DIY Repairs to Swimming Pool Tile

DIY Repairs to Swimming Pool Tile

Pool tile at the waterline is a protective and decorative element on in-ground pools. If your pool tile has begun to crack and crumble, repair it! There are many different options when it comes to repairing or replacing the tiling around your pool. This article shows you the DIY way to repair and rejuvenate your pool tile.

Where to Buy Matching Pool Tile

Starting at the bottom of the materials list may be best. If you have just a few pieces that fell off, and you have the pieces, you’re fine. But if you have more than a few inches of tile to replace, using “sheet tile” is easier and gives a better result.

Where can you find the original pool tile used by your pool builder? The first place to ask is your pool builder, if they are still around. Snap a photo and email it to them if they need more detail other than color, style and when the pool was built.

The second best place to look are local pool stores, which can order from a local pool supply distributor or from another source. Again, a picture or tile sample is most useful. You can also call ceramic tile stores in your area to see if they carry any “frost-free” swimming pool tiles. Next, you can search online. There are some websites with lots of pool tile catalogs you can look through.

If you can’t locate the tile, you could use a close match tile, especially for small repairs, maybe on areas you can’t see from the house! Buy the same color, and close to the same size and shape, if it’s mosaic tile.

Pool Tile Repair Materials List:

  • Small chisel and hammer
  • EZ Patch #1
  • 1/4-inch notched trowel
  • Sponge or rag
  • Mixing bowl or small bucket
  • Matching pool tile

Tile Bed Preparation

EZ Patch #1 for replacing pool tile

The surface that you reapply tile to may need some work. In the top image, we see a broken out area that was patched with some hydraulic cement to bring the surface up to level with the surrounding tile bed. If there are sizable cracks, enlarge them and remove any loose material with a disk grinder or chisel, and fill them with hydraulic cement (if deeper than 1 inch) or EZ Patch #1 (less than 1 inch). Fill in any holes to create a flat, even surface for the new tile. Allow any patches to dry for 24-48 hours before continuing.

Use the chisel or a small, sharp flathead to remove any pieces of grout still stuck to the surface and to create a good ledge. This bottom edge, or the notch in the pool plaster, is useful when hanging new tile. If the surface has been exposed for some time, it may be good to clean it before retiling. A degreaser such as TSP or Simple Green can be used for cleaning to improve the bond of the tile cement.

Cracks Behind the Pool Tile?

If there are large cracks in the beam (the area of the pool wall behind the tile), stop! This is called beam damage and should be opened up and filled with hydraulic cement, pushing the cement as far as possible into the crack to reduce the possibility that your tile will fall off too soon. Pay attention to large cracks in the beam, as these are likely the cause of the tile falling off.

Such cracks are often caused by a faulty expansion joint, allowing the pool and pool deck to touch during expansion and contraction. As they both expand, the deck wins, pushing into the pool wall. In cases of active beam damage, expect a tile repair to only last a year or two unless the larger issues are dealt with. In worst cases, this involves removing the coping stones, replacing the top portion of the wall, and restoring the expansion joint between the pool wall and pool deck.

Replacing Pool Tile

During a cool part of the day, use pool water or a hose to wet the area to be repaired thoroughly. If the surface is hot and dry, it will suck the moisture out of the setting bed of mortar. Mix up small batches of EZ Patch, 1 cup at a time, with water and the included bonding additive. Mix until a peanut butter consistency is reached. Spread it onto the moist tile bed with a 1/4-inch V-notched trowel, raking the bed to create 1/4″ rows or furrows of the EZ Patch tile repair mix.

replacing swimming pool tile

Quickly position your sheet tile and press it firmly and evenly into the bed of pool mortar. Some will squeeze through the tiles and out the sides. Be sure to press on all areas or pieces of the tile and that the tile remains level and plumb. Mosaics need some extra finesse to align and space the pieces correctly.

If the mix is too wet, or too dry, or the bed too thin, the tile may slowly fall off. After placing the tile, stay with it for a few minutes to be sure it’s not sliding. Then keep an eye on it as you move on to the next tile section. EZ Patch Fast Set gives you only 5-10 minutes to work with the mix. Mixing small batches, progressing foot by foot, is most efficient.

