Nearing completion and a few questions

[sfzobie]

Found this site during our build, has been very helpful with basic questions.

My pool builder has been very trying at times, a lot of little details were overlooked, the manager constantly telling me what I wanted and so forth. So when it came time for us to finalize our pool finish, I was pretty set on pebble tec. The builder said he had pebble tec and after a few years the surface becomes rough, so he suggested commercial quartz. I spoke to a few friends with pebble tec and they confirmed that it does get rough, the difference varied between people. I have small kids so they will using this pool for the next 10+ years so a smooth finish was important.

The commercial product is something they recently have started using on residential pools according to the builder, plus the manufacturer (Finest Finish Pools) gives a 7 year warranty which my builder extends to 10 years. Price wise it’s about the same as the pebble tec upgrade.

Great, decision made and I went with a French Gray. Initially I wanted a darker pool, but I was willing to take the trade off of smooth for a lighter color.

Here is the rub. The finish itself is nice, smooth and even. The problem is all the trowel lines. They filled the same day they plastered and I’m afraid these lines won’t come out. The builder said it takes time but they will come out. I’m debating withholding his last payment until this happens. Pictures below

Thanks

 

[duraleigh]

The smoother the finish, the more difficult to hide imperfections. That applies to literally all things............woodworking, paint pools, etc.

I also doubt it will ALL disappear and I doubt it can be fixed completely. It has no affect on the quality. I would suggest living with it.

I am completely in favor of withholding money on fixable items but with this issue you may end up deteriorating the relationship. Accept as much as you can and stay on good terms with your builder.

 

[sfzobie]

Thanks for the reply. The builder basically said as much, I guess I would have liked a warning because a big reason we didn’t stay with traditional plaster was for this reason. The other is the word commercial. If you owned a hotel and this was the finish they presented you, I have a hard time believing it would be acceptable. Granted I probably should have picked a pebble or stone finish for more uniformity, but at no time did he warn me about the potential for the marks, he basically said since we upgraded to quartz we are getting a much superior product (even though he still referred to it as plaster).

The smoother the finish, the more difficult to hide imperfections. That applies to literally all things............woodworking, paint pools, etc.

I also doubt it will ALL disappear and I doubt it can be fixed completely. It has no affect on the quality. I would suggest living with it.

I am completely in favor of withholding money on fixable items but with this issue you may end up deteriorating the relationship. Accept as much as you can and stay on good terms with your builder.