My pool is about 10 yrs old and I’m in NE Pennsylvania. My coping is the common red brick almost like a terracotta color. How long can I expect the coping (not the tiles below) to last? My have holes and divets here and there, almost like gouges. I also noticed some have fracturing….just the red brick. The mortar joints are sound and look fine. I think my bricks are defective but I want to do some homework first.
Answer:
Brick is material that tends to have the issues that you mention. The freeze thaw cycle will affect them if the bricks absorb water and then freeze you get that popping (Fracturing) as you explain it. There is nothing that can be done to prevent this from happening, it is the nature of the material. You can replace the stones that have the issues, or when it is time for a renovation if you look into an actual stone material like a grantie/quartz or pressed concrete you won’t experience the same issues.