Ok, I'm new to this forum and I imagine people come here when they are looking for solutions to problems. Here's mine. We live in Tucson, AZ, and recently renovated a 21 year old plaster finish with Pebble Fina. Pool and spa. Chipped out old plaster and have a completely new surface over the gunite. Filling of the 15K gal pool took about 26 hours with two hoses. Spa filled last. And so now I have a blotchy pattern on the bottom of the pool (not on the sides or steps) and this curious rehydration cracking pattern in the spa, but no blotchy pattern. I am attaching pics of both. The blotchy pics are not so clear; I will try to photoshop for better highlights.
First the rehydration cracking. Now this is just a pattern on the finish, all over the spa surface. I don't believe they are actually cracks in the plaster, but perhaps if they are visible on the surface they suggest an underlying irregularity below the surface, yes? And the pattern is so "characteristic" I imagine some experts have seen this again and again and the reason is quite obvious. Of course the pool folks won't tell me anything and say it will fade with time. Yea, sure. The Pebble Tec rep is going to be out in a week to look at both, but I imagine the rep has a conflict of interests, afterall Pebble Tec sells alot of material to the company. And I'm just a nobody in their book.
The second issue, the blotchy surface. After the pool was filled, the company told me not to do anything because there was chemistry that needed to be balanced. Well the pool finished filling about 5 pm and the pool people came out about 7 am the next morning. So the pool sat for 14 hrs with no circulation and no brushing and with the pH probably really high because of the cement coming out of the fresh surface. Pebble Tec online instructions, by the way, say to circulate immediately after filling and begin brushing. So the pool people came out in the morning, and I could already see the blotchiness and a big mark where the hose was due to piles of cement dust built up around the hose line. The pool people dumped a huge amount of acid in the pool, brushed the surface once, and started circulating the water, an acid wash from what I'm told. Circulating not through the filter but just circulating. Well most of the dust seemed to disappear with the acid but the blotches remained. They circulated for 24 hours, neutralized, and then we started the filter circulation for 3 days and brushing three times a day. The blotches remain. The pool people say they will lighten with time. Yea, sure. This company also made me pay in full before the pool was finished. And they are a reputable Tucson pool company. I should have not paid them everything yet.
So the questions are, what does anyone think about the rehydration cracking pattern and about the blotchiness. Will they fade with time? Thanks.
First the rehydration cracking. Now this is just a pattern on the finish, all over the spa surface. I don't believe they are actually cracks in the plaster, but perhaps if they are visible on the surface they suggest an underlying irregularity below the surface, yes? And the pattern is so "characteristic" I imagine some experts have seen this again and again and the reason is quite obvious. Of course the pool folks won't tell me anything and say it will fade with time. Yea, sure. The Pebble Tec rep is going to be out in a week to look at both, but I imagine the rep has a conflict of interests, afterall Pebble Tec sells alot of material to the company. And I'm just a nobody in their book.
The second issue, the blotchy surface. After the pool was filled, the company told me not to do anything because there was chemistry that needed to be balanced. Well the pool finished filling about 5 pm and the pool people came out about 7 am the next morning. So the pool sat for 14 hrs with no circulation and no brushing and with the pH probably really high because of the cement coming out of the fresh surface. Pebble Tec online instructions, by the way, say to circulate immediately after filling and begin brushing. So the pool people came out in the morning, and I could already see the blotchiness and a big mark where the hose was due to piles of cement dust built up around the hose line. The pool people dumped a huge amount of acid in the pool, brushed the surface once, and started circulating the water, an acid wash from what I'm told. Circulating not through the filter but just circulating. Well most of the dust seemed to disappear with the acid but the blotches remained. They circulated for 24 hours, neutralized, and then we started the filter circulation for 3 days and brushing three times a day. The blotches remain. The pool people say they will lighten with time. Yea, sure. This company also made me pay in full before the pool was finished. And they are a reputable Tucson pool company. I should have not paid them everything yet.
So the questions are, what does anyone think about the rehydration cracking pattern and about the blotchiness. Will they fade with time? Thanks.
