Pool resurface needed, fiberglass over gunite or? West Texas

[davidfre21]

So I've conquered my chemistry and it now time to address the next elephant in the room. My crumbling pool plaster. When buying the house you could tell it was old but now being in it, it's a lot worse than I'd hoped. Maybe it was always this bad, maybe the added foot traffic was the final straw for this neglected pool or maybe getting the chemistry right has turbo'd the inevitable. The floor is coming up in chucks all over the place, depths ranging from 1/8-1/4".

Living in the oil field has limited my options. I can't get a local pool builder on the phone to save my life. I have reached out further and came up with the following quotes so far. I am leaning toward the fiberglass option, I prefer the smooth floor feeling and like the idea of the whole pool surface being covered sealing the whole thing.

Plain colored replaster w/retile - $22000 - El Paso, TX
Replaster w/quartz and retile - $14000 - Lubbock, TX
Replaster w/Aquabright - $23000 - Austin, TX
Replaster w/Aquabright - $TBD - Midland, TX ~ This one is only 20 miles away but I haven't been able to have them out yet.
Fiberglass w/retile - $12000 - Dallas, TX - Premier Fiberglass Resurfacing
Fiberglass only - $15000 - Dallas, TX - Texas Fiberglass Pools

The pictures kind of give you an idea of the staining, thinning spots and missing sections that have only multiplied.

 

[sktn77a]

Either way, you need to make sure the quotes include a complete chipout of all the old plaster. Between you and me, I think a replaster is the least risky.

 

[ajw22]

Do the replaster quotes include a complete chipout? You don’t have a solid base for a new plaster layer on what you have.

 

[davidfre21]

All of them have talked about needing to break out the old. I assumed that's why the quotes are all so high. The shallow end is far worse than the deep.

My old fear with straight plaster is the longevity of it. The warranty they offered was 5 years I think. Fiberglass guys are offering 15 years.

 

[davidfre21]

I'm not sure what a job this size should cost is my other problem.

 

[ajw22]

I'm not sure what a job this size should cost is my other problem.

Your Lubbock TX quote is a good price for a full chipout. I would take that one.

 

[bdavis466]

Stick with plaster. The fiberglass looks appealing but it's an absolute nightmare when you have issues. What does the 15yr warranty actually cover?

 

[davidfre21]

Stick with plaster. The fiberglass looks appealing but it's an absolute nightmare when you have issues. What does the 15yr warranty actually cover?

15 years on the fiberglass workmanship and 5 years on the gel coat. In my mind as long as you fiberglass everything shouldn't it work like a fiberglass in ground pool at that point?

My search started being interested in the aquabright and I still am, but locating an installer is my problem there. If the quote I get from the Midland installer of $15k or less, that's most likely my route.

 

[davidfre21]

Your Lubbock TX quote is a good price for a full chipout. I would take that one.

It's higher on the list. The older man I talked to on this did say all the old will probably have to come out. He also said the quartz is able to be repolished to extend it's life down the road.

 

[Oly]

We bought a home with a pool that was originally a gunite/plaster pool and it was chipped and coated with blown on fiberglass (fiberseal) in 2011.
Must say we love it, it looks great and we have had no issues. Is is very smooth, easy on the feet and hands. Also easy to clean and maintain. We drained the pool after we bought the home and inspected the finish and it was flawless. We treat it as a plaster pool and keep the calcium levels above 225. Check "my first thread" in my signature for pics.

 

[davidfre21]

We bought a home with a pool that was originally a gunite/plaster pool and it was chipped and coated with blown on fiberglass (fiberseal) in 2011.
Must say we love it, it looks great and we have had no issues. Is is very smooth, easy on the feet and hands. Also easy to clean and maintain. We drained the pool after we bought the home and inspected the finish and it was flawless. We treat it as a plaster pool and keep the calcium levels above 225. Check "my first thread" in my signature for pics.

I was hoping to hear something like this.

 

[Oly]

Guessing our pool was done in a similar method by the way it looks up close.

 

[Rich D]

We bought a home with a pool that was originally a gunite/plaster pool and it was chipped and coated with blown on fiberglass (fiberseal) in 2011.
Must say we love it, it looks great and we have had no issues. Is is very smooth, easy on the feet and hands. Also easy to clean and maintain. We drained the pool after we bought the home and inspected the finish and it was flawless. We treat it as a plaster pool and keep the calcium levels above 225. Check "my first thread" in my signature for pics.

What type of warranty did that come with?

 

[davidfre21]

The people I talked to hand lay the glass, not sure if it makes a difference. Seems like an interesting process.

 

[davidfre21]

What type of warranty did that come with?

Both companies I talked to was 15 years on the fiberglass and 5 for the gel coat

 

[sktn77a]

Problem with warranties from smaller renovation companies is that they will be long gone by the time you need them. 5 years on the gelcoat say it all. That's about when the blisters started appearing on our fiberglass walls.

 

[davidfre21]

I feel like that's when plaster should start to break down?

 

[ajw22]

I feel like that's when plaster should start to break down?

If you maintain proper water chemistry plaster lasts 10 to 20 years. I have replastered one pool after 15 years and my recent pool after 17 years.

 

[davidfre21]

If you maintain proper water chemistry plaster lasts 10 to 20 years. I have replastered one pool after 15 years and my recent pool after 17 years.

I've read a bunch about people replastering 5-7years and had me worried it was the norm.

 

[mknauss]

I've read a bunch about people replastering 5-7years and had me worried it was the norm.

Not if you manage your pool water chemistry. That is not for the faint of heart in your part of the country. Your fill water is pretty nasty.

Do you have a water softener at your home that you could use for make up water once the pool is filled?