Thin Pavers_ Tips On Overlaying Your Pool Deck With Remodel Pavers!

One of the common questions we get by homeowners and contractors is: "How can we make our pool deck look great again?"

 The second question is: "Do we need to remove the entire pool deck or can we just remodel the pool deck?"

Remodeling your Pool Deck Explanation:

Over the past ten years there has been a large emphasis by manufacturers to create products to help with remodel pool deck projects. This includes remodel coping, thin pavers, travertine pavers, travertine remodel coping, shellstone coping and other natural stone products. All of these products have been designed to make pool remodel much easier and more cost effective for the homeowners. These products make it so the material can be installed directly over the current pool deck without removing the old pool deck.

When we first visit the pool deck, we check a few things. What shape is the current concrete decking in? If the pool deck concrete has minor cracks and imperfections it makes a great candidate for a remodel pool deck installation. Now if the pool deck is cracked and lifted over 1” we would need to look into fixing those areas or going in the direction of just removing the pool deck. In most cases the pool deck can be patched and repaired for a remodel job.

We also look at the pool coping or concrete cantilever on the current pool deck. We are looking for the thickness of the coping, the integrity of the coping, and the material of the current coping.  The coping condition will determine the type of remodel we can or can’t use. Remodel coping will go over your current coping or concrete deck. The remodel coping does two things: 1) It hides the face of the current coping or concrete and 2) it establishes the new height we install the remodel pavers to. The product is shown here. Its "L" shape allows for complete covering of the old facing. Remodel coping comes in a variety of lengths to cover the current thickness of your pool deck.

Remodel Coping Installation

This  process is very difficult! Please be very careful the contractor you select for this project. Make sure they have completed many of these projects, you have seen examples of this work, and have spoken to the customers they have done this for. The first step is to determine if the remodel coping is going to sit in front of the pool tile or will the old coping be cut back to allow the coping to sit directly on the tile. The cleanest look is to cut back current pool coping 2”-3” and install it directly on top of the tile. This process takes highly skilled installers. If this process is done incorrectly many lower pool tiles can be damaged. Once the pool coping is cut back, the installers will place a thin set bed on top of the pool deck of coping. The coping weight rests on the pool deck, not on the tile. The installer places all the coping on the pool, checking for level between each and every piece. If the pool is curved, the installers will likely wedge each piece to make a uniform curve. A ¼ to ⅜” space will be left between each coping for grout to be applied later. After 24 to 48 hours the coping will be grouted with sanded grout. It is up to you if you would like the grout to closely match the color of the coping, or if you would like it to accent coping going a completely different contrasting color.

Remodel Coping for Pool Decks

Coping simply means that you are putting a rounded cap on the corners of your pool deck. The most popular type of coping that you use is called bullnose. Bullnose pool coping gives a nice rounded edge. You may use a different selection of pavers to bullnose cope your pool deck. This method is also used to cope your patio stairs.

Thin Pavers for Pool Deck

Thin pavers are ideal for all type of non-vehicular application which remodels existing slab concrete. Thin pavers are well thought-out as a tile because of their shape and thickness. Characteristically, its thickness range from 3/4"  to 1 1/4".