What surface to go with??

[thecabana]

Hello all! We purchased our home with this beautiful pool about a year ago. We absolutely love it! And it is going to be time to do some renovations on it in the coming year or so. It was built in 1994. The previous owners bought the home around 2008ish. The only updates they did was a filter update (unsure when) and a new heater (~3 years ago). So the plaster is at a minimum 15 years old, and potentially older. The tile and coping are original. The automation is original (in fact, it reset after a large power outage and reset the date to its install in June 1994!) The plaster could even be original, but we're not sure.

So we will be replacing the tile, resurfacing, adding a second drain, removing the not working lights, updating the electric panel, updating the automation, removing the booster pump and repurposing as another return, and some other odds and ends. The coping is in great shape and I actually like it's terracotta charm, so we will likely keep it.

But I'm not sure what to do about resurfacing. The company we'd like to work with originally gave us a quote for tier 2 pebble sheen. My questions are...

Is the price increase between that and regular plaster worth it? Is there a big difference in longevity? I've read it can last 10-20 years in different places, but our regular plaster is likely that old and just showing signs of needing to be resurfaced. So is it just aesthetics, or does pebble sheen actually last longer?

And even further, is doing a full tile pool worth it? We're willing to pay for something that is a good investment, meaning it will pay off to spend the money now because we will have to pay less over the lifetime of the pool. We plan for this to be our forever home and, hopefully, will be living here for 30+ years. I know full tile will greatly increase the renovation cost, so I'd only like to do this if it's a good decision.

Thank you for any insight and thoughts!

 

[HermanTX]

One important step for a replaster - ensure they do a full chip out of the old plaster. It is labor intensive and may be an extra $1000 or so to the price but it is critically important. This ensures that the new plaster will adhere to the original gunite shell.

During my replaster, which the old plain white plaster was about 17 years old, I went with a Wet Edge product that had a smooth finish as I did not want any rough finish.
Regardless of what you get, the Wet Edge site has a good overview (video) of the different types of plaster formulas. Although it is specific to their product, it is applicable to many mfg. products - just have different trade names.
Wet Edge Technologies – various types of plaster – overview of all products

Please Create Your Signature to help us understand what your current setup is and this will help responders to quickly see your equipment and pool details without having to keeping asking for the information.

 

[mknauss]

adding a second drain

Have you considered eliminating the drain completely? Less cost, less hassle. Main drain is not needed.

 

[thecabana]

One important step for a replaster - ensure they do a full chip out of the old plaster. It is labor intensive and may be an extra $1000 or so to the price but it is critically important. This ensures that the new plaster will adhere to the original gunite shell.

During my replaster, which the old plain white plaster was about 17 years old, I went with a Wet Edge product that had a smooth finish as I did not want any rough finish.
Regardless of what you get, the Wet Edge site has a good overview (video) of the different types of plaster formulas. Although it is specific to their product, it is applicable to many mfg. products - just have different trade names.
Wet Edge Technologies – various types of plaster – overview of all products

Please Create Your Signature to help us understand what your current setup is and this will help responders to quickly see your equipment and pool details without having to keeping asking for the information.

Yes, the full chip out is included in our renovation. They said this was standard and required (which I appreciate)
And I will check out the Wet Edge! Thank you! Also will get my signature handled - thanks for sharing the info!

 

[thecabana]

Have you considered eliminating the drain completely? Less cost, less hassle. Main drain is not needed.

Hmm I hadn't considered this or heard of it before - does suction just occur through the skimmers then? We currently have 2 skimmers on the pool, one drain in the center of the pool, and I believe two drains in the spa. The remodeling company recommended adding a second drain in the pool to bring it up to code, though we don't technically have to because of when the pool was built & it is residential. But he said it is for safety for swimmers in the event suction is too blocked at the skimmers, because our pool isn't very deep and it'll create more intense suction at the one drain in the center?

 

[mknauss]

They are correct. If you wish to keep the main drain, you need to upgrade it to VGBA standards. I would be surprised your local building code does not require it. It is very dangerous to have a single suction point like that.
With two skimmers, I would plug the main drain. If not already, replumb the skimmers to home run (have their own suction line) back to the equipment pad.

 

[thecabana]

They are correct. If you wish to keep the main drain, you need to upgrade it to VGBA standards. I would be surprised your local building code does not require it. It is very dangerous to have a single suction point like that.
With two skimmers, I would plug the main drain. If not already, replumb the skimmers to home run (have their own suction line) back to the equipment pad.

Okay I will ask them about this!

I am in TX so our building code is almost always grandfathered to the standards at the time of build. The PB said this was the case with the drain but they highly recommended adding the second drain when we talked.