Streak marks in plaster from trowel?

[judge smails]

Hello everyone. I had a quick question regarding some streaks I can see on the bottom of my pool (now that it is crystal clear and I can see the bottom). This is a new plaster pool. I've attached a picture that shows the streaks. I believe they are from the trowel the plaster people used. is this normal? they are all over the pool but really bad in the area in this pic.

is it too much to expect a better finish to the plaster? any chance the builder would come out and re-do this?

take a look and tell me what you think. the streaks go from right to left right through the middle of the picture.

thanks

 

[HouTex]

Though not exactly the same, the marks in your photo are similar to the marks on the bottom of my pool. I have thought that the marks were a mild case of scale caused by my pH rising up to near or at 8.0 for very short periods during the initial 2-4 months of the pool. Now, I'm not so sure. It looks like you have exposed aggregate plaster and some mottling is normal and expected for such surfaces. I'm keeping pH in the 7.2-7.8 range and I'm brushing weekly with a wire brush (per Wet Edge's instructions) and it has not gotten worse and overall I'm satisfied with my plaster job.

 

[ROB N]

Could you post a full set if test results? It could be ca scale...

 

[no-mas]

Regarding the scale question, can you feel it? Is it smooth or rough and irregular? To go a step further, though - maybe I set a low bar, but it looks ok to me... except for the odd dark stain in the bottom of the picture resembling someone holding a camera

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Agree w/ no-mas; I can't see anything I know things like that can be hard to photograph...

 

[Richard320]

It's scale. I have it too on the floor of my pool, and it does seem to follow trowel marks

 

[judge smails]

It's scale. I have it too on the floor of my pool, and it does seem to follow trowel marks

should I do anything about it or will it go away eventually?

talked to my builder yesterday and he mentioned efflourescence (sp?). even after googling this, I'm not sure what it is exactly.


my last test results:

FC - 7
CC - 0
Ph 7.5 - 7.8 (this goes up to 7.8, I add MA, goes down to not quite 7.2, then starts slowly rising back up within a week or so. typical of new gunite pools I'm told)
TA - 100
Ch - 190


I've put my results into the pool calculator and kept an eye on the CSI and its only been an issue for a couple days all summer, usually when my Ph got too high.

 

[Richard320]

It's scale. I have it too on the floor of my pool, and it does seem to follow trowel marks

should I do anything about it or will it go away eventually?

talked to my builder yesterday and he mentioned efflourescence (sp?). even after googling this, I'm not sure what it is exactly.


my last test results:

FC - 7
CC - 0
Ph 7.5 - 7.8 (this goes up to 7.8, I add MA, goes down to not quite 7.2, then starts slowly rising back up within a week or so. typical of new gunite pools I'm told)
TA - 100
Ch - 190


I've put my results into the pool calculator and kept an eye on the CSI and its only been an issue for a couple days all summer, usually when my Ph got too high.

I've been having good, although slow, success by keeping pH down, CSI always in the negatives, and wire brushing. My big hope is a lot of rainwater this winter to really drop CH. That seemed to help me more than anything with removing the buildup I inherited.

 

[no-mas]

pH 7.8 or less, TA 100 CH 190 - - - I'm not sure any of these are out of range enough to think it's scale. What does your builder suggest you do?

 

[onBalance]

Although it is difficult to tell by the picture, your pool may have what is known as "spot etching," but the more accurate term would be "white soft spotting." Go to the "Deep End" forum on this website and review the two topic posts on Spot Etching.