Coping replacement costs & SWG conversion Q's....Houston, tx

[Hansom-Man]

Hi there,

We currently have a 3.5 yr old pool with a Hayward SWG and slate tiles & coping. Deterioration of the coping has gotten progressively worse over the last couple years despite using high quality sealants like Drytreat 40SK. The areas worst hit by the problem are in the areas where evaporation rates are high (shallow spots in spa & stairs). The tile at the waterline has faired better, but is now stating to flake too. Pool is ~27k gal, 135' perimeter cut out rectangle shape with a spa/spillover and DB surface, located in The Woodlands TX. Overall I like the salt system for it's ease of maintenance but the tile problem is to the point where it's killing my enjoyment.

From what I can tell I'm down to a couple of options:

1). Change out SWG to some type of chlorine feeder and replace sections where coping is in worst shape. 2). Replace coping/tile with something more durable.

Any ballpark ideas on what it costs to repair/replace coping & tile in the area and what type of chlorine delivery system would be worth looking at?

Thanks.

 

[bpricedo]

Re: Coping replacement costs & SWG conversion Q's....Houston

Slate is a flaky stone to begin with but of course, that is what makes it's beauty with the flakes exposing the different colored layers. It's beautiful. I have seen other stories of slate not doing well on pools, don't know if any were salt pools.
When I looked at stone one of the yards actually had a chart where they graded the hardness and lamination (non-flakiness) of the stones. I also did the fingernail test and I was surprised how many stones I could dig a little trough out just with my fingernail. You want the stones that file your fingernail down and don't leave a mark on the stone.
And the sealer I hear about is DuPonts salt water sealer, that's what I am going to use.

 

[Hansom-Man]

Re: Coping replacement costs & SWG conversion Q's....Houston

Yes, you are correct regarding slate and hardness. I would not advise it for any ara of the pool that see's the evaporation process. I see I'm gonna have to post some pics for perspective. This way I can show people that yes it is restricted to the evaporation process at the pool's edges, and most likely related to the SWG.

 

[Hansom-Man]

Re: Coping replacement costs & SWG conversion Q's....Houston

OK, so here are some photo's describing the situation. The first is a general photo of the pool for perspective on the areas I've described.
[attachment=2:1bse2pol]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1343098926.584623.jpg[/attachment:1bse2pol]

The second is a photo from an unaffacted area on the the outer edge of the spa. All areas not facing the water are like this.
[attachment=1:1bse2pol]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1343099100.579541.jpg[/attachment:1bse2pol]

The third is a photo showind the worst area near the stairs. You can actually see the spalled debrislying in the water and that it has eroded past the grout line. The areas closes to shallow water are like this.
[attachment=0:1bse2pol]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1343099271.882824.jpg[/attachment:1bse2pol]

I'll reiterate that this is a poor material to use period. Especially for a SWG pool. I was told that it was sealed when installed, although I did not witness it. It was also sealed again ~1yr ago using DryTreat 40SK. It seemed to work for about 4 mo, but it was on again fater that. Now I'm trying to figure out the best path forward.

Thanks

 

[bpricedo]

Re: Coping replacement costs & SWG conversion Q's....Houston

Your pool is beautiful! I guess the cheapest fix would be to just replace what is damaged and go to liquid chlorine and see if that cuts down on the stone erosion. You would also find out if you can live without your SWCG or not. You would still have salt in the pool unless you drained (backwashing would eventually get you there if you have a sand filter but don't know how long it would take). I'm sorry, that's a tough situation. Your pool really looks great!