Getting Plastered when I didn't expect it.

Apr 27, 2012
16
Delta B.C. Canada
Before I start let me say that my pool knowledge is limited and this is my first pool. I've owned the house now for 8 years and I've had a company do much of the services.
So a border tile replacement job has turned into a replaster. Here's the story; We've had a cold (for us) winter here* and a bunch of tiles popped off around the top inside pool edge. Called in a contractor and he noticed that there was a crack along the edge about 2 inches down from the top of the pool and that this crack along with water getting in behind and freezing caused the tiles to pop off. I only found out last year that the coping needed to be sealed where it meets the patio/pool deck. (Be kind, I'm still finding my way in the pool world).

Quick aside. I bought this house 8 years ago and my signature shows what I thought I knew about the pool from the previous owners. I was wrong. More on that as we go. Needless to say I'm going to have to revise my sig.

Back to the story; I decided the best thing to do was to have all the tile replaced around the pool since there were a bunch more tiles that sounded hollow when knocked and I'm a "let's do this only once" kind of guy. So we drain the pool. This morning after draining ,the contractor does an inspection of the entire interior of the pool and notices some cracks in the plaster and some "hollow" spots. Bad news. Now it's a tile and replaster job. The budget goes through the roof! I'm looking at $25,000 CND or about $19,500 US. Yikes! But I trust my pool guy and he says the plaster/tile contractor is one of the best so... here we go.

I will try to post some pictures of the pool as the project progresses and will be looking for advice. So far the only decisions I've made are - 1" glass tile to replace the 3" ceramic around the edge and plain white plaster for the interior.

* I know, I live in Canada. Aren't all winters cold there? Nope, not here on the Wet Coast of British Columbia. I live in a pocket near Vancouver that seldom gets snow and the coldest it gets here in winter is aboot the mid 20's F (-5C) for around a week or two a year. But oh no, not this year...a solid month of freezing temps and snow!

PS Here's the pool before.
UFgfWRQl.jpg
 
I don’t want to sound rude or cause you to change your plans (new tile and plaster can be a fun remodel) but I think your pool guy is using you to get his plaster buddy some off season work.

All plaster surfaces, after years, develop surface cracks that you can’t see when the pool is full but, when you drain it, the pool surface looks like a broken egg. Also, it is common to find a few “hollow sounding” spots on the plaster as there are always areas that can delaminate from the substrate BUT, if they are not compromised physically, they will stay in place and not get any worse because the force of the water pressure on the surface holds it in place. If you go banging it with a hammer, you can smash it away, but it would not have broken on its own if you hadn’t hit it in the first place. As long as the pool isn’t leaking water (the plaster can have small cracks that don’t leak), then replastering is not necessary.

If you still want to replaster, I suggest you get more quotes. Plain, white plaster here in the US can be go for as little as $6000 USD depending on location and how much old material is removed. It’s usually best to chip out old plaster and NOT just get a skim coat. I think your price is too high but, then again, the pool market in Canada is much more limited and expensive.
 
That is a pretty pool as it was!

I hope you do get at least 2 more quotes. That does seem high but unless you get other quotes you will not know for sure.

If you do get a new plaster job make sure to read, print out, go over with your plaster person those links Maddie shared with you.

Kim:kim:
 
Hey gang, thanks for the support! I have had time to look into other quotes and my guy seems squarely in the low-mid range. He comes highly recommended from many references. One company quoted me almost twice the price! (Back in the day we'd call this the F.O. price! as in "here's the price, now F.O!"). The problem is that pool contractors are run off their feet around here due to our red hot high end housing market so many aren't doing repairs in favor of building new pools. I hope to have some pictures tomorrow to show where we are at so far.
 

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just started getting quotes for my pool.
4,200 for standard tile
18,700 for Diamond Brite
19,800 for Hydrazzo
asking for quote on reg. old white plaster
 
just started getting quotes for my pool.
4,200 for standard tile
18,700 for Diamond Brite
19,800 for Hydrazzo
asking for quote on reg. old white plaster

And reg. old plaster doesn't have to be white. Our plaster is tinted. So baby's butt smooth and has color. Tinted plaster does mottle easily though and is to be expected. But we also enjoy that aspect of it.

And Maddie is coming from her smoother than smooth fiberglass, so she's really biased!!
 
As promised here are some pictures of the job in progress. Decided to go with glass 1" tiles and plain white plaster with some Aztec(?) added for durability. PS I'm told that the previous owner did a poor job of balancing the chemistry and as such the plaster has the texture of 30 grit sand paper. I'm also told that the plaster job was much older than I was led to believe.

Based on other oddities and surprises we found during earlier house reno's I tend to believe we were misled about the condition of the pool. More learning on the way for me...

Also we have water seeping in through the pool wall below the skimmer so there's that. I intent to dig up the plumbing from the skimmer and have a look as that is also an issue (would you believe 6 90 degree elbows in the line to the pump? and then 3 more on the way to the heater, and finally 5 on the return line?).
 

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Now I'm on the hunt for a replacement light. There's a Canadian Jacuzzi CA-500 light that's fogged and the niche is "open to the sea" Is there supposed to be a gasket between the niche and the fixture? I dont see a mating surface on the niche where a gasket would fit. In the end I may just replace the seal on the fixture and replace the lamp - if that's possible. I assume the fixture is 40+ years old. Can't find anything specific on the web about that particular model. I've attached a pic (from a distance).
 

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You also have a nice big crack on the right side of the skimmer - may be related (freeze cracking)?
Yes, that is one cause for the tiles to start popping off into the water during our recent cold snap. Nearby tiles popped off in sympathy I suppose! This is what flagged the whole magilla I'm in now.

As a newbie pool owner I didn't realize that sealant where the coping joins the deck is VERY important. The previous owners hadn't done it and so I thought nothing of it. Until last year when my concrete guy (installing a nearby patio extension) pointed out that it's uber important that water not get behind the pool walls. (DUH!) So we sealed, but too late the damage was done. The crack looks to be older than just one winter BTW.

[edit] In my defence, we seldom get freezing weather here for more than 4-5 days in the winter. Even then the temps are just 3 to 4 degrees below freezing. But this year we had a record 29 days below freezing and temps 10 or more degrees below zero. Thanks Polar Vortex!
 
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Update. Light is going to be replaced with an LED unit and a niche adapter inside the old niche. While I'm at it I'm going to run new wire back to the pool shed light switch (and replace the switch!).

They've repaired the crack around the skimmer opening, and it was worse than it first appeared. A 12 foot long stretch of concrete below the coping had turned to mush so all that had to go. Replaced with a layer of bonding compound and then some hydraulic cement patch compound. Then a coating of flexible anti crack compound and mesh all around the pool where the new tile will go. Meanwhile the plastering has to wait for weather. Attached are some more pix.
 

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