If your vinyl pool coping is old, faded, rusted, dented and cracked – this blog post is for you! Maybe you’ve spent countless hours on your hands and knees, prepping, patching and painting your 30+ year old vinyl pool coping. To replace the coping, you first have to get to it, which means removing whatever is on top of it. Here are a few tips for replacing your vinyl pool coping.
Cutting the Pool Deck
If it is a finished concrete edge, or you have a concrete pool deck poured into and up to a plastic or aluminum coping, it can be a little more difficult, as you would need to cut the concrete about 1 ft back from the coping edge, bust it up and then remove it.
Also, when the pool deck is poured right up into the pool coping, the pool coping and the liner track are joined. Which means you’ll also most likely need to replace the liner when you replace this type of pool coping.
- Rent a walk behind cut saw with a 12-14″ diamond blade saw.
- Snap a chalk line on the deck, put on gloves, goggles, ear plugs.
- Cut in straight lines, slowly. Hold ‘er steady as it cuts thru rebar.
- Rent a rotary hammer drill with spade bit to bust up the concrete.
- Be careful not to damage the kickers, pool wall or horizontal shelf.
Removing the Old Coping
Once you have reached the pool coping it is usually screwed into the pool wall about every foot or so around the whole pool. After you have removed the screws you can pry up the old coping and clean up the surface. Most pools have a 6-8″ shelf at the top of the pool wall. Be careful with it, as it may be fragile, or rusty and pitted. If needed, use a wire wheel on corroded spots and treat with heavy epoxy sealant.
Installing the New Coping
Plastic or aluminum coping
Installing aluminum or plastic coping involves securing the 4′ – 8′ coping lengths to the top of the pool wall with stainless steel screws or fasteners. You can buy corner pieces of different inside and outside radius. It is a good idea to lay a bead of caulking or sealant underneath each coping strip, before you screw it down. This is to keep water or moisture from moving between the pool wall and the pool coping. If the top of the wall is in very bad shape, completely rusted out, you can use angle iron or sheet metal to cover and strengthen that area, and to support and secure the new pool coping.
Cantilever pool decks
Use removable foam pads that attach to the pool wall, along with the flat type of pool coping strip that secures to the top of the pool wall. With the foam forms in place, a concrete pool deck can be poured up to and overhanging the pool edge. Most concrete pool deck companies use Stegmeier Forms, and will have options.
Stone or brick coping
You would basically use an adhesive, such as a thin set or medium bed mortar, to secure the block, brick or paver on top of the vinyl coping strip. Fill in behind the track to make it a flat surface, and then lay the brick or stone on top. Use a string line to keep the front and back edges sharp. On brick or block, use spacers between four consistent grout joints.
After the stones have set-up on top of the pool wall, the grout joints in between can be filled with mortar. Behind the new brick or block pool coping, an expansion joint of 1/2″ should be left between the cut pool deck and the stone. Fill this joint with foam backer rod and a pool caulk like Deck-O-Seal.
Pitfalls of Vinyl Pool Coping Replacement
Such as with any extreme vinyl pool renovations like this, other issues may occur that you weren’t planning on…
- Your deck may slip away from the pool wall if that’s all that was holding it in place.
- The top of the pool wall may be damaged and require repair.
- If changing the height of the track or coping, make sure your new liner matches the new track height.
Should you replace your pool coping?
If the coping is in good shape, but appearance wise the aluminum is scratched or the paint or coating is coming off, you can repaint it with a coping paint and make old coping look brand new.
I would not suggest changing pool coping if you do not really need to, as it is a big project. But if it’s something that has to be done, it is definitely something a home owner with a little bit of know how and patience can accomplish.
I have a new steel wall pool and would like to know where to buy this radius plastic bullnose coping. Both ends of my pool are a 7.5′ radius, 15′ x 30′ pool. Where can I get this?
Pool Coping usually involves a special order, and a minimum quantity. Meaning, you can’t usually just buy one piece, but a case of 12 – 8 ft sections. I would first check with any local vinyl pool builders, and any local swimming pool supply distributors, or any pool stores. Or you can contact the manufacturers directly. Cardinalsystemsinc.com to ask for dealers.
Hello. We just purchsed a home with an inground pool. We were told the pool was likely installed in the late 80’s/early 90’s. We had a pool inspector come out before we purchased. The coping is bullnose and intended for concrete, but half of the pool has a wood deck instead of concrete. The inspector strongly suggesting pouring concrete where there is a wood deck, or changing the coping for a wood deck (which I am not familiar with). Additionally, part of the concrete sank and create a crack in the pool stairs. Do you believe the concrete can be jack back up and repairs, or should we just repour the entire surround with concerete?
