Anyone here done DIY concrete stitching?

Same issues here. Been pondering a fix. Will monitor and post if I find out anything.

Please post updates, pics.

The direction you are headed sounds reasonable to me. However, I think it will crack again. I would consider renting a concrete saw and installing a strategically placed expansion joint or two.

a shallow depth sawcut in existing/mature concrete isn’t going to do anything. Those cuts are made in green concrete and are purely for aesthetics

a full depth expansion joint allows panels to move independently of each other but again, those are usually designed to be done at install.

I’m very skeptical any effort to “control” cracking in mature concrete will be worth the effort. Repairs, certainly

I work for a very reputable local concrete coating company (OCC). I am not saying that you cannot accomplish this as a diy project, but it is very challenging.

A few things to consider.

Prep: Do not let any grinder dust get into your pool. Make sure to mask off the whole thing.
Do not attempt a coating within 2 ish days of a rainfall. Hydrostatic moisture pressure will cause a coating to fail. Especially any epoxy.


As far as addressing the cracks you may not actually have to stitch with carbon fiber. It depends on a few things. (Post photos and I’ll give advice)
Are any cracks unlevel? One side higher than the other?

I absolutely do not suggest epoxy around your pool unless it is covered. Epoxy is not UV staple and will fade/yellow and crack within 4-5 years.
Additionally, your average box store epoxy is really not worth the box it comes in.

-We put zero expressed or implied warranties on any epoxy application. We expect it to fail.

That said, I absolutely would recommend a polyurea-polyaspartic system for what you are describing.
Polyurea uses the moisture within concrete to activate. Therefore I suggest knowing your moisture content prior to attempting this.
Poly/poly systems can be very difficult on certain scopes of work.


If you are in the Baton Rouge General area I would come look at your project for free and offer you advice. You don’t even need to get a quote from me (unless you’d like).

it also looks like they didnt leave the proper space between your coping tile and the pool deck. Also the small expansion joint they left isnt sealed so you are letting water get in there. are you having any issues with loose pool coping tiles?

Ok, that is very doable. The first crack I will tell you will absolutely come back unless you reinforce it with a few stitches.
You will not see movement in the crack going forward unless we see major drought or flooding.

I will say that the first photo will likely crack the next time we have a day like today. Starts at 60 and gets to 85 ish degrees. A lot of those products aren’t as pliable as reported.

Cool deck I would advise against greatly. It is hell to clean. It is permeable so it’ll accept and hold moisture with mold/mildew. Cool deck is a good product in theory, just not for our climate. A knock down overlay isn’t a bad solution, but remember an overlay is only as good as the previous substrate.

My office is actually in Luling. We do a Poly-Poly system and I venture to say it would be around $8.75-9 ish. Maybe lower.
We fully back our system for the lifetime of the homeowner.

In look, kinda yeah. We do have quite a few more design options.

We both use a Poly poly system. We use American made.

Omega concrete coatings is who I’m with.