Plaster condition---I'm VERY SCARED

[gilbee]

I just got into my new to me pool for the very first time...been doing gradual contiguous drain/refill and other things to get the water in balance, and had to get in there to remove an old salt system that was mounted to one of the pool wall returns.

I knew there were pieces of plaster missing from some small sections of the pool, but now that I've walked around in there, I'm really concerned. The bottom of the pool feels like asphalt roof shingles (rough, and gritty, with some of the grit coming up as you walk around), and there were a couple of places where I actually felt the ground shift/buckle under my feet. That last part is what's scaring me more than anything else.

I know I need a resurface job, but was hoping to make it past this season before I did it. Knowing this new information, I gotta wonder if I can make it that long, and if anyone should be in this pool in the meantime...is it possible for a chunk of plaster to come up and cause a massive hole in the ground where water will come rushing out, causing catastrophic damage and potentially hurting/drowning someone in the process? I don't think that's the case, but I honestly don't know.

 

[JasonLion]

The plaster might come off, which will cause the pool to leak very slowly, but that is about the worst that will happen. The concrete pool shell should remain solid no matter what and prevent anything worse than slipping on a loose piece of plaster.

Still, you should get it re-plastered soon.

 

[Divin Dave]

GIlbee,
if a big chunk of plaster comes up, there is severeal inches of thick gunite under it and that wont be coming out. So, no. No catastropy will occur.

I just got into my new to me pool for the very first time...been doing gradual contiguous drain/refill and other things to get the water in balance, and had to get in there to remove an old salt system that was mounted to one of the pool wall returns.

I knew there were pieces of plaster missing from some small sections of the pool, but now that I've walked around in there, I'm really concerned. The bottom of the pool feels like asphalt roof shingles (rough, and gritty, with some of the grit coming up as you walk around), and there were a couple of places where I actually felt the ground shift/buckle under my feet. That last part is what's scaring me more than anything else.

I know I need a resurface job, but was hoping to make it past this season before I did it. Knowing this new information, I gotta wonder if I can make it that long, and if anyone should be in this pool in the meantime...is it possible for a chunk of plaster to come up and cause a massive hole in the ground where water will come rushing out, causing catastrophic damage and potentially hurting/drowning someone in the process? I don't think that's the case, but I honestly don't know.

 

[gilbee]

Thanks for the answers...water table is still way too high for anyone to entertain doing the resurfacing yet, but I'm going to start soliciting quotes...

 

[Patrick_B]

Sorry to hear that gilbee. Your shell should hold water just fine in the meantime, so don't worry about that too much.

 

[gilbee]

Just to update---the vast majority of the plaster had indeed delaminated, so much so that they had to completely chisel out the entire pool to the concrete...here's a pic from Saturday

 

[MarianParoo]

Sorry.

 

[gilbee]

Sorry.

It's really not the worst thing to happen...I thought I could ride it out till next season, I was wrong. The bright side of it is that I'll have a fresh finish and tile, and when they drained the pool I was able to get in there and replace my fiber optic pool lights with new LED lights! That last part is good because I screwed up the fiber illuminator pretty good trying to clean it

 

[Patrick_B]

Hey Gilbee,

I remember your posting before asking about your finish. Glad you're getting a new one. What did your decide to put in?

 

[gilbee]

Diamondbrite super blue, new waterline tiles, and glow-in-dark fireglass tiles on the steps.