Cracking under pressure From the cover
Warning signs of ASR
Two-minute impact
Cracks with white or brown gel oozing out
Pool tile separation
Experts say the alkali silica reaction, or ASR, defect occurs when concrete is not mixed properly, which can cause a pool’s shell to crack and crumble. Hundreds of lawsuits are piling up as pool owners in Travis and Williamson counties seek legal recourse against their builders. “The multimillion-dollar question at the heart of ongoing litigation is who is responsible; where in the supply chain did something go wrong?” said attorney Michael Lovins. Pool builders often subcontract shell construction out to “shotcrete” suppliers who mix the ingredients—sand, water and cement—and then spray the mix on-site, said Juan Armenta, a Cedar Park-based researcher with Texan Concrete Construction Solutions. “ASR is a chemical reaction between the concrete ingredients gone wrong,” Armenta said. “It’s nothing new, and it’s not just pools. It’s a ecting sidewalks, driveways, patios, foundations, but it’s accelerated because of the warm water in pools touching the concrete 24/7.” While investigations are still underway, multiple industry leaders told Community Impact they suspect insu cient amounts of a key ingredient in concrete mixtures, among other theories.
Lowering pool levels or leaks
Flaky concrete surface
SOURCES: JOHN FORD OF FRONT2BACK CUSTOM, JONATHAN BROWN OF CLEAR REFLECTION POOLS, PAX POOLS COMMUNITY IMPACT
The concrete process
The impact
How we got here
Step 1
Pool companies and concrete experts told Community Impact ASR is not typically isolated to one area, so most pool repairs involve a complete rebuild of the concrete shell, which can cost more than double the original price of a pool. The issue has become so widespread that it’s caused pool builders in the area to go bankrupt, leaving families with few repair options. “The pool builders eventually just stopped responding to us,” said Patel, who filed a lawsuit against his builder and concrete supplier.
John Ford, Front2Back Custom pool repair expert, said pool builders saw a boom in busi- ness during the pandemic. “After the big freeze back in 2021, people started noticing the cracks, and many mistook it for a cosmetic issue and just used temporary fixes,” Ford said. One theory is that concrete mixtures received an insufficient amount of fly ash—a material that strengthens concrete. Fly ash is created from burning coal, but due to recent Environ- mental Protection Agency measures, Texas production has dwindled, making the material harder to come by, Armenta said. Another possibility, Armenta said, is the problem originated from sand pits in the Bastrop area, hence why the cases are mostly isolated to the Central Texas region. While there are some visual signs of ASR, Ford said the only way to confirm the defect’s presence, especially for legal purposes, is to drill out concrete core samples and have them tested in a lab, which can cost $4,000-$8,000.
Fly ash is created by burning coal
Fly ash is mixed with water to make cement
Step 2
Sand or gravel aggregates are harvested from pits
Step 3
Concrete companies mix the aggregates with cement
Average repair cost
Step 4
Repair type
Cost
Epoxy membrane (short- term, waterproofing) Fiberglass replacement (long-term) Complete reconstruction of in-ground concrete pool
Pool builders subcontract the concrete companies
$8,500-$10,500
$15,000-$25,000
Step 5
$60,000+ (depending on size)
Concrete is shot out of high pressure hoses to form pool shells
Full demolition + ground refill
$5,000-$20,000
SOURCES: JUAN ARMENTA, TEXAN CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION SOLUTIONS/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCES: FRONT2BACK CUSTOM, CODY POOLS, PAX POOLS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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