. We look for the reason before recommending a repair, so the money is spent once.

Spare original tiles are worth digging out if you have them. They make a patch repair far less obvious than a near match.

Pools close to the sea

Pools near the seafront at Roker and Seaburn sit in salty, damp air, which can be hard on metal fittings, handrail sockets and the tiles around them. When we inspect, we look closely at where tiles meet fittings, since that is often where cracks and lifting begin.

None of this means coastal pools fail early, only that the details deserve a closer look on each inspection.