It’s been a long, cold winter. You and the family are waiting at the back door on the day the weather breaks, so you can get the pool ready for a few months of long-overdue outdoor recreation. You start uncovering the pool, and there are several tiles lying loose in the bottom, and they seem to have shirked their duties because of a nice new crack in the pool wall.

This looks like it’s going to be an expensive, time-consuming repair, plus a quick phone call tells you that your local swimming pool repair contractor is going to be booked for several weeks. So can you do anything to salvage your pool season without breaking the bank or getting in over your head? Possibly.

Pools settle. It’s the nature of the beast. And when they do, sides and beams can shift and crack, letting water out, dirt in, and giving rise to a host of other pool related problems. The crack needs to be sealed properly to avoid further issues and prevent these same tiles ending up back in the bottom of the pool. What you need is an adhesive/sealant that is flexible, sticky, and waterproof. Marine grade sealants are very well suited to this job, and can be purchased at your nearby boating care and supply store. 3M 5200 marine adhesive/sealant is a good example.

You may need to lower or drain your pool to get at the entire source of your misery, then give it a little time to dry out thoroughly. Fill the crack with your adhesive, and don’t be stingy. Yeah, this stuff isn’t cheap, but compared to having the pool contractor come in, it’s in the same price range as sunshine in Florida. Smooth over your work with a good trowel, and use the same adhesive to reset your wayward tiles. This repair could very well hold you until next season, when the pool guys have their heads above water again.