Eric, I’m not sure you need to do anything. I like the look of a partial wood deck around a pool, all concrete is so boring. There is no structural need or anything for a concrete deck. And I am not sure why you would need to change the coping? And for the part of deck that slipped, I’m not sure that it caused a crack in the steps, that seems unlikely, or impossible. Lots of pools have slabs that have sunk in the back, or slipped a bit. No big deal. Sounds to me like an inspector trying to drum up some business. Make changes for aesthetic reasons if you like, but likely there are no other reasons that you would replace any parts of the deck.
Found out we have one of the last of the Ester Williams inground pools. We had a very large tree uproot and fall across the pool. The tree damaged the coping pullng it away from the concrete. The liner does not attach to the coping, but over the pool walls. Now we found out that the coping is no longer made. Not sure what to do. We just replaced the liner last year. We already had the issue of having to redo resurface our entire pool deck because of it being stamped and multiple contrasting borders going thru-out. That was when our pool guy thought he could replace the section of coping damaged. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. If you know of anyone who would have any Ester Williams radius coping, that would be great also. Thanks
Tammy, tough stuff! Sorry to hear about. I do not know of a source for Esther Williams Coping, but if you could obtain a list of (former) EW dealers, they might have some. I see that KCpools.com and teddybearpools.com were former dealers.
Hello,
I have a 36 yr. old vinyl liner pool 18′ round and was just informed by a contractor that it would be best to fill the pool with dirt and close it out because the vinyl coping is shot. He indicated that the cost to repair wouldn’t be a good return on investment. Would this be your recommendation? Is this something I can tackle myself and where can I buy the bullnose coping option?
I need the pool for my Mom’s PT session.
Thank you!
Bah, don’t listen to him. It may not be a good return on investment, but neither is filling it in. If the track beneath the coping is shot, and the coping is cracked, etc. If you agree it needs replacement, then call a concrete company, and get a price to remove and replace the deck. You may be surprised to find prices at $4-5 per sq ft. Then have them come and remove the concrete, but stall them for a few weeks, so that you can detach the current coping from the top of the pool wall, and attach new coping. You can buy either at a local swimming pool distributor (might have to create an acct), or you may be able to buy from an online supplier. Reattach the new coping and track to the wall, and call the concrete guy to come back and pour. Alternatively, you can install a track on the pool wall without coping, and have the concrete company pour a cantilever deck, which will be more costly by maybe $2 per sq ft. Or, perhaps the concrete company may have experience with removing and replacing coping and can handle that portion of work as well, for an extra $1000 or so. Good Luck!
We have just purchased a house with an old pool. Not sure how old. It has cinder block walls and wood around the edge of the pool where the coping is attached. Have you seen this kind of pool and can you comment on renovations. We are trying to do everything our selves. Budget is very small. Any suggestions. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Kathy, yes I’ve seen such pools, mostly built in the 50-60’s. Often they have a plaster finish, and a tile border to keep a clean edge. You could add some cool PAL led lighting, and add a skimmer if needed. Many times these pools are painted, which you can definitely DIY. Epoxy is the most expensive but lasts the longest. You must know that it already has epoxy on the surface before painting over with epoxy. Or use advance conversion paint first as a primer. Money would be well spent on an oversized filter, cartridge or DE type. When drained, check the mortar, probably need to do some mortar pointing repairs every 10 years or so. Another renovation idea could be a small water feature, such as a cascade, or a low wall with a sheer descent, or overflowing planters on pool edge, or spouting frogs in the corners. A pergola on the far side with some climbing clematis or wisteria could look elegantly awesome.
I have a 30 year old pool and in the process of replacing the lines. We found that when they did the decking they brought cement up to pull edge of pool (aluminum) and did not go over it for coping. We have aluminum coping on top of the pool. The issue we have is how’s to cover the edges of the pool and provide new coping for the liner. The width of the pool top of the metal pool wall is 6 1/4” . Most recommendations we have had is to remove all the existing decking and add pavers or stamped cement.
Do we have any other options?