After your tile has been set, gently wipe away large hunks of excess tile mix, but avoid cleaning or touching the tiles too much for 24 hours.

Grouting Pool Tile

EX Patch #4 for grouting pool tile

After your tiles have set up for 24 hours or so, you can grout in between the tile pieces. EZ Patch #4 is an excellent waterproof pool tile grout. Again, mix up small batches of 1 cup or less to the peanut butter consistency. Use a sponge, grout spreader, or a piece of stiff cardboard to force the grout into the spaces between tiles and the space above the tile. EZ Patch 4 also makes an excellent material to parge the area where the tile meets the skimmers.

After it has set up for 10-15 minutes, use some water and gentle rubbing to clean up the extra grout that smeared onto the tiles. Then, after 24 hours, you can use a stiff brush or scrubber to remove the haze and polish the tiles. Finally, after the grout has dried for a few hours, you can begin to fill the pool level again.

Tile Repair Cleanup

After the grout has set up for about an hour, you can gently give it an initial cleaning with a wet sponge or small towel. Allow the tile grout to set up overnight, and you can then give it a final cleanup with a sponge or towel, buffing to remove the white haze. Any “glops” that fall in the pool can just be brushed off the surface. If they harden onto the surface, a chisel or screwdriver will pop them off easily.


The hardest part about making small pool tile repairs may be finding the replacement tile. Once that’s done, the rest is easy breezy.

37 thoughts on “DIY Repairs to Swimming Pool Tile

  1. Jacki grafton

    2 mosaic tiles have come off the floor of my swimming pool. When we had the pool built some years ago, the installers told us not to drain the pool as our garden has a high water table and the pool could rise out of the ground. Really?

    • Well, it is possible, but rare. If you do drain the pool, be sure to do it during a dry spell, and not during hurricane season, like now, or after heavy rains, and be quick to open up the hydrostatic relief plugs, which most builders put into the floor of the pool and into the main drain pot. These are threaded plugs that allow you to open up a pathway for high pressure water table water, into the pool, relieving the pressure. But you don’t need to drain the pool to replace two little tiles. You can reaffix them with silicone, or with EZ Patch 1-FS, (fast set plaster mix), or with pool putty…

  2. Hi there!! We need to replace 4ft. of tile. Since our pool is so old we cannot find the exact tile.. Nor anything that looks nice. We were thinking of a crab mosaic since it’s by the steps, but it’s an inch smaller than we need. Would this work?
    Also, we have pin holes throughout the pool in the grout, and want to grout them. Do we have to scrape the old grout out first?
    Thank you!! (Love your blog)

    • Hi Nicole, it would be best to scrape out some of the old grout, and to clean thoroughly with a degreaser (like TSP or simple green) and acid wash before grouting, for best results, although, you can just fill in the holes, but the color won’t match so well. For the missing tile, if you have tiled skimmers, you can carefully remove the tile from the skimmers and replace them with a complementary color/style, and use the removed tile to patch the missing area. But, you probably don’t have 4 ft of tile in the skimmers, You can use the crab mosaic, and have larger grout joints on all four sides, or use small trim tile pieces around the mosaic to fill in the gap somewhat, which may look better than 1/2″ wide grout joints, and stay cleaner looking.

  3. Norma Brink

    Hi, we need to remove a large area of tile and replace since we cannot find matches. How do we stop bits of tile sheet from dropping into pool during removal?

    • You could tape a sheet of heavy plastic across the pool, or have a helper hold a 2×12″ board up against the wall while tile is being chipped, or just let it fall into the pool and scoop it up later with a Leaf Rake net.

  4. daremonai

    you mention ezpatch #4 for grouting. My pool shop already sold me ezpatch 1fs for grouting. Would that work as well? I would prefer to use what I have if it would work
    Thanks

    • Hi, absolutely you can use pool plaster mix (EZP #1) as grout between pool tile. In fact, the original grout is likely pool plaster mix, applied at the same time the pool is plastered. EZ Patch #4 Tile Grout is just smoother with less grit, easier to work with, but if doing a small area, you wouldn’t notice much difference in workability.

