Wirral pool tiling, indoors and out.

Homes, hotels and leisure pools

There are private pools in homes in the Wirral's villages and coastal towns, some indoors and some outside, as well as leisure and school pools and pools in hotels and health clubs.

Private owners usually get in touch about a finish that has slowly gone downhill: dull tiles, eroded grout, a few tiles lifting. A visit tells us whether that needs a deep clean, targeted repairs, a regrout or more.

Frost, wind and salt air

Outdoor pools and surrounds get frost, rain, sun and big temperature swings, and near the coast there is salt in the air as well. Water that gets behind a tile through an open joint can freeze and push it off.

Copings and the top courses of tiles usually show the damage first. Tiles, adhesives and grouts need to be rated for external use, and the work has to wait for weather the products can cure in. Tiling into a cold snap to hit a date rarely ends well.

• Products suitable for external conditions
• Movement joints sealed flexibly, not grouted
• Slip resistance and falls checked on the surround

After the season

If the pool closes for winter, photograph cracked tiles, open joints and loose copings when the season ends. That gives time to agree a scope and book the work for a sensible window before next summer.

Humidity and the pool hall

Indoor pools at home have different problems. Warm, damp air affects wall finishes around the pool, and poor ventilation slows curing during works.

Before we start, we check the room can be kept warm and ventilated while the products cure. If dehumidification is part of your pool plant, it is worth confirming how it will run while the pool is empty.