Pool Crack Repair in Poetry, Texas

Older homes and large-lot zoning

In the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey, whose sample here is small, 58.0% of Poetry's homes were built before 1990: 29.5% in the 1980s, 12.5% in the 1970s and 16.0% before 1970, with another 20.0% from the 1990s and a median year built of 1987. Single-family detached houses make up 89.4% and mobile homes 9.2%, about 95.9% of occupied homes are lived in by their owners, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $367,100. The Handbook dates the newer growth to the 1970s, when land developers drew commuters from Dallas.

The Town's zoning ordinance, dated March 21, 2024, sets large-lot districts: Agrarian (AR) for farm and cattle land and homes on 5 acres or more, Single Family Estate (SF-E) for 2.5 to under 5 acres, Single Family (SF) for 1 to under 2.5 acres, and a Business district. Solid fences and solar panels may not stand in the front-yard setback, and the zoning text has no section on swimming pools.

Turner's Point, a poem and a fire

Elisha Turner received a land patent here on July 22, 1845, for service to the Republic of Texas, and settled on the old Shreveport-Dallas road at a place that became known as Turner's Point; a post office and school opened in 1858. In 1876 the postal service asked the community to change its name, and local merchant Maston Ussery suggested Poetry because the area in springtime reminded him of a poem. Fire destroyed the business district on October 27, 1924, but the churches escaped and helped hold the community together. The Handbook lists Poetry First Baptist Church, Poetry Methodist Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church with the adjacent Campground Cemetery, and Dry Creek Cemetery as historic sites, and notes that a 1984 incorporation vote passed but was ruled invalid by the Kaufman County Commissioners Court.

A community water supply came in 1966, when residents formed Poetry Water Supply Corporation with an FHA loan; the FHA wanted at least 100 memberships paid up front, and 129 signed. The corporation took water from Terrell's treatment plant from then on and signed a new contract with Terrell in 2007, after Terrell chose to buy North Texas Municipal Water District water rather than upgrade its plant. About 97.9% of Poetry lies in the corporation's service area on the Texas Water Development Board's map.

How a shell crack is repaired

1. 01

   Drain and map the crack

   Torque Lock, a maker of crack-repair staples, drains the pool and mists the surface; as it dries, the crack holds moisture and shows its full length.

2. 02

   Choose the level of repair

   Anderson Manufacturing picks between a topical repair made with the pool full, crack injection, and extensive concrete removal with structural re-engineering, by the crack's severity, the permanence wanted and the budget.

3. 03

   Inject the crack

   Anderson glues injection ports over the crack every 12 to 18 inches, seals its surface with epoxy and injects urethane foam at about 40 psi, which expands up to 7 times its volume.

4. 04

   Stitch a crack that will move

   Where movement is expected to continue, Anderson adds staples or stitches of rebar, stainless steel or carbon fiber every 8 to 12 inches, set in epoxy below the plaster; injecting a 10 to 15 foot crack takes about half a day once the pool is drained, and staples add about another half day.

5. 05

   Refill and run a wet test

   The American Shotcrete Association knows of no pool-specific wet-test standard, but points to ACI 350.1-10, which allows a loss of 0.05% of volume per day over a 72-hour test after the filled shell has saturated for 3 days.