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Grout is fine between the stone. There are lots of types of grout, and lots of types of mortar, but in general grout and mortar are very similar to each other. The primary difference is the purpose, mortar is used as a masonry adhesive while grout is used to fill gaps between tiles or stones. In...

Proper curing of concrete has exponentially more to do with hydration than temperature, and the wetter it stays the stronger it will be. This is particularly important for the first 28 days.

Shop around or buy online. The 2.5" Sched 40 fittings shouldn't be more than $2-3 for couplings and $4-5 for elbows and other standard fittings. Maybe see if you have a plumbing supply place nearby rather than irrigation supply. 2-1/2" Schedule 40 PVC Coupling 429-025

I don't think you'll need to use a form for a repair that small, but it remains to be seen since it looks like you still have more chipping out to do. I would first chip off any loose/hollow pebble and gunite, after which you'll have a better idea of the size and depth of the repairs. Assuming...

Hah! According the Google it's currently 3 degrees hotter here than your house. Usually it's the other way around though.

Got most of the grout done, wife is finishing it up now. While she's doing that I started wrapping the fountain wall with stone ledger panels. Had to take a break though because it's too hot out. If only we had a pool to cool off in! :D

Use any modified thinset rated for submerged use. I'm a fan of Laticrete 254, but there are plenty of other suitable options. I've not used xypex, but I would assume the manufacturer would have some guidance for how much to use for various applications. The ratio should be the same regardless...

Only some sedimentary rocks dissolve in acid, but it's a worthwhile test. Typical test is just applying a few drops of 5-10% hydrochloric acid and seeing if it fizzes or bubbles. If it does, the rock has carbonates in it.

I also used some photogrammetry software from work to create a point cloud model of my pool, which then enabled me to create a 3D model, and calculate a very accurate volume. Turns out the volume is quite a bit less than we'd previously estimated. Will need to update my signature with the new...

Between a monsoon storm that ripped the roof off my house last summer and lots of travel for work, the pool project got abandoned for a while. The house is back together, and I finally have the time and money to focus on the pool again. Just finished setting the waterline tile yesterday. Hoping...

An orange coating on rock joints is almost always iron oxide, basically rust, which has a tendency to stain. Gold sparkles are typically pyrite, and while that's often the source of iron for the rust stains on the joints, it usually takes very long periods of exposure for them to create any...

Geological engineer here. Those look like granite at first glance, but it's really hard to tell without being able to really look at them up close. "Moss rock" can be any type of rock with moss growing on it, so I have no reference as to how a particular moss rock would compare to those boulders...

Agreed. I see no evidence of glue on the failed fitting in the photo, and the primer appears totally undisturbed. Hard to tell for sure, but the other fittings in the photo appear to have been glued with clear PVC cement.

I don't close my pool in the winter, so I don't know for sure, but I don't think you should lose half a pool of water to evaporation. So maybe you do have a leak after all. What you described about the water draining from the skimmer is perfectly normal though, and doesn't really tell us anything.

If the skimmer port closest to the pool is connected to the main drain like you think it is, then any water you pour in the skimmer is just going to drain into the pool (until you pour enough in to fill it to the skimmer). Everything you've described is pretty much what would be expected. In...

Yep. And this should have been done prior to cutting the pebble in order to make a level line for the cut, but based on the pics it's a bit too late for that.

Depends on how thick it needs to be. If the distance between the existing gunite and the planned location of the back of the tile is less than 3/4", you can just use a higher quality thinset designed for thicker applications (usually used for large format tiles, glass tiles, etc). If it needs to...

I hate the way kool deck looks, but it's significantly cooler to walk on than anything else. I have very old kool deck that's starting to flake off, and I'm really torn about whether to re finish it with the same, or replace it with travertine. I love the look of travertine, but know from...

My guess is for pressure testing and winterizing. Came in really handy when I pressure tested my new plumbing.

I tried this on my pool prior to remodeling. The seal between the vac hose and skimmer wasn't perfect though, and after the water level fell below the skimmer, the water in the skimmer basket started slowly draining until it finally sucked in some air and the pump lost prime. It still worked, I...

In that case it's most likely a thin layer of cementitious residue from the mortar or plaster. Same removal methods though. And I'd definitely try scrubbing it off with an acid solution before chipping it out.

Hah! Have been out of town trying to come up with a plan to fix some less than ideal shotcrete application.

I'm not seeing any surface that doesn't look like pebble-tec. Looks to me like faded pebble-tec with a bunch of scale build up on it from being at the waterline, which is one of the reasons that pebble finishes are typically avoided in the waterline area. For scale removal, a pumice stone and/or...