PoolGuyNJ said:
Wow, I couldn't disagree more! I have a few contractors that fiberglass older gunite pools and liner walls and hoppers. Every one delaminates.
Gel coats are best applied in an enclosed environment. Homeowners that play DIY usually have air bubbles, streaks, thin spots, dust, etc.. in the finish. Doesn't last and can create more issues than were believed to be solved.
Fiberglass pools such as Viking, San Juan, Dolphin, etc... are made indoors. The air is cleaned and well circulated. In an outdoor pool, dirt, rust, weather, and improper prep, take their toll.
If the pool had been gel coated and the gel coat has worn, water has penetrated and the game is over.
The old white plaster is not the same mix as todays. It lasted much longer. Today's white plaster should be expected to last about 10 years. The aggregates such as PebbleTec and the like, will last more than 20. While substantially more, it's worth it.
Scott
PoolGuyNJ
PoolGuyNJ Much of what you write is correct, unfortunate but correct. Nevertheless, indoor or outdoor makes absolutely no difference, although proper prep is essential. As far as the gel coat goes, if it has worn, it must be replaced. Otherwise, the pool will stain and algae will become intolerable. But this makes no difference to the life of the lining unless, or until, the lining tears and water gets behind it. Even then, the delaminated area is simply cut out, and replaced with new vinyl ester resin and an overlapping fiberglass patch.
Of course, everything I've written on this subject is based on the original lining's proper installation, with the proper chemicals. If the liner was shot-on, then everything you've written is correct. However, if it was applied using the "hand lay-up" method, and if the same materials were used that both San Juan and Viking use, i.e. vinyl ester resin and swimming pool gel coat, the lining will last 30 or more years. This is assuming the gel coat is replaced as needed, every 15 (one coat) to 20 (two coats) years.
I agree that today's plaster, mixed with cement, is a better product than it was, but 10 years life expectancy is a salesman's pitch, and not reality. Regarding aggregates, they are pricier and better, but a realistic life expectancy is more like 12 years, with luck and extremely good water chemistry.
All the problems you mentioned are correct when the materials are "shot-on", and/or polyester resin is used. Polyester resin was never meant for underwater use and will always fail on a swimming pool. Gel coat will not laminate to polyester resin if it's underwater for even a short amount of time, not to mention that swimming pool gel coat is quite expensive. So the "shoot-on" crowd tints more polyester resin with either brilliant white or blue pigment, and shoots that on as the final coating and calls it gel coat. The consumer doesn't know the difference. It looks great when it's finished, they get the final check, and the homeowner thinks it will last 25 years. Four or five years later the pool looks exactly as you described.
The west coast, particularly California, seems to have been a haven for this element. On the east coast, that system is know as "fast and dirty". Shoot the polyester resin and fiberglass in the morning, go to lunch while it dries, then come back and shoot the tinted polyester resin in the afternoon, grab the check and run like a thief in the night. This is not the system I wrote about in my original post.
Bill
SwimmingPoolResurfacing.com