Hi Ben, the cheapest option, and hence the usual most popular is the paver or stamped cement… but also an option is to install precast coping stones, or real stone (flagstone/bluestone) coping, or bullnose brick coping in a variety of colors. In fact, anything you can do for an inground concrete pool coping… you can do for inground vinyl pools, you just need a different style of coping attached to the top of the wall, which involves some extra work to get down to that level and bolt on a different coping to install stone, brick, paver or precast coping (aka normal white bullnose coping stone). And that extra work costs more, plus the stone costs more, up to nice travertine, for $$$ per linear foot…
Hi Larry,
We bought a new house with old pool. The concrete deck around it is sinking and cracking. I have got different quotes for stamped concrete. One of them said the coping is fine and does not need to be replaced and others told me to change it since concrete deck is being changed. Is it necessary to change the coping (they say it is old style) if pouring stamped concrete?
Hi Nihar, no not at all. The coping is completely separate from the deck. No need to replace it unless it is loose and crumbling.
Hi, I have a 16×32 I ground pool that I just ripped the liner out to prepare for a new liner, when we took the liner out we noticed ever spot the coping was nailed into the concrete wall the concrete broke and we can see the nails. What can we do to repair this before the new liner is installed?
Treat the nails with a rust-inhibiting paint or coating, then patch over with an epoxy to cover the nails, then foam the walls before installing the new liner.
I have a vinyl liner pool with aluminum bullnose coping. I had to replace the liner three years ago. I would like to update the pool deck as it is concrete that is cracked in several places. The issue I have is the coping. I do not want to replace it, but the one inch pavers needs a stone coping to complete the look. Is it possible to go over the existing coping with a paver renovation coping? Also, is it possible to cut the face of the bullnose coping off to nearly flat, leaving the liner bead in tack, so the new paver renovation coping will fit appropriately?
Hello, I have never known someone to cut the coping, and since you will be removing the concrete anyway, it would be easier and better to remove the coping from the top of the pool wall, and install new coping that is designed to accept and securely hold the mortar for setting stone or masonry coping in place, without being uneven or sloppy looking. It would be best to replace the coping.
We recently had a new vinyl liner pool installed with concrete pad. We are having issues with the coping around the pool. It is a free form pool and they used a flex coping. The connector pieces are not flat and the stick out at the bottom and are very sharp. We have 3 corners where the coping does not come together and they are unable to put connector pieces there. They have used caulking instead. They have also had to use liner lock in two different places where the liner will not stay in place. There is a section in the shallow end where the coping is severely dented because they had to pound it in place in order to get it to fit. We are being told that this is all cosmetic and nothing we need to worry about. Is there anyway to fix these issues. It really looks awful.
Hi Mary, it sounds like the crew may be lacking some experience perhaps, or could have had some issues out of their control. For the part that was pounded, and dented, I’m not sure what would be the fix there… perhaps a piece of the same coping could be cut the proper length and glued over top of the dented area? The liner lock usage, not unusual, that usually means that the floor height was lower in those areas, making the liner very tight. Usually not a problem, but if the liner were to pop-out of the track again, will they come to put it back? For the use of caulk in the corners, again a minor miscalculation, I suppose the caulk is not a problem, but of course not desirable. And for the connector pieces, perhaps they can be carefully filed down, to be flush and dull? Many pools end up having some unexpected results, but them telling you “it’s all cosmetic” doesn’t sound like the answer you want to hear. It is true they are cosmetic, mostly, but you should feel free to demand some satisfaction, with some written guarantee that these issues will not worsen or create other issues, or demand some sort of discount that will allow you to accept it. You can always take them to small claims court, and write bad reviews, or otherwise shame them into helping you – if you wanted to… good luck!
Hello Larry I have a 16×32 vinyl inground pool. The coping needs touching up but my main issue is I can’t find the plastic seam covers that hide the openings between each coping piece that run from side of coping nearest brick patio to the other side of the coping that is closer to the pool water. Many of them cracked and broke off and over the past year I cant find them in stores. Seeing the gap is unsightly. Any ideas?
Hi John, how about making your own, with a section of pool coping of the same type, size and color, and use a saw to cut the snap-on trim piece.
Someone I know purchased a house with an inground pool. For some
reason the coping had been removed from around the pool The liner is in tack and there it is held in place by a metal strip about four inches wide. My question is can plastic coping now be installed around the pool?
Hi, sure it is possible, but not easy! Replacing coping, especially on a vinyl pool, is not an easy job, because it is connected to the pool deck, the pool wall and the pool liner.
Hey Larry! We recently cut out the old fiberglass stairs of our vinyl pool. The stairs are fine but the patch job around the new stairs (where one walks) is botched pretty bad. Uneven. Water standing. Looks like crap. We got 2 estimates to correct this. Both agree we should cut and re pour it entirely including the cantilever edge. Can this happen after the liner is installed and the pool is filled?
