Please look at my plaster and tell me what you think

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Jan 16, 2016
16
Mansfield, TX
Hi! We chose to have a pebble pool finish done on our pool. Specifically, we chose CL Industries CrystalStones Smooth finish in Caribbean Blue. Our pool was completed, but the finish is very splotchy. We brushed it religiously when they first applied it. And then after having the pool chemically "in balance" for several days, they tried adding acid back in (taking the alkalinity to zero), and we resumed brushing. After 5 days of that, it was having no effect, so now they are planning to drain it to try to correct it... I am not sure how they plan to correct it... Do they usually just apply layer of the pebble finish to what is already there and hope that they do it better than the first time? Or do they "spot-apply" it to the parts that look bad or ??? I would love to hear back from anyone who has gone through this same process before!!! We are not feeling confident that they will get it right!

Here is a link to some pictures of our pool:

https://goo.gl/photos/k159MNZYmWemMz2X8
Thanks!
Becky

P.S. Our pool is a saltwater pool and is about 38' x 15' and about 15,000 gallons. (Deep end is only 6'.) We are in the Fort Worth area of Texas.
 

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Re: Does anyone have pictures of what is considered a well-done pebble finish? Ours l

The member who knows whats what is OnBalance. He's in the industry. You may want to PM him he usually responds to questions.

Here is what your manufacturer says it should look like:

Pebble Pool Finishes | Crystalstones Smooth

Are we trying to remove what looks like brown mottling?

I strongly suggest you search mottling on here and take a couple of hours to read the threads. You will be much better educated to talk to your PB.
 
Re: Does anyone have pictures of what is considered a well-done pebble finish? Ours l

I am happy with my pebble, pics in build thread, link in sig. My PB has lots of pics of pebble finishes on their website, Reber Pools
 
Re: Does anyone have pictures of what is considered a well-done pebble finish? Ours l

Thank you for your reply! Your pool is really beautiful! I really hope they can get ours looking better. I wish I had heard of Reber Pools before now! Based on their photo galleries, they consistently do a beautiful job. I can't believe with all of the searches and research I did before signing a contract with anyone, that their name never came up! :( Bummer!
 
Re: Does anyone have pictures of what is considered a well-done pebble finish? Ours l

Lets wait and see what it looks like after they do what they plan on. You never know, it might come out great! (here is hoping)

Kim
 
Re: Does anyone have pictures of what is considered a well-done pebble finish? Ours l

I'm in the same boat! We live in Austin and are fighting splotchy plaster blend right now too. What the heck?! Following your post in case someone has suggestions!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The most likely thing the contractor will do is to use acid at different strengths and in specific areas to try and even out the color.
They will not be adding more plaster or pebble material to the surface. That is not practical and would not work or look acceptable.

Take more photos when they drain the pool, document everything done.
It is great that they are working to make it look acceptable, and I hope they can do that.
 

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Well, they decided to go ahead and drain the pool yesterday and try to treat the problem spots with acid. These pictures are what it looked like after they were "done." Not acceptable! Still looks bad.

Pool Pics

They left before we were even able to look at it and say whether or not we were happy with it and they started refilling the pool. We got home and immediately called our pool builder and told them it still looked horrible and that we did not want the pool refilled until the problems are adequately corrected. They agreed.

So today the plaster company's supervisor came to look at it and agreed that the guys who came yesterday did not work hard enough or long enough to be able to get rid of the splotchiness. He is frustrated with them, and now he is here today working hard on it himself to see if he can get it right. He is using muriatic acid and a stiff (wire?) brush. That stuff is strong! I asked him if he needed gloves and/or a mask, but he said he didn't! I hope he doesn't get sick or faint or ???

Another thing we did yesterday was go to a house nearby where we knew they had used the same pool builder and the same pebble plaster finish (CL Industries CrystalStones Smooth). We wanted to see someone else's completed pool to see if our expectations on how the finished product should look were unrealistic or not. That was one of the bet things we could have done because we could tell right away that we are not imagining things! Their pool is so even in color and in texture and looks amazing! Now we know exactly what we need to strive to get by the end of this, no matter how much we have to go through to get it. We are the customer and have spent A LOT of money to have a beautiful pool and want to make sure that is what we get.
 
Did you start using salt water soon as they finished the pebble? You are supposed to wait 20-30 days before doing salt water on pebble. It looks really bad. You should have them chip it all and redo it. They need to fix it. Doubt acid wash will clear it up if it has penetrated the surface.

Needs to look like this
Photo%20Jan%2016%204%2007%2046%20PM_zpsvs11kxyj.jpg
 
I don't disagree that it is normally advised to wait 30 days to add salt. But, my PB poured salt in my pool either the day after the pool filled or the second day after and turned on the SWG. Just sayin. :)
 
No, we did not. Never have had the chance to even get to that point yet, because the plaster problems have been an issue for about 4 weeks now. They have tried everything, but nothing has done enough to really correct the problem. The guy out here this morning spent a few hours working hard to see if he could make a difference, but once the our pool builder foreman came to see the progress, it was agreed upon that they will be chipping out around the valve fitting and the pool line and completely redoing the plaster! Yay!!! Hopefully the 2nd time it will be done right! One question I have is HOW MANY INCHES OF DEPTH (ESPECIALLY IN THE DEEP END) WILL WE END UP LOSING BECAUSE OF THIS!?!? Does anyone know the answer to that question?
 
Honestly you might want to require they chip out the entire pool. The problem is when you go to refinish later in the pool's life you won't be able to because you already used up your ability to chip around the pool line and replaster. Someone on here got the wrong plaster in their pool and demanded they chip out the entire pool so it was like it should have been to begin with.
 
Did the PB tell you why or how this happened.??? We have quartzscapes, Tahoe Blue and they did a terrible plaster job. We are still waiting for the Rep to come and look at it. Really not sure if we are just getting the run around or if he will really come as it has been a year since it was finished. Ours was plastered in Nov. 2014. It has gotten a lot lighter overall but there are very large sections that are very dark. It took several months for the change to take place. I wish I knew how to post pictures so you could see it. I am very sorry this has happened to you.
 

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