Advice for resurfacing and niche repair

[kri5tian]

Hi All,

I had to replace my pool light this past summer (long story), but the electrical wire was epoxied in place in the niche. So, I had to take a chisel and bust up the epoxy to free the wire. Well, that epoxy must have been sealing a niche defect, because the water left steadily dropped for weeks and is now resting at the light height. I'm guessing there is a hole in the niche or in the conduit that attaches to the niche. I'm planning on getting a submersible pump an pumping out the water to a storm drain, then looking for the hole.

Has anybody had any experience with repairing/replacing a niche or PVC conduit that attaches to the niche? If so, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I figured I might as well re-plaster the pool, because there are some nasty stains. Anybody have any experience with that? I know I have to do a muriatic acid wash, but what type of plaster should I use? And what if the existing plaster sort of crumbles when you scrape it with your hand? I don't want to pay anybody to do any manual labor I can do myself. I'm a noob when it comes to pools. I can maintain the chemical balance, but I want it to look a lot nicer this summer for my wife and daughter, and I don't want to spend a fortune. I don't know what type of plaster currently exists; I'mView attachment 56634 hoping one of you wise folks will be able to tell from the picture and say "yeah, all you need to do is empty the pool, clean it with x chemical, re-coat it with y plaster, and seal it with z product" or something like that.

Cheers!

 

[zea3]

Resurfacing a pool generally involves chipping out the old plaster down to the gunite layer, hauling the pieces away, and putting on a new coat. It is generally not considered a DIY job. The quality of the finish depends a lot on the quality of the application. If you want a look at what goes into a replaster you can look at this video:
Pool Replastering Process Explained - YouTube

 

[pooldv]

Only one person has done a DIY plaster job on a pool that I can recall. It is a BIG job. Here is their thread, DIY Pool restoration project

 

[kri5tian]

Thanks for the replies and link! I will look at the DIY thread tonight. If it's a monster, maybe I can just clean the pool and refill it. If anybody has any ideas how to find the leak in the niche & fix it properly (instead of just using epoxy at the opening), I would appreciate your thoughts. I don't want to simply put epoxy at the opening & screw the next guy that needs to run a new wire. [Then again, screwing the other guy seems to be status quo in these weird times.]

 

[swimcmp]

Look for a cord stopper for the niche opening. It is a rubber plug with a opening for the cord to pass thru, they come in 3/4" and 1" plugs.