Hi everyone,
Back in the fall I posted about the estimates I got for replastering as compared with an Aqua Bright install (prices are CRAZY in the mid atlantic region!). Anyway, I decided to take the plunge and go for the Aqua Bright. They started the Reno last week. So far they have blasted off the old paint and have done a fair amount of grinding on the plaster surface. Yesterday they removed all the old tile and they are in the process of prepping for the new tile. My installer seems pretty good and has been pretty easy to work with, but answers to a few questions left me doubting him a little. If anyone has experiences to share regarding their Aqua Bright Install I'd love to hear it......
1) With the pool empty and most of the plaster prepped, I tapped around and found a couple spots with a hollow sound. One spot was a foot or two away from the main drain and there were a few spots on the spa bench. When I asked the installer about those he said if he was re-plastering they would have to dig that out and re-bond the plaster to the gunnite but not so with AB. His reasoning was that plaster absorbs the water so any delamination will eventually get worse. With AB, he said the coating is water tight so the plaster essentially stays dry and should not see further degredation. He said provided the old plaster surface is still intact the AB should be fine. That kinda makes sense but left me a little uneasy. I have a call into the Aqua Bright HQ in PA to double check with them that this is good info.
2) My old plaster was in pretty rough shape. Now that the installer has stripped everything you can see pock marks all over the place and some are deeper than what can be fixed with a simple grinding/smoothing. The Installer admitted this was far worse than anticipated so rather than repair all of these, he said he'd apply a second layer of the 100% epoxy coating. He seemed pretty confident that the additional epoxy coat would fill in the pock marks and leave a smooth surface for the AB layer. I'm a touch skeptical so that's also a question I'd like to verify with the AB mothership in PA.
Anyway, attached are a few pics of the reno thus far. If anyone has experience on the above, please chime in, otherwise I'll just update when there's more to show.
Cheers
-Mike
Back in the fall I posted about the estimates I got for replastering as compared with an Aqua Bright install (prices are CRAZY in the mid atlantic region!). Anyway, I decided to take the plunge and go for the Aqua Bright. They started the Reno last week. So far they have blasted off the old paint and have done a fair amount of grinding on the plaster surface. Yesterday they removed all the old tile and they are in the process of prepping for the new tile. My installer seems pretty good and has been pretty easy to work with, but answers to a few questions left me doubting him a little. If anyone has experiences to share regarding their Aqua Bright Install I'd love to hear it......
1) With the pool empty and most of the plaster prepped, I tapped around and found a couple spots with a hollow sound. One spot was a foot or two away from the main drain and there were a few spots on the spa bench. When I asked the installer about those he said if he was re-plastering they would have to dig that out and re-bond the plaster to the gunnite but not so with AB. His reasoning was that plaster absorbs the water so any delamination will eventually get worse. With AB, he said the coating is water tight so the plaster essentially stays dry and should not see further degredation. He said provided the old plaster surface is still intact the AB should be fine. That kinda makes sense but left me a little uneasy. I have a call into the Aqua Bright HQ in PA to double check with them that this is good info.
2) My old plaster was in pretty rough shape. Now that the installer has stripped everything you can see pock marks all over the place and some are deeper than what can be fixed with a simple grinding/smoothing. The Installer admitted this was far worse than anticipated so rather than repair all of these, he said he'd apply a second layer of the 100% epoxy coating. He seemed pretty confident that the additional epoxy coat would fill in the pock marks and leave a smooth surface for the AB layer. I'm a touch skeptical so that's also a question I'd like to verify with the AB mothership in PA.
Anyway, attached are a few pics of the reno thus far. If anyone has experience on the above, please chime in, otherwise I'll just update when there's more to show.
Cheers
-Mike