Edit: added lots of photos of stone/deck sealing process as well as a dessicant and pvc compressed air drier I built for the sand blaster
Additional Edit: The guys at StoneTech repeatedly told me that the base ingredients in the Saltwater Pro and the Heavy Duty Pro were the same. Check the MSDS. Not so. So I called stonetooling.com and was told I am correct.. not the same. Stonetooling told me that I can put the Saltwater Pro on just about anything and to definitely use it on coping and stuff directly near the pool i.e. 3ft or less. I asked about layering it and you must put either Saltwater Pro on top of itself or the HD on top of Saltwater Pro or on top of HD but Saltwater Pro can not go on top of HD, so once you layer SWP with HD you must then do your semi-annual upkeep with HD. The reason is that HD is solvent based and will stick to itself and the water based SWP but the SWP will not adhere to a previous layer of HD. I asked about my waterfall with super absorbent moss rock. Stonetooling told me they would use solvent based on that, so HD which is in contradiction with the suggestion to use SWP closest to water. Its like Russian Roulette trying to make sense of the answers from the pros.
I recently got quotes for removing scale from the sides of the pool and then for sealing the stone around the pool as well as the concrete/pebble decking. All in all about 750 square feet. Grand total? About 2500.... WTH? Last year I got the same quote for 1300 and 1500 but from different contractors. I must be a serious tightwad. I should have taken the 1300 offer last year but he wouldnt produce a copy of the warranty and that bugged me. So, after being quoted 1000 for the scale removal I bought a sand blaster, face mask and filter, and blast media (glass bead) all for about 330. After getting the 1500 quote to seal I just purchased the DuPont sealers for about 330 as well. I am sure I bought too much but its good to have extra for upkeep. I spoke with a rep from StoneTech and he recommended the Pro Enhancer/Sealer and the HD Sealer but I decided to go with the Salt Sealer and HD. The enhancer/sealer was 190 a gallon and the cheapskate in me said no. He said to lay down the Enhancer first in one to two layers depending on how I like it. If I liked two layers then just stay like that as it will resist the salt and then do upkeep with HD after a few years.
I got the sealers from stonetooling.com. The prices were awesome compared to even Amazon. Shipping was another 30 dollars.
I'll keep this updated with how the sealing goes.
After applying I will be switching to saltwater. I have to finish the bead blasting and figure out how to remove the beads from the water. Maybe I'll stumble upon some great idea but right now it seems I have to drain and sweep/vacuum. I am considering using the filter pump to pump the beads into the filter. I am worried that I might damage the pump but I am also thinking a rented pump from Home Depot will run me around 80 plus filling the pool will be another 200 so a new filter pump might not be so bad anyway.
Well, anyway. I'll keep you updated.
Uriah
Additional Edit: The guys at StoneTech repeatedly told me that the base ingredients in the Saltwater Pro and the Heavy Duty Pro were the same. Check the MSDS. Not so. So I called stonetooling.com and was told I am correct.. not the same. Stonetooling told me that I can put the Saltwater Pro on just about anything and to definitely use it on coping and stuff directly near the pool i.e. 3ft or less. I asked about layering it and you must put either Saltwater Pro on top of itself or the HD on top of Saltwater Pro or on top of HD but Saltwater Pro can not go on top of HD, so once you layer SWP with HD you must then do your semi-annual upkeep with HD. The reason is that HD is solvent based and will stick to itself and the water based SWP but the SWP will not adhere to a previous layer of HD. I asked about my waterfall with super absorbent moss rock. Stonetooling told me they would use solvent based on that, so HD which is in contradiction with the suggestion to use SWP closest to water. Its like Russian Roulette trying to make sense of the answers from the pros.
I recently got quotes for removing scale from the sides of the pool and then for sealing the stone around the pool as well as the concrete/pebble decking. All in all about 750 square feet. Grand total? About 2500.... WTH? Last year I got the same quote for 1300 and 1500 but from different contractors. I must be a serious tightwad. I should have taken the 1300 offer last year but he wouldnt produce a copy of the warranty and that bugged me. So, after being quoted 1000 for the scale removal I bought a sand blaster, face mask and filter, and blast media (glass bead) all for about 330. After getting the 1500 quote to seal I just purchased the DuPont sealers for about 330 as well. I am sure I bought too much but its good to have extra for upkeep. I spoke with a rep from StoneTech and he recommended the Pro Enhancer/Sealer and the HD Sealer but I decided to go with the Salt Sealer and HD. The enhancer/sealer was 190 a gallon and the cheapskate in me said no. He said to lay down the Enhancer first in one to two layers depending on how I like it. If I liked two layers then just stay like that as it will resist the salt and then do upkeep with HD after a few years.
30.96000 | StoneTech Professional Salt Water Resistant Sealer, Gallon | 2 | $114.18 | $228.36 |
30.89000 | StoneTech Professional Heavy Duty Exterior Sealer, Gallon | 2 | $52.98 | $105.96 |
I'll keep this updated with how the sealing goes.
After applying I will be switching to saltwater. I have to finish the bead blasting and figure out how to remove the beads from the water. Maybe I'll stumble upon some great idea but right now it seems I have to drain and sweep/vacuum. I am considering using the filter pump to pump the beads into the filter. I am worried that I might damage the pump but I am also thinking a rented pump from Home Depot will run me around 80 plus filling the pool will be another 200 so a new filter pump might not be so bad anyway.
Well, anyway. I'll keep you updated.
Uriah
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