Mini Pebble Application - Subpar?

[Jill Small]

Hey Everyone!
Would love any suggestions or input on my current situation with my pool.

I recently hired a pool contractor to redo my pool which was smooth plaster and upgrade it to mini pebble.

We noticed that on the day they install the mini pebble that they did not pressure wash (the machine kept stalling) and they did not brush for the following week as they said they would.

We warned the pool contractor that we could see a lot of white spots, splotchy in the plaster, thinking it would be helpful for him to treat these areas prior to filling the pool with water.

Well, he didn't correct and now the pool has cured fully (it's been 3 months now).

Our pool mini pebble has rough trowel marks and white splotches. There is also "bubbling" around the stairs and a dark semi-circle at night near the light, we didn't have this before. (He did add a second drain in that area so work was done on the floor area in that section.)

He says he wants to come and drain the pool, SAND the mini pebble to correct the trowel marks and redo with acid for the white splotches.
Is this a common solution for a problem like this or does this proposed process compromise the already cured mini-pebble making problems further down the line in terms of durability of pebble or any other thing that I'm not aware of?
Maybe we are better off just leaving this as it is or having someone redo the entire job from the beginning. Please let us know your thoughts.

And to boot, they installed the decorative tiles at the stairs wrong. Too many one one step and too close to each in some areas.

I will attach some photos below.
Thanks All!
Sincerely,
Jill

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Yeah, pretty poor workmanship.

Draining the pool and power sanding may smooth things. Sanding will not effect the life of the plaster.

The use of acid depends exactly how it will be used and applied. It may help or hurt.

I would let them do the sanding and skip the acid.

 

[Anita W..]

What ended up happening with your pool? We just had ours resurfaced with Stonescapes mini Midnight Blue but the mix is too dark. Way too many black pebbles. Today I got out the original sample from the company and put it in the water. It turns a dark blue where our finish is black. The good news is they did an incredible job of the plaster and acid wash. I cannot believe your pool company didn't come back to brush, although we were told we had to take on the "startup" process so I read detailed instructions from the National Plaster Council so was prepared.

My husband is ok with the black but I'm not and not certain I have any recourse. Wish there was an easy way to coat over but I don't think there is. It looks great in the sun but is very dark on a cloudy day like today.

Also, I feel so bad about your tile. I did make them come back and fix one that was horrible and it was right where you went into the pool. Didn't realize how OCD I was until I had this pool refinished!