Modification of existing pool?

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brebur

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LifeTime Supporter
Jul 19, 2015
27
Austin, TX
Hi folks,
Have any of you had an existing pool modified? What was done, and if I may ask, what was ballpark cost?

Our pool is 20-yrs old and needs replastering. But there are a few things I want to change. For example, the way our stairs are shaped, it is extremely difficult to brush all sides. So extending the stairs to the adjacent walls would "open up" those angles a bit for easier cleaning.

A bigger idea we have is that our pool has limestone planter built into one wall. It is falling apart on the backside (away from pool, fortunately) but needs removal. It would be a nice spot to build in a sun shelf type feature.

I was curious about changes like this. A sun shelf addition is slightly structural, while extending the stairs is not, so I wonder what's doable.
 
Thanks, Patrick. Everybody on this site is very enthusiastic, which is great!

Here are a few pics from this morning. The first is Google's map view from probably March this year. The other two are pics of the overall pool side of the yard and the planter.
yard-overhead-2015-07-21.jpg

From the deep end, our little diving rock. That's Zoysia grass on this side of the yard, planted two years ago as an experiment. I like it.
pool-overall.jpg

The planter looks like it sits atop the pool wall just like the coping would. However, the backside of the planter is NOT supported by concrete, and is breaking apart. We usually keep a few plants, like three sages, in the planter, but the inside of the planter is actually very small and drains too quickly. Thus, 100+F and full sun really take a toll on whatever is planted there. Instead of the planter, we'd rather have more landscaping.
pool-planter.jpg
 
I'm waiting on an estimate to do some similar changes, new plaster and tile, new coping and some structural changes inside the pool. We want to make our large 2nd step more shallow creating a tanning ledge, we also want to decrease the depth of the deepest part of the pool and change a water feature that is a bit like your planter.

Renovation in Henderson NV

I have no idea what it is going to cost yet...
 
MarianParoo, I agree. It does look better when there's a few plants and color in it, but yeah, it needs to go.

Foxy, I see a lot of similarities in the "tiredness" of our pools. My wife and I have been putting it off about 2 years now but need to get it done.
 
All doable.
The stairs, although not clear in your pictures, are a walk in the park.
You should not have much trouble plumbing the sunshelf as there is no decking to compete with.
If you go with the basics, the couple of return jets the sundeck would need should not require a pump upgrade. How is the flow from your jets at present?
If you go for bubblers as well you might need a little more push.
In finishing around the sunshelf you will have difficulty matching the coping, waterline and deck material.
This sort of change often accompanies a coping/waterline update.
 

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I am looking to do the same thing on my 1972 gunite. It needs to be replastered, new tiles and some new coping. I am going to post pix in a new thread when I get close to doing it next year. Now the plaster is stained, 10% of the tile is missing and there are 3-4 broken or cracked peices of concrete coping. I really like the diving rock and would like to put a diving rock waterfall combo feature when we redo pool.
 
Kimkats, ha ha, thanks! I bounced the idea off my wife, and her eyes just lit up, so maybe we're on to something.

ozdiver said:
All doable.
The stairs, although not clear in your pictures, are a walk in the park.
You should not have much trouble plumbing the sunshelf as there is no decking to compete with.
If you go with the basics, the couple of return jets the sundeck would need should not require a pump upgrade. How is the flow from your jets at present?
If you go for bubblers as well you might need a little more push.
In finishing around the sunshelf you will have difficulty matching the coping, waterline and deck material.
This sort of change often accompanies a coping/waterline update.
Click to expand...

I don't know what happened to the stair pictures I took, I guess I forgot to include those. Anyway, the stairs are under my feet in the third pic posted, and given the diagonal corners of the pool, the stairs are also set diagonally. But they don't extend to the shallow end wall, creating some tight acute angles which makes it hard to brush there. There are three stairs, and one feature we like is that the second stair extends along the shallow end (opposite the planter) making a nice bench. Adults, kids and dogs like that bench...

Ozdiver and others, the flow in our pool is great, and while the pump is a little overpowered for the filter, the circulation is excellent. I'd imagine there's enough return for the sundeck. And to your last point, yes, we definitely need to replace the coping at least, and probably some of the deck. Since 2010 we've had a bad drought that has exacerbated some ground shifting, which has cracked the deck in places. I wouldn't mind replacing the deck since it's extremely bright after I clean it; I'd rather have more color variation in the stone.

So, it sounds like the ideas we have are feasible. I think it would freshen things up, and not be too expensive. We should probably talk to a couple PBs to refine the ideas and get some bids.
 
I have found that asking at least 5 companies for a bid will equal at least 3 showing up LOL From the 3 you will be able to pick one.

Make sure to tell them your are asking for other bids and if they would be willing to look over their bid again after all of the bids are in. Do NOT tell them who else you are asking and do NOT allow them to talk bad about any others "Please stick to what YOU will do for MY pool" works every time!

Make sure you are doing apples to apples for each of them. Get everything in writing!

Good luck and let us look over their ideas so we can help spend your money! LOL

Kim
 
haha True about the 5 companies!

I called 6. Two flat out told me they were too busy or wouldn't build a pool for me because my budget (70k) was not high enough for them. Out of the remaining 4 that came 3 gave me bids.
 
Well, it seems I need to get this remodel going.

I noticed some new spots appear in the deep end, and when I dove down to inspect, I found craters where the plaster has disappeared, and there are larger gray patches that indicate that part of the plaster is loose. Our top step did this a few years ago, where it started turning gray under the surface. It eventually flakes off, leaving a rough patch behind.

Our plaster is now 20 years old and we know we've been putting it off, but this development pretty much closes the deal. The water chemistry is excellent right now, and it otherwise looks fantastic. It will most likely be fall before a PB can get to it, so we have the rest of the swim season to enjoy it I think.

I'm searching for PBs now, and asked ummgood who he used. I'll be getting others this week.
 
brebur said:
MarianParoo, I agree. It does look better when there's a few plants and color in it, but yeah, it needs to go.

Foxy, I see a lot of similarities in the "tiredness" of our pools. My wife and I have been putting it off about 2 years now but need to get it done.
Click to expand...

Good luck with your renovation, please post pics as you go.
We just got a $15k estimate for ours, but we are still undecided and going to get some more options/quotes.
 
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