New Pool Coping Installation

Yes, that’s right – We can do your pool coping installation too.  Generally speaking, installing pool coping can be a tricky exercise if you’ve never done it before, especially when it comes to getting the coping “perfectly level” on top of the pool. If you don’t, things can go horribly wrong when you start tiling the pool, and cost 3 times as much to make it right again. So first and foremost, you’ll want reputable and experienced coping installers to do this for you – Us - for example ;-) 

Having said that, you’ll also need quality pool coping Adelaide suppliers to assist you in selecting the right coping tiles to match your pool and surrounding landscapes. 

Basically, the pool coping is the pre-cast concrete, stone or brick edging that is glued around the top edge of the swimming pool.  It serves the purpose of protecting the pool from the surrounding elements such as pavers, grass and water damage to the pools structure. While at the same time creating an incredibly attractive part of the pools overall aesthetics.

The Pool Coping Installation process

Ok, The first thing you’re gunna need to decide on is the style of coping you want for the top of your swimming pool, and have it delivered to your home ready for us to lay – Or if we are supplying the coping of your choice, we’ll arrange for the delivery.

If it’s a new pool you’ve had installed, and we’re also doing the tiling of your pool, then that’s an easy one – We’ll do the tiling first and after tiling, having already got the true water level of the tiles, this gives us a perfect level to follow while we install pool coping pieces – we just follow the top tile line as we lay the coping.

If it’s a pool renovation that you’re having us put the coping on, then we’ll remove the old interior pool surface and old coping first. We’ll then tile the walls of the pool, again having achieved a perfect water level with the new tiles, and then proceed with the pool coping installation.

In either scenario above, we’ll first install a few coping tile pieces at certain reference points around the pool to obtain our starting points. If it’s a rectangle shaped pool, usually these reference points are on each of the 4 corners. Once they’ve been levelled and glued into position, we can then proceed to measure out all other coping piece to determine the final coping cut locations. If for example your coping pieces are 600mm long, 1m long, or even 400mm long, they will never fit perfectly around a pool without having to cut some - to make them fit. We always strive to position these cuts geometrically around the pool - so they don’t look out of place and actually look like their MEANT to be there - Just like a bought one ;-)

Finally – once all the coping pieces have been installed, we’ll then force grout into the gaps between each and every coping piece, completely filling the gaps. This gap will vary depending on the design and style of the coping, but usually it’s between a 4 & 10mm gap. The grout we use is a strong and durable sanded grout. We match the colour of the grout to that of the coping.

Once this is done, we’ve then completed the pool coping installation. Now we grout all the tiles on the walls of the pool and force the tile grout up and under the coping – completely sealing it off from the pool water. The grouting completes the seal so that the pool water doesn’t get under the coping or in behind the pool tiles. If this happens, coping pieces “may” come loose and some pool coping repair work will be necessary before it spreads and more tiles and coping come loose.

Pool Coping Maintenance

Over time, your coping may crack, chip or even come un-stuck from the pools concrete surface. This is due to constant movement of the pools concrete and earth pressure and movement surrounding the pool. This is something that cannot be stopped – but it can be reduced substantially, and even eliminated by using a flexible tile glue to stick the coping pieces down. During pool coping installation, the use of a flexible glue allows for any miniscule movements of the concrete and thus preventing the coping from cracking and lifting. Adelaide-Pool-Tilers.com.au always uses a mixture of mortar & flexible glue called Monoflex to install pool coping.

And because many coping materials are porous, meaning they act like a sponge and soak up any liquid that falls on its surface - we recommend sealing the entire coping with a clear lacquer sealant to stop liquids such as coffee, soft drinks and bird droppings from permanently staining the coping. We can provide this service of sealing copings too ;-)

Other than the use of a flexible glue and sealing the coping as described above – there really isn’t anything else you need to do to keep it looking good. Just be mindful that if you drop anything heavy – like a rock, brick or hammer  on the coping, especially on its edges, it will crack or chip a piece of the coping off. The coping pieces are fragile in this respect, especially the sandstone type – Natural stone is stronger, but can still chip off -  So just keep all heavy objects away from its surface and it’ll be fine. That concludes our pool coping installation process – Enjoy ;-)

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