Sides and bottom are rough as it can be

[JasonLion]

We got a ig pool installed and filled dec 2008, 87 gal, gunite, SWG,.
I need to know how much sand should have been put into the pool for the very first time, and how it should have been put in.
The pool company guy put 5 40lb bags in by just dumping them into the deep end where it sat in a pile. Our "pool school" consisted of this guy showing us what each handle did (ie: falls, jets, skimmer ). Nothing was said about testing the water and I never heard the word calcium or take the water for testing. He never even explained the little test kit that came with the pool. He did show us how to clean the filter cartridge, saying maybe once a month it would have to be done.
The problem is that now the sides and bottom are rough as it can be, and they are saying "it's our fault" as the calcium was off. I did have them out in Jan/Feb for what I thought was a built up of sand on everything. The filter cartridge was covered in white hard stuff. The guy lowered the water 1/2 way and added acid ( an acid wash?) He replaced the filter cell, and never said one word as to the cause or what the problem was.
I need to know if the 200 lbs of salt being dumped into the bottom of the pool could be a cause of this, and how do we get a smooth pool. The last water testing was done 5-7-09, results:
fc 1.0
cc 0.0
ph 8.0
ta 40
ch 140
cya 40
Sebastian, fl
don't know pump flow and size.

 

[JasonLion]

You have what sounds like a fairly serious case of calcium scaling. Calcium scaling happens when some combination of PH, TA, and CH get too high. Calcium scaling is fairly common on new plaster pools when they are not properly maintained.

Putting salt in right at startup is not recommended for a plaster pool. Adding salt can be done the way you describe, but only 30 days after the plaster is applied. However, even if the salt was added early, it would not have had any of the effects your describe.

To completely fix things the pool will most likely need to be drained and professionally acid washed. Your filter cartridges will probably also need to be acid washed or replaced.

From the sound of things, they never told you how to properly maintain the pool, or told you about what was happening wrong, which must have been obvious to them on the Jan/Feb visit. Legally you are on shaky ground. The builders responsibility is to build the pool. They are not legally responsible for teaching you how to maintain the pool. However, they are stupid to not have explained more to you, which would have been easy for them to do.

Your chemical levels are also seriously out of balance. FC, TA, and CH should all be higher and PH should be lower. You should do some reading in Pool School.