One of the many causes of swimming pool leaks in gunite, shotcrete, poured block, etc. is a structural crack.  Although repairing cracks from the exterior was the original remedy, a repair method of filling and sealing the crack from the inside, more commonly referred to as epoxy injection, is also common.

I’m here to tell you how and why epoxy injection just doesn’t work as well as using Torque Lock Staples.  Customers should understand the problems that may arise from the use of epoxy.  Here’s why epoxy injection is no longer the preferred repair for solid concrete structural cracks:

Epoxy, as you may know, consists of two parts, a resin and a hardener.  The epoxy mixture is a liquid, which contributes to several of the problems when using it to fill concrete cracks.

Epoxy can remain in a liquid state for a few hours before it hardens. Liquid epoxy can actually run out of the crack to the outside and leach into the surrounding area, which is normally soil.  This leaves voids in the repair that can allow water to seep in, especially at the top of the crack because gravity causes the liquid to settle.

Previously repaired concrete cracks can be very challenging to re-seal effectively with epoxy injection.Epoxy Injection Ports

If the crack has been previously injected and the original epoxy has failed, it can be next to impossible to find the exact spot to re-inject and because the rest of the repair is a solid mass, the epoxy cannot flow to find the cracks.  We’ve gone on many crack repair jobs and have pulled out many of the epoxy injection ports, meaning that epoxy injection has failed.

Epoxy injection can be used only in structural cracks that are completely dry. Since epoxy does not bond well with wet concrete, it forces contractors or homeowners to wait until the leaks have dried up before they can be repaired.   If epoxy is injected while the crack is leaking, the water seepage may actually create channels through the epoxy, creating leaks in the new repair.

Epoxy forms a rigid seal in an injected structural crack that is prone to re-cracking.  Epoxy will crack if there is shifting or movement and companies who use it that way may not warrant epoxy alone as a structural repair.

Torque Lock Concrete Crack Repair StapleLike any industry in the 21st Century, concrete crack repair, specifically swimming pool cracks have benefitted from technological advances, hence Torque Lock Staples.

Torque Lock Staples add tensile strength, steel and has a compression factor.  Torque Lock staples provide a steel reinforced compression which allows “zero tolerance”. Five thousand pounds (5000 lbs) of torque will stop any structural crack, dead in its tracks.