Pool & Spa Renovations and Resurfacing Journal

[DavidArmenB]

Hey folks,

I moved to this house last July and became a first-time pool owner with zero prior pool knowledge. I soon found this site and learned a vast amount of knowledge about pools, their equipment, and their maintenance. I maintain my pool using the Taylor kit to TFP standards and have never had any problems after doing the initial shock to remove the green algae after moving in.

Armed with many hours of new research and learning, I decided to redo the entire pad.

It was initially in very bad shape. Pump was on its’ last stride, heater did not work at all, blower was being held up by the pvc pipe, the filter was so full of algae that there was barely any flow, and the electrical was badly designed and in terrible shape.

Did not think back then to take better photos.

I replaced everything on a new pad and started working on a new shed to enclose the pad.


A few months after, I bought a heater and after learning about trichlor and CYA, I got rid of the Tablet feeder and chose to go with a SWCG.



Everything has been perfect ever since which brings me to now. The pool was built with the house in the late 1970s and the plaster has been redone once in the early 2000s so it is about two decades old. I have decided to have it resurfaced again but instead of smooth plaster, we are going with NPT StoneScapes MiniPebble in either Aqua Blue or Aqua White (and recommendations?). We are also changing the tile and the coping.

This thread will serve as a journal of the project and for comments and discussions.

 

[DavidArmenB]

May 6 - Draining

We work in the construction industry, specializing in low voltage and internet networking, so we have a large network of contractors and specialists of many fields. We picked a contractor we already knew and whose quality of work we have seen many times in multiple pool projects and we’re happy with their work. We began draining our ~16,000 gallon pool on May 6 with a teensy little pump, which took about 80 hours.



May 10 - Demolition

A large crew of six came in the afternoon and in about four hours they chipped all the plaster and tile and removed the coping. They were fast but weren’t the cleanest crew and their plaster removal could have been better.

 

[kimkats]

Thanks for letting us come along for the ride.

Plaster removal-it looks like they used a pointed chisel where they should have used a flat one. Might want to talk to them about it as there is a LOT of plaster left behind.

 

[DavidArmenB]

Thanks for letting us come along for the ride.

Plaster removal-it looks like they used a pointed chisel where they should have used a flat one. Might want to talk to them about it as there is a LOT of plaster left behind.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[DavidArmenB]

May 30 - Coping Delivered

Got the coping slabs! I went with a small local company called Bellecrete. White color, Sanded type, but it looks slightly tan/cream in person!

 

[poolintheforest]

I'm about to do this. Nervous but dealing with a very reliable company. Thank you for taking me along for the ride?
What are you doing lighting wise? I may have some questions.
What kind of plaster (brand /company etc)?

 

[DavidArmenB]

I'm about to do this. Nervous but dealing with a very reliable company. Thank you for taking me along for the ride?
What are you doing lighting wise? I may have some questions.
What kind of plaster (brand /company etc)?

Good luck on your project!

Because everything else is going to be replaced in the pool, including all drain and return fittings, my original plan was to purchase two IntelliBrite 5G pool/spa lights. However, after some research and thinking, I have chosen to keep my current Pentair Amerlite light housings and I have purchased replacement rebuild kits that include a new Stainless Steel outer ring, gasket, and the wire clamp assembly with nut and bolt:

My housings and glass lenses are still in pretty good shape and from everything I have seen & read, putting in good LED bulbs inside the Amerlite housing is not really that different (in terms of brightness and light quality) from purchasing the new IntelliBrite LED lights from Pentair for almost a grand a piece. This is what I did last July when I purchased this home and I plan to continue this post-resurfacing.

Another issue if I went with IntelliBrites: I understand LEDs are supposed to last very very long but just in case if your LED chip fails, or if water seeps in and fries the board, a replacement “engine” board is almost $700.

 

[DavidArmenB]

June 3 to June 7 - Coping and Tile Installed

Within four days, a crew of four came and cut my deck back by two inches (since my new coping is 2” wider), then they installed the coping which took two full days, and over the last day they installed all the tiles.

Some previews of the tile and coping:


More photos coming soon!

 

[DavidArmenB]

I have a question for the expert pool builders. Since concrete is porous and not waterproof, I understand the waterproofing of a pool is accomplished with the plaster itself. However, in regards to the tile line, half of it is also constantly under water, so how is waterproofing achieved here so that water doesn’t seep between the tiles, through the grout, into the concrete, and ultimately into the surrounding soil?

 

[DavidArmenB]

June 10 - StoneScapes Aqua Blue Customized Plaster

The day finally arrived! The plaster crew finished plastering my pool in the evening of June 10th. An Acid Wash was performed the next morning and we started filling the pool.

The crew:


Some photos of the just finished plaster:




And a close up of the aggregate:

 

[DavidArmenB]

I am on Day 6 of Start-Up. Still Brushing twice daily.

Fill Water Chemistry
pH: 7.5-7.6
Alkalinity: 180ppm
Calcium Hardness: 180ppm
Salt: 410ppm

Current Water Chemistry
FC: 2.8ppm
CC: 0.0ppm
pH: 7.4
Alkalinity: 170ppm
Calcium Hardness: 210ppm
CYA: 30ppm
Salt: 550ppm

I added 4 pounds of Cyanuric Acid to raise CYA from 0ppm to 30ppm. I am using 10% Liquid Chlorine for sanitizer. After day 28, when I reinstall the SWG and add salt to the pool, I will increase CYA to 80ppm.

I have begun slowly reducing Total Alkalinity to 80ppm.