Brown stain between stair line tiles

[Vonswoopington]

Hey all new pool here (about 60 days from plaster) and while I was having some repairs done I noticed a line of brown stains that are right in between the stair line tiles. The first two pictures are from last week when repairs were being performed. Red arrows are pointing to the stains.

Pool stats:
16.5k gallon SWG
FC: 9
Ph: 7.6
TA: 81
CH: 380
CYA: 70
Salt: 3413

Pic 1 from last week


Pic 2 from last week



I went back through my pictures and I saw that the brown stain was present right after plaster was poured as well. I did not notice it at the time unfortunately.

Pic from plaster day:



Any idea on what it could be? Thanks!

 

[Texas Splash]

Maybe something in the grout mix or perhaps some trace metals? Probably a long shot, but try rubbing a Vitamin C table on the grout line to see if it helps. If not, I suspect it might just be from the grout mix itself during the application. Perhaps others will have another thought or two.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Appears to be a lack of plaster between the tiles.
It may have been applied too thin and inadvertently removed during the cleaning process.
Notice how the plaster in this area has more aggregate showing near the tile, farther away it’s showing more of the cream.

 

[JamesW]

Possibly a brown mortar was used for the tiles and it was allowed to come up into the grout area.

Mortar should only be on the bottom, but it can come up in small tiles.

The mortar should be the same color as the plaster/grout to prevent this issue or you need to prevent the mortar from getting up in between the tiles.

Do you have pictures before plaster?

 

[Vonswoopington]

@AQUA~HOLICS @JamesW Here are some additional pictures before plaster. If it is a mortar issue what would be the fix? I'm hoping they won't have to redo the tiles.

 

[JamesW]

It looks like a grey/brown mortar and the mortar probably got into the grout lines.

The mortar should be the same color as the plaster so that if it gets in the grout lines, then it will blend in.

Ideally, the mortar should not get into the grout lines.

If it is mortar, then you might be able to go over it with colored grout if you have enough depth to allow grout fill.

If the mortar is flush with the tiles, then it is difficult to get good grout coverage.

What does the builder say?

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Cleaning in between the tiles to remove enough of the grey material to fill with a plaster patch.
Not certain if the prep work would damage the tile, but in theory this could be done under water.

 

[JamesW]

You can probably Dremel out the brown and patch.

It is a tedious job to do it without chipping the tiles.

I would not try to do it under water.

 

[Vonswoopington]

@JamesW I have reached out to the PB and I am waiting on a response. I figured I'd do some research while I wait. I don't plan on doing any of the work myself since its a new pool and should be covered under some warranty. I'm just worried about the workers damaging the tiles honestly. I'll find out soon enough lol.

Is the mortar between the lines a common issue or just sloppy work?


@AQUA~HOLICS thanks for the product recommendation. I'll bring it up with the PB to see if this is a viable solution. They can drain the hottub to patch but I am hoping they don't have to drain the pool to fix some of the other tiles that are affected.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

It’s a common problem that gets overlooked if the builder is not on the job site enough.
Part of the problem is that the tile is going in a radius and the joints are tight.
Here are some pictures of the process.

 

[Vonswoopington]

It’s a common problem that gets overlooked if the builder is not on the job site enough.
Part of the problem is that the tile is going in a radius and the joints are tight.
Here are some pictures of the process.

Thank you for the response. And yes the builder was not there when the tiles were set but they were there on plaster day. I have reached out to the PB and once they come up with a plan I'll update accordingly.

 

[Vonswoopington]

Update: The plaster warranty folks will drain the pool and fix the issue. They'll be done by the end of the week so I'll post updates of the finished work.

Also, since they will be draining the pool, what would be the best way to clean this white buildup. its primarily around the edges of the pool/stairs. I'm not really sure what it is (caked on plaster dust or calcium perhaps?). It doesn't come off with a standard pool brush. Its a new gunnite pool build about 3 months old.

 

[tstex]

Have your PB fix the white areas too....as new as your pool is. you should not be dealing with this issues at this juncture.

Also, when "they fix" the brown areas, make SURE they go deep enough that when patching, the material is thick enough so it will no crack later due to being too thin. I would be onsite watching this repair. More so, ask the PB what is the exact process for properly fixing this issue? Then make sure they do it the way it was described. Hope your cost/gallon is not like in Houston. Good luck.

 

[Vonswoopington]

Have your PB fix the white areas too....as new as your pool is. you should not be dealing with this issues at this juncture.

Also, when "they fix" the brown areas, make SURE they go deep enough that when patching, the material is thick enough so it will no crack later due to being too thin. I would be onsite watching this repair. More so, ask the PB what is the exact process for properly fixing this issue? Then make sure they do it the way it was described. Hope your cost/gallon is not like in Houston. Good luck.

Thank you for response. I will be on site when the repair is done so I will ask all of this before they start. The plaster company will performing the repair but the PB will not be there.

Is the white stuff calcium deposit (caked on plaster dust)? I am going to be adding Orenda SC-1000 (SC-1000 Scale & Metal Control | Orenda Products) during startup this time help get rid of the stains eventually and I'll be adding the recommended dose weekly as part of maintenance and prevention.

Also, the plaster warranty will cover the cost of refilling the pool and they will do the pool startup as well (so I'm told).

 

[tstex]

Thank you for response. I will be on site when the repair is done so I will ask all of this before they start. The plaster company will performing the repair but the PB will not be there.

Is the white stuff calcium deposit (caked on plaster dust)? I am going to be adding Orenda SC-1000 (SC-1000 Scale & Metal Control | Orenda Products) during startup this time help get rid of the stains eventually and I'll be adding the recommended dose weekly as part of maintenance and prevention.

Also, the plaster warranty will cover the cost of refilling the pool and they will do the pool startup as well (so I'm told).

Good, but be very cautious in adding any type of metal control, et el...Post this question in the pool chemistry section. Most of the folks on here completely stay away from all those "metal additives and 'fixes'". If you stick w the very basics in pool chemistries, you will never need any foreign additives

 

[Vonswoopington]

Thank you for response. I will be on site when the repair is done so I will ask all of this before they start. The plaster company will performing the repair but the PB will not be there.

Is the white stuff