Emily, yes it can be done, and the liner will probably survive if no mishaps occur. The liner track, assuming that it is not attached to the cantilever deck, it can stay in place and they can work around it safely. They may want to put a tarp over the shallow end, and attach stakes and strings to hold it taut, to catch dust and bits.
Hi there, me again. If I were to replace the plastic composite coping around the perimeter of our pool, where would I purchase it? I’m reasonably handy, could I install it myself? Thanks!
Hi Robert, you could install yourself, if you are prepared to remove the deck with large chop saws and jackhammers, and then smaller air chisels when close to the pool wall, and eventually exposing the bolts that hold the coping to the top of the pool wall. You should plan on replacing the liner at the same time, since the track is usually connected to most coping, plus chunks of concrete and shards will be flying into the pool. Not an easy job – but if you’re like me, you’re grinning right now… 🙂 As far as getting it, you can contact our inground vinyl pool kit guy Andy Boyle aboyle @ intheswim.com – and ask, or contact other inground vinyl pool kit suppliers, or a local swimming pool supply company (distributor, not retail), and ask for a cash account. You may have to buy it by the case, or enough for the entire pool. And if you are doing all that work, you could investigate different types of coping, or perhaps do a brick or stone coping. And you’ll need a new deck too, so more money, oops, I mean more opportunity to change up the look and bring up to date!
Hi Larry, I have a 50 year old vinyl,steel wall pool. The liner is falling into the pool and everyone claims once the pool is drained the walls will cave in. One company said they would brace the walls. Will this work, or will I be opening pandora’s box ?
Hi Carol, not necessarily. However, these guys know the local market, and may recognize the builder, and have prior experience that leads them to this conclusion. For most 50 yr old pools, there should not be a concern, unless walls are already bowing inward, but again they may have inside knowledge. Bracing the wall would have to be done from outside the pool, Otherwise I’m not sure how the liner would get installed.
Hi there, I have a plastic composite coping around the perimeter of our pool. There is a small section of it cracked. How would you suggest I repair it? Can I purchase new coping to just go right over it?
Hi Robert, if the concrete deck is poured up to and inside of the coping, into what I call C-Channel coping, it is very difficult to replace, or cover with new. You possibly could however, get some schedule 20 PVC (drain grade, thin stuff), and cut a section very carefully to cover the crack and match the curve of the coping, and use PVC glue to affix it over the crack. You could also use Pool Putty epoxy putty, but it dries a little off-white, so won’t match too closely.
What type of paint do you suggest to paint aluminum coping?
Aluminum Paint. You can find it at the paint store.
Hi Larry,
I’m told my pool was made by pacific pools and the coping and pool are a one piece plastic/polymer. The coping and track where the liner clips in are in bad condition and needs replaced. After reading your article it’s sounds like it can be done but I’m wondering at what cost could I expect? Also is there any other alternative?
Joe, the cost to replace coping is steep, because you have to replace the deck, which may run 3-5K. Also, if your coping is attached to the pool wall, that would be even more costly, if they are one piece coping and wall…? Not sure how to deal with that.
Our existing single channel coping is fine , however when we resurface the deck our elephant cover mounts will be covered with the new surface material . So my question is, is there an adapter coping that can be used to add a secondary cahnnel for a snap in winter cover. Something low profile on the Dec as the new surface is only 1/4 inch This way I don’t have to use bags
Hi Dean, there is such a thing as coping with a double track, for use with a winter cover. It is not an adapter, it would replace your existing coping.
Hello,
I have an Ester Williams in ground from the ‘60s, it was winterized about a decade ago by the original owner, the second owner pretty much stripped and threw out everything from pool except the pump, filter, water heater. Now I own it, and have no idea what the “bead receiver” looked like. All I have to work with is there is a 7/8” deep, 2” tall recess running the perimeter of the pool wall (perhaps this is where the bead receiver goes, as there are bent rusted nails in the recess every 8”) The tops pool walls are flush with sidewalk style apron, but tops look unfinished (as though a paver should be on top) and have a 1” gap between the pool wall and the apron. Can you suggest what type bead receiver I should use? Kafco Snaplock front mount looks like something that would work, dimensions are just a touch small.
