We had our 30 year old gunite pool refurbed this year: new plaster (after waterblast since old plaster was painted), new tile, new coping, new decko seal. I don't like any aspect of it. Besides the fact that it leaks (losing 1.5-2 inches a day AFTER initial dive service to fix one leak, still trying to have pool company resolve that), all finishes look much more sloppy than expected. I thought I did all the right things selecting a builder: contacted many of them, got 5 quotes, 3 of them were in the same ballpark. One of these 3 companies was recommended by a local pool service company that has been in business for many decades. The owner and all key personnel of this company all have 30+ years experience. We selected these guys and they seemed very knowledgeable. They were not tying to upsell things and seemed very respectable.
First experience: after removal of the coping stone, the beams looked very rough from being jackhammered. I thought they would refinish the beams to provide a smooth level surface, but instead they just installed the coping using mortar to more or less even things out. The coping is not level, and does not follow the deck line at all. Had the pool company out and they claim this is par for the course; old concrete decking is not going to be level so level stones don't match the decking. I still think it looks really sloppy, but we figured they had a point. They should have recommended the use of narrow coping tiles, rather than the big stones, but we decided to live with it.
Fast forward to tile installation and plaster. Tile looked acceptable until water was filled. In my old pool, when I "filled to the tile line" I did not have to specify what part of the pool I was talking about. The tile line was level (as was the water...). Now, I see the tile line come out above the water in one point and dip below in another. I estimate ~2" difference between highest and lowest point.
Next up: plaster. The finish looks very rough. We were told to brush it twice a day for 2 weeks and expect lots of plaster dust during this period as we were smoothing the plaster. We saw a bit of dust on day 1, nothing after that. No need to clean my filter, the pressure did not go up at all. Did this dry to fast and does that cause the poor finish?
Finally: decko-seal. Had replaced this myself before, and knew there were areas in my old pool where the sand below it had washed away over the years and the decko seal had a tendency to sink and separate from the joints. Pointed out to the installers and asked if they wanted to backfill before they put on the coping stone. They said it was not necessary, they would ensure a good adherenece. Decko seal is now coming off in multiple spots. They will come out to replace these sections, but that is obviously going to look like the patch job it is.
Am I being overly critical? Will post pictures of each issue in separate posts. What would you do? Live with this, or pursue some sort of resolution? I am down ~$25k, and pouring in $200 worth of water every week until the leaks have been fixed.
First experience: after removal of the coping stone, the beams looked very rough from being jackhammered. I thought they would refinish the beams to provide a smooth level surface, but instead they just installed the coping using mortar to more or less even things out. The coping is not level, and does not follow the deck line at all. Had the pool company out and they claim this is par for the course; old concrete decking is not going to be level so level stones don't match the decking. I still think it looks really sloppy, but we figured they had a point. They should have recommended the use of narrow coping tiles, rather than the big stones, but we decided to live with it.
Fast forward to tile installation and plaster. Tile looked acceptable until water was filled. In my old pool, when I "filled to the tile line" I did not have to specify what part of the pool I was talking about. The tile line was level (as was the water...). Now, I see the tile line come out above the water in one point and dip below in another. I estimate ~2" difference between highest and lowest point.
Next up: plaster. The finish looks very rough. We were told to brush it twice a day for 2 weeks and expect lots of plaster dust during this period as we were smoothing the plaster. We saw a bit of dust on day 1, nothing after that. No need to clean my filter, the pressure did not go up at all. Did this dry to fast and does that cause the poor finish?
Finally: decko-seal. Had replaced this myself before, and knew there were areas in my old pool where the sand below it had washed away over the years and the decko seal had a tendency to sink and separate from the joints. Pointed out to the installers and asked if they wanted to backfill before they put on the coping stone. They said it was not necessary, they would ensure a good adherenece. Decko seal is now coming off in multiple spots. They will come out to replace these sections, but that is obviously going to look like the patch job it is.
Am I being overly critical? Will post pictures of each issue in separate posts. What would you do? Live with this, or pursue some sort of resolution? I am down ~$25k, and pouring in $200 worth of water every week until the leaks have been fixed.
