New pool build in process- coping chisel mark issues?

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TxCoolGuy

TxCoolGuy

0
Sep 1, 2016
40
North Richland Hills, TX
Hi all,

Nice community you have here! Wish I would have found it sooner!

I'm having an gunite pool built and nearing the final stages towards plaster. I keep finding little issues that are causing me some concern and hoping to get some feedback on whether I'm just being unreasonable or if I have a real issue.

While inspecting the flag-stone, I noticed some concrete still on the flag-stone. Mostly little spots and hazy areas where it looks like it needs to be scraped or rubbed off. I tried to remove it with a scrub brush, but it didn't do much against it, so I'm concerned it's sort of "absorbed" in. Hopefully the builders have a way to remove any concrete on the flagstone, but they are wanting to come seal it and I'm concerned it's not going to be thoroughly cleaned first. So, is it common for concrete "splash" from the deck install to get on the flagstone? And if so, it's totally normal to expect to have it removed, right?

Maybe a bigger concern is the chisel marks on the side of the coping. There are a lot of curves to the beam in our pool, so I'm sure the installers were just trying to round things out and smooth it down a bit. They left a lot of chisel marks in various areas, and it just doesn't look at all natural to me. I understand we're working with stone here, and there could be a few marks here and there, but is this normal? Please take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think.

I don't really have pictures of the concrete splash ..it mostly just looks like half-dollar size grey splotches on some of the flag-stone, with some bigger irregular hazy areas near the border with the deck in some places.

I do have lots of pictures of the chisel marks, so hoping I can get some feedback on whether or not this is just the typical look and part of the flag-stone experience, or if this is poor workmanship.

Any feedback appreciated! Wife didn't like the way the tile ended up working with the moss rock, so she's already asking for that to be replaced. Figured I'd let it grow on her for a year before we make that decision since it's costly, but if the flagstone needs to be repaired, it might make more sense to just buckle down and do it.


Due to quota, I can only upload two pics. Here's one of the pool and one of the chisel marks. There are quite a few other tiles that have similar marks on the side of the coping, though this is one of the worst.

I'm going to send this same picture to the builder, but curious what you guys think!



IMG_4374.jpgIMG_4405.jpg

Got hooked up with phoptobucket ..here are the links.

[URL=http://s350.photobucket.com/user/solarmax2012/media/IMG_4404_zpsoi8jpxjt.jpg.html][/URL]

[URL=http://s350.photobucket.com/user/solarmax2012/media/IMG_4403_zpsny45qmiq.jpg.html][/URL]





This kind of phenomenon is happening in a lot more than just these three places, but this is more or less what it looks like.
 
Welcome to TFP!

Muriatic acid will remove the concrete from the flagstone. Yes, it is normal for concrete to get places where you don't want it. That flagstone pic looks OK to me. Ask your PB to look at it and see if they think they can do something to make it look different. There are some pics of my flagstone in the link in my sig.

To upload more pics you can either upload pics to Photobucket (free), copy the IMG code to the right of the pic and paste it in your post. Or you can get more picture storage room and other fringe benefits by CLICK HERE to Become a TroubleFreePool.com Supporter!!
 
Links don't work for me.

How thick is that stone? Looks okay to me. They could either cut the stone with a saw to the size you needed, or hammer the stone until it fractures along the line they hammered. If you cut it you have a unnatural looking edge, and can try to make it look natural by chipping it up some. If you cause it to fracture with repeated hammering, you may have to clean up the edge to achieve the "natural" look (looks like that's how they did it). The white marks should be less obvious over time. I don't know how you could make the white marks less obvious easily. Depending on the strength (hardness of the stone) perhaps a wire brush on drill, or a heavy sand disc on a grinder could blend them into the rock.

They should have cleaned the mortar up better, gonna be a pain now, but it shouldn't be all over the rocks, only in the joints.
 
I think the stone looks fine.. I mean, swimming pools aren't found naturally in nature, so a little bid of a man made touch is to be expected. If married, I would ask your wife with out poisoning her view first. If she likes it, then move on. But, it is your money, so you are entitled to get the pool you asked for.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. Went back to the original post and added the "IMG" version of the photobucket URL. New to Photobucket, so sorry about the hassle.

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. For the guy who asked, the flagstone is about 2" thick. So far it sounds like the chisel marks are just part shaping the stone and is to be expected. I probably just need to chill and not stress so much.
 
tx,

(Not pool related...) Several years ago I was in charge of setting up an air conditioned party tent in front of the building where I worked. Seems to me the guy we rented the AC equipment from was call "TxCoolGuy". Is that you, or just coincidence????

Jim R.
 
The split face chisel marks are to be expected. The alternative is a linear saw cut which is very unnatural looking. The "chisel teeth" will weather in time.

Or you can pay to have them rip it out & replace with water jet cut stone, at about $150.00 per linear foot plus demo & labor..




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Just as coincidence. I'm not nearly THAT cool! But hey, I used to live in Bedford as a kid. Go Trojans!!

Again, appreciate all the replies. Makes sense to me now that the "chisel teeth" or marks are normal and it becoming less obvious over time as the stone weathers. Would sealing the edge of the stone make a difference? Was planning to use an enhancer to bring out the color. Would sealing the the edge make a difference to the weathering?
 

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