Pool waterline tile and coping stone

Waterline tile

Waterline tile is the band of tile around the top of the pool wall. It protects the edge from the constant wet-dry cycle at the water's surface and makes it easier to clean off scum lines. It's also the most visible decorative detail in the pool.

Tile gets replaced when pieces crack or fall off, when the grout fails, or simply when the look is out of date.

Before

After

Coping stone

Coping is the cap along the top edge of the pool wall, between the water and the deck. It's what you sit on and grab onto, so it needs to be solid and safe.

Ontario winters are hard on coping. Water gets into joints, freezes and pushes stones loose. Cracked, shifting or lifting coping is a common reason homeowners call.

Best done with a resurface

Tile and coping can be replaced on their own, but the pool usually has to be partly drained either way. Many owners do them together with marbelite resurfacing so the whole pool is finished at once.