Great article. I have several cracks in the concrete deck that borders my pool… some intersecting the diving board anchors. I want to remove/replace (2) 3″ thick, 9′ x 9′ slabs and install a new board base w/ anchors. My fear is what I’ll find when trying to pull the concrete from the coping. (coping is half-round aluminum, exactly as shown in photo above in this article). My plan is to cut the concrete 6 – 8 inches back from coping edge, bust up/remove majority of the slab, then carefully bust out the remainder joining the coping. Then re-pour new up to and under existing coping. Can I expect the concrete that is within the half-round coping to pull out without totally damaging the coping? Are there any tricks to this?
Hi Steve, I think there are two ways to do this. Cut at 6-8″ back from the edge like you say, but don’t bust it up, create a small expansion joint and pour the new deck behind it. Caulk the joint between the new deck and the 6″ short deck. You could paint the short deck a contrasting color, or stain the concrete, or do something cool with it. The other option is to remove the concrete as you say, carefully chipping up to the edge of the coping, and then carefully removing the coping, unbolting it from the top of the wall. Clean it up and install new coping. If you need a supplier, contact our custom inground pool kit team for a quote on some coping. There are lots of options. PS, the diving board bolts are in the form of a “Jig”, and are typically mounted in a 6″ thick slab, check the diving board documentation or installation manual for details.
That was really informative! I’m sorry to jump into someone else’s thread, but did see how to start new question thread. Just want to find out what kind of screws I would use to secure sections of replacement Cinderella half round aluminum coping? Is there a special name or size? Many thanks.
Hi Denise, no special screw, the coping attaches to the top of the pool wall, so a bolt and nut is used in most cases. It need not be stainless steel, but can be a zinc alloy.
Hi there! Very glad I found this post! I have a vinyl liner replacement coming up and I am not very happy with my current round aluminum coping or the concrete that butts up to it. I want to install the flat coping to attach a new liner and then have a cantilever paver around the entire pool and new paver pool deck. I am going to pay someone to do everything, but I can’t find a paver company that does liners and a liner company that does the pavers! I need a little help understanding the sequence of construction.
1) demo existing concrete and remove (possibly damaging the current coping and liner).
2) remove current liner and remove coping.
3) install new flat coping on top of pool wall
4) install new liner
5) install pavers along pool edge
6) install expansion joint, grout in the pavers surrounding the pool, and install the remainder of the pool deck pavers.
Is this right? I am getting conflicting information about whether I need the pool liner folks first or the landscaping folks first. Landscaping folks want to do the work in January/February and pool liner folks want to work in May (here in mid-Atlantic). Any help or resources in how this construction works would be much appreciated!
Hi Matt, yes you have the process correct. You would definitely need the deck and coping installed first, before you can install a new liner. There are not a lot of liner builders in the mid-atlantic – Browning, Hawaiian, Carroll County pools come to mind. A concrete builder could also help with the pool deck or coping, if they were willing. Or you can call some deck builders yourself, like NETO construction, or Salzano custom concrete – just about any driveway/sidewalk company could do a pool deck.
My concern is not so much the surface gap between the coping and the cement deck, but the difference between the hangers for the vinyl liner between the connection of this coping and the next one. Is there anything I can do to pull and then secure the bullnose coping back in place so the hanger for the vinyl pool lines-up with the next section of coping? It would be difficult to hang the new liner with the difference.
Hi Larry, so this section of coping has been pushed inward toward the pool, which makes the liner bead track not align with the track next to it? Hmmm, not sure how that could be fixed. The coping is bolted to the top of the pool wall. The bolt may be loose, and/or it may be possible to ‘bang’ it back into place, gently, maybe with a mallet? I doubt it though, and I don’t want you to bang a hole in the coping, or crack it. Maybe send me a picture if possible? swimmers @ intheswim.com – Davy
The bullnose coping pulled away from the cement pool deck so that it is about 1/2″ away towards the pool from the next section of coping along a diagonal section of a 19’x40′ Grecian in-ground vinyl. I want to replace the liner anyway. I had planned to cover the cement pool deck with a 1/2″ thick pre-cut porcelan 2’x2′ product that looks like flagstone. Your suggestions please!
Hi Larry, I would suggest caulking to fill-in the 1/2″ gap, first using foam as needed, to keep the caulk from running down, being wasted. Now, if you want to just put the 2×2 tiles over top of the concrete deck, you can do that, although on the pool-side, it will be 1/2″ higher. No biggie I guess, you can use gun-grade caulking, placed at an angle, to smooth the transition, or find a matching 1/4 round trim tile piece that you can use at the inside edge.