Rust spot on plaster floor

[theseankelly]

Hey Forum,

Last year I posted about a hairline crack with rust on my deep-end bench. I ended up mushing some pool putty over that spot and it has 'resolved' (hidden?) the rust.

This year, another bubbling rust spot about the size of a quarter showed up smack in the middle of the shallow end floor. I took the same approach and smeared some pool putty over the area, but the rust seems to have bled through. I'm trying to decide whether this is expected, and whether I should just keep putting coats of pool putty on until the rust goes away. I'm also seeing a lot of external articles (mostly pool repair shops) claiming I basically need to drain and dig out the gunnite immediately.

In re-reading my post above, I'm realizing the severity/urgency of this wasn't commented on, but not really discussed directly.

A replaster and possibly even a full pool renovation are definitely in the cards for us, but I was hoping to defer this job out about 5 years to allow sufficient time to save up.

I'm hoping for some experts here to help me with this choice -- if I'm able to keep the area somewhat sealed with pool putty, do you think my pool's structure can keep kicking for another few years (barring any new rust spots) or is the rate of decay and/or significant damage more time sensitive than that?

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Texas Splash]

Not so sure about the putty treatment. If it's rebar from underneath, it's just going to keep bleeding through. You can rub some Vitamin C tabs on it every so often instead until you are ready to have it dug out and repaired properly.

 

[theseankelly]

Not so sure about the putty treatment. If it's rebar from underneath, it's just going to keep bleeding through. You can rub some Vitamin C tabs on it every so often instead until you are ready to have it dug out and repaired properly.

Thanks!

It’s the “ready” part I’m unclear about — is this a “wait-until-I’m-ready” situation or is this an “immediate action required to avoid thousands of dollars more over time” situation? And if the latter, what does “over time” mean? Months? Years? Decades?

 

[Texas Splash]

The rust bleeding through will be a nuisance, but I don't see it as urgent unless the plaster in that area becomes so thin that it could compromise the area below. If you suspect there is more to the area other than just the iron discoloration certainly let us know. I'm sure some of our plaster experts will be appy to reply here as well. Sometimes pics can help. Feel free to share.

 

[theseankelly]

The rust bleeding through will be a nuisance, but I don't see it as urgent unless the plaster in that area becomes so thin that it could compromise the area below. If you suspect there is more to the area other than just the iron discoloration certainly let us know. I'm sure some of our plaster experts will be appy to reply here as well. Sometimes pics can help. Feel free to share.

Thanks again. Tough to get a photo since it’s about as far from the edge as you can get, but here it is. This is after a layer of pool putty a week ago.

 

[theseankelly]

This is a bit better

 

[Bperry]

This is a bit better

Looks like the plaster is worn away in that spot or is your epoxy dark grey?

The urgency is certainly not weeks and not decades, but you have to decide if it’s months or years. Water saturated gunite will deteriorate over time so best not to leave it like that too long. Hard to say exactly how long is too long. I’ve had a couple spots exposed like that for 4 years that don’t seem to be damaged but a couple other spots that crumbled like sand when I removed the plaster over them to repair a crack that was leaking.

 

[ajw22]

That is rusting rebar.

If you don't care about how the patch looks you can drain the pool. Chisel out the area. Cut out the rusting rebar. Fill the hole with hydraulic cement and put a layer of plaster over it. Then refill the pool.

You can go a few years with the rust spot if seeing it does not bother you.

The problem is more cosmetic then structural and it can be repaired before the next replaster..