  5. Found many hairline cracked tiles when opening pool this year. Very sharp when running finger across the cracks. While I wait to finding matching tiles and get them replaced, is there something I can do so we can still use the pool for the holiday weekend? Temporary repair? Sanding? Waterproof tape?

    • HI Chris, you can still use the pool! Just tell the kids not to touch the tiles! Or their fingers will be cut off! :-0 Seriously though, you could get some tile grout and a grout float, and that could soften the edges, but maybe a sanding block (volcanic stone) might be better, and easier…?

  6. Great article. I have a small section of grout that needs repaired. Removing the grout is my biggest challenge. I purchased a cordless dremel and was wanting to use it to remove the small section of crumbling grout. Can you think of any problems I might incur using a cordless dremel and diamond grinding bit? Thanks for your help.

    • Hi BJ, dremel would work well – be sure to wear goggles and gloves. You won’t need to remove solid grout, just crumbling grout. It’s not necessary to remove grout that is not loose. The only problem I can think of is A). dropping the Dremel into the pool, or B) missing the grout, slipping and hitting the tile, the diamond bit will certainly scar the tile.

  7. Hi Davy, bought a house with a pool last fall and a tile fell off to the bottom yesterday. I think we need to put it back but can you tell me why? Also, should I lower the water like 2 inches below the tile and then do the EZ patch you described? Really wanted to do without draining water but worry about effectiveness since I haven’t done anything like that before. Thanks!

    • Hi Mike, the tile performs a job of allowing bath tub rings to be easily removed, without staining. Without tile, there would fast develop a nasty scum ring around the pool, that is only removable by acid washing. Plus, it will look nicer without missing tile pieces, of course. I would lower the water level, just to the bottom of the skimmer, no need to go 2″ lower than the tile. Clean-up the area, by chipping off any raised material or bits, and make sure there is a nice ‘ledge’ at the bottom edge, to help support the tile. Just add water to the ez patch, butter the back of the tile with the mixture and stick it on. EZ Patch fast set can be done underwater, but yeah – for a first timer, it may be easier to patch it dry.

  8. Michael Iorio

    Thanks for the Info where do I buy EZ Patch
    Big Box stores ?

    • HI Michael, not big box, they won’t carry it. We have EZ Patch plaster mix, which can also be used as tile setting mortar and grout, or you can find EZ Patch products online, or even on the company website https://e-zpatch.com/

  9. Dale Panchesin

    Davy, My pool cleaner replaced five blue tiles along the water line of my pool. It looked great and I as pleased. The next day they all fell off. Should he have lowered the water level below the work area and let it dry out for a day or so? I don’t think her lowered the water at all.
    Not sure what he used as a adhesive but it didn’t work.

    • Hi Dale, a lot of pool guys simply use pool putty, which makes a very poor tile repair, and looks like a flattened piece of gum on the back of the tile. Can be done underwater. A more successful repair would lower the water level, and use thinset mortar or plaster mix (like EZ Patch #1), to set the tiles. After setting up for 4-8 hours, the tiles can be grouted with pool tile grout (EZ Patch #4), or plaster mix, and then the pool can be refilled after a few hours of grout dry time. Wipe off the haze after 24 hours.

  10. I want to replace all the tile at the waterline. A pool installer said it would break the seal and I would need to resurface the entire pool. Is that correct?

    • Davy Merino

      Hogwash! 🙂 using a diamond tipped blade on a 4″ grinder, a cut is made below the tile, about 1/4″ below, all the way around the pool. Then the tiles are knocked off with pneumatic chisels, the sub-surface is cleaned up and smoothed, and new pool tiles are set in a bed of thin-set mortar. Plaster mix is used to parge in above and below the tile, and also commonly used as grout between the tiles. So your installer is mistaken, you can replace the tile without replacing the plaster – it’s done all the time.

  11. Hi Davy, after grouting the tile in a small area of the water line, how long should I wait to re-fill the pool where the vertical tile will be submerged?

