Plaster Patching

[crawfs2]

I need to do some plaster patching. I just repaired a couple of holes in my pool and as part of that process I have drained my pool down on the shallow end to access the areas where I fixed the holes. In doing that I discovered areas where the plaster needs to be redone and am planning to do that this weekend. I can see similar areas in my deep end (9 feet deep) and would like to fix those as well. We have not had any rain here in weeks so the water table should not be a factor. Would I risk problems with the pool if I drained the pool further to about knee deep for some quick patching and refilled as soon as I was done? I see a lot of discussion here and elsewhere about the dangers of a pool floating or collapse due to water not being there and honestly it causes me to second guess what I should do. The pool needs a renovation and I would love to do that but that is a project I would like to do a bit later if possible.

Thanks for any advice ahead of time.

 

[ajw22]

There is always a risk in draining a pool. But it sometimes needs to be done for maintenance.

You need to be aware of your ground water situation and if it can put pressure on the pool shell.

Don’t leave the pool empty longer then necessary or when big storms are expected.

 

[Dirk]

The pool needs a renovation and I would love to do that but that is a project I would like to do a bit later if possible.

What is "a bit later?" Next year? Ten years from now? Are these areas causing any problems other than aesthetics? If not:

In addition to catastrophic structural failure, other things can go wrong, too. As you know, the water is an integral part of the structure of a pool. But not just of the shell, the plaster, too. If the finish is old, sometimes it is the water pressure that is keeping that old plaster in place. So while you might be able to empty and refill your pool fast enough to avoid shell problems, maybe you'll end up with more chunks of plaster popping off. And considering you seem to already have the problem of plaster popping off, and that's with the water in place, that doesn't bode well for removing all the water. And just because losing more plaster in the shallow end didn't happen, that's not assurance that it won't happen in the deep end, or accelerate when it will happen.

So is "fixing" the existing plaster issues worth the risk of causing even more? If you can live with the current issues until you're ready to renovate, maybe you should. Is it only you being bothered by these aesthetics? Do your guests or kids have any less fun because of them? Or even notice them?

My attempt to "freshen up" the look of my plaster, with an acid wash, ended up destroying my pool. I had to completely replace the finish. And even before I realized the finish was ruined, the aesthetic results of the process barely looked any better. Just different. Had I left if alone, I probably would have gotten another 5-10 years out of that finish.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[crawfs2]

I like your perspective here. It seems mostly cosmetic. The repairs I've made so far were necessary and I have seen many conflicting articles, posts and informational videos out there, I wasn't sure if the plaster really needed to be addressed. One of the holes I found in the shallow end (at the transition to the deep end) went in behind my return. It was more severe than the initial hole I found. The repairs are complete- I just needed time to replaster. I was thinking about these other areas and wasn't sure it it really was worth addressing. I hadn't considered this scenario, although I guess in a way I had questioned whether it was worth time and risk doing- which spurred my post. Thank for the input!

 

[Dirk]

You probably know: it is not the shell that makes a pool waterproof, the shell is not. It's the plaster. So if the pool is holding water, then the plaster is doing its primary job. If you develop a leak, or another small hole, there are epoxy patch products that can be applied underwater. I'm not sure how well they would work on a large area (or how good or bad that would look), but I'd be tempted to try that before emptying the pool to use a plaster product, if: my plaster was old, I was worried about it popping off, and I was planning a full restoration in the near future.

If you go that route, practice with the epoxy once or twice before doing the actual repair. Practice underwater, like in a bucket. The project I used this underwater epoxy for was one of those that you just know it would come out better if you could start over and do it again. I wish I had practiced first. Epoxy is great at what it does, but it sets up fast and doesn't want to ever come off. It's a "do it right, do it once" type dealio.

 

[crawfs2]

I have used the ezpatch plaster on areas of my pool and it appears to work well. That us what I will be using to finish the hole patch work later today.

I usually lower my pool about a foot below my return to winterize the pool and the plaster looks good when I reopen the pool each year. The pool is also back up to its operating level on open each year too. I rarely have to add water and also rarely have to pump water away during the winter. I just adjust chemicals and add/dump water as needed. So it seems to be holding water fine.

Thanks for your responses. I really appreciate the input!