Repairing Fiberglass Steps In Inground Pool

[bubbles705]

Hi everyone. I have a problem, a few years ago we discovered a crack in one of my fiberglass pool steps. We had a someone who repaired boats come in and fix it for $400.00. He sprayed some kind of foam inside the crack to fill in where the dirt under the steps had shifted. He then sealed it with some kind of epoxy. Well, now about 4 years later we opened our pool and we lost some water. the water level now is right under the cracked step. it looks like the epoxy is started to deteriorate. I don't have the person's name or number who fixed it the first time, but i know that he repaired boats. My question is, do you think that i could do this myself? I just don't know what is the name of the spray can with the foam, and i don't know what kind of epoxy that he used. Has anyone dealt with this kind of problem in the past, and if so, what did you do about it?

I appreciate any input on this.

thanks.

[ANG]

I dont know about the foam he added but what I would do is go to a place where they do boat repair and ask them. Or if you know where a Marine supply store is you can get some fiberglass matt and resin and do it yourself. Its really not hard at all as long as you follow the instructions on how to mix and use the resin.

[suzieQ]

Hi everyone. I have a problem, a few years ago we discovered a crack in one of my fiberglass pool steps. We had a someone who repaired boats come in and fix it for $400.00. He sprayed some kind of foam inside the crack to fill in where the dirt under the steps had shifted. He then sealed it with some kind of epoxy. Well, now about 4 years later we opened our pool and we lost some water. the water level now is right under the cracked step. it looks like the epoxy is started to deteriorate. I don't have the person's name or number who fixed it the first time, but i know that he repaired boats. My question is, do you think that i could do this myself? I just don't know what is the name of the spray can with the foam, and i don't know what kind of epoxy that he used. Has anyone dealt with this kind of problem in the past, and if so, what did you do about it?

I appreciate any input on this.

thanks

(June 9, 2008) Today we have experienced the SAME problem. Our second step had a hairline fracture in it and epoxy was applied but when the step was stepped on yesterday the epoxy cracked and a small hole developed right through the step. We lost 2 inches of water pretty quickly and two more inches today. We just had a new liner put in and the pool man said the steps were fine that fiberglass doesn't wear out. How wrong he was. We shall now visit the local boat place for help with repairing the step.

[Chris Knudeson]

Renewing an old post because I struggled with this myself for several seasons and lots of money. I tried foaming the steps, as I had read about it online and watched some youtube videos,  it lasted a month but cracked and leaked again. As you can see, my fiberglass and aluminum repair did not please my wife, and cracked and leaked again.  I finally found poolstepspecialists.com. They were really helpful and explained how foam will soften over time and isn't a very good solution. I had called about a DIY kit they sell, but got lucky and a technician is in my area. They fully resupported the treads, which made them super solid. I was surprised how invisible the repair was, once complete.