  12. Jenny Boling

    What is the strip of white above the tile line called? We are going to attempt to replace our entire tile line but I want to make sure we have everything we need. Its flexible like caulking but its an entire solid strip that is coming off…..any ideas?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Jenny, normally, above the tile (below the coping) regular pool plaster is used, as a grout. We sell it as EZ Patch #1. But it’s not flexible, maybe they did use an outdoor caulking (not self-leveling caulk). Or, in some cases, I have seen a plastic strip used, mortared in place under the coping stones, but I don’t know what those are called.

  13. I have a section of tile about that size that just fell off – because I cannot find matching tile, I am thinking of replacing the fallen tile with a decorative mosaic that says something like “Zane Family – 2017”. Has anyone ever tried this, and does anyone have any pictures of how it looks (having words on your tile line)? Any other advice?
    Thanks!
    Zane

    • Zane, I love the idea! It will be half submerged, but that’s OK – you can also put in depth marker tile if you need more coverage

      • I’m so new at this that I don’t know what depth marker tile is… do you have any examples?

        • Depth marker tiles are usually white, with the depth of the pool (at that spot), printed on the tile. You can also find tiles with No Diving printed on them, or with amusing designs like whales or sharks. Just google “Pool Depth Marker Tiles”, and click the Images tab, to view some examples

  14. My spillway wall tile is coming loose/off at the top (flat top of wall), and I want to make this repair myself. But my concern is that I can hear, by tapping on the tiles on the outside section of wall, that there are large areas where the grout is the only thing holding the tile together. There’s a hollow gap between tile and wall bed. It seems obvious that replacing those large sections all at once would be best, but what am I risking if I don’t do that and just leave them, only repairing the pieces that have actually come loose/off? I’m trying to avoid calling in a pro, but these are big areas to re-do.

    • Hi Matt, you aren’t risking anything by not repairing them, until they fall off. If the grout looks weak, you can regrout these loose tile areas, to beef up the grout ‘reinforcement’, especially on the top, to keep water from getting behind the tile.

  15. Robert Slinskey

    Can I remove the tile and put ez patch for finsh

    • Davy Merino

      Robert, hi – you could remove the tile and just cover the area with EZ Patch plaster mix, sure. But – you will likely get a bathtub ring around the waterline, especially in corners. This can be removed with acid. Lower the water level an inch or so, and just pour a 50/50 mix of acid added to water, and pour on with a flower watering can, then rinse off quickly.

  16. our brand new pool was finally ready and after 2 weeks the tile in the spa started falling, what happened? it’s been only two weeks.
    Our contractor says no idea what happened

    • Hi Jane, I would guess that it’s either bad mix, or a bad bed. Not sure what they used to set the tile (plaster mix, thinset, mortar?), but if the material is not mixed properly, and applied promptly, the chemistry for a good bond is not there. Temperature also plays a role, if it was cold (or hot) during application. The thickness of the thinset layer, and the moisture content of the sub-bed also play a role. The sub-bed, beneath the tile setting ‘mud’, could have been loose and hollow, if so, you will see pieces of it stuck to the back of the tile that fell off.

      Spas, attached to pools, usually have a divider wall, and in some cases, there are expansion forces that can affect the tile and bond beam around the spa, and particularly on the spa spillway wall. Because of the design of the round attached spa, as the deck and pool expand in hot weather, this can put pressure across the spa dividing wall and spillway areas. Not saying that is the cause, but it could possibly be a factor.

  17. Thanks for sharing nice blog

  18. We have a spillway between our spa and the pool. Obviously the water runs from the spa over the spillway into the pool. The water runs on average 8 hours a day. The cap on the spillway is a marble slab measuring 25″x 22″x 6″ and a thickness of 5/8″. Over the last 14 years the cap has been eroded by the water severely. I suspect that is where my leakage is taking place. I want to replace the cap but I am thinking maybe a piece of granite may be better. I would use EZ Patch #1 to repair the slabs base and then EZ Patch #4 for the grout. Any comments, suggestions? Thank you, Ed Burk

    • vertical and thin spa walls are often trouble causers, unfortunately, because of the temperature differences and the water etc.

      Not sure if granite is better than marble in any regard, although it may be. Your repair logic sounds solid. your base should be about 1/4-1/2″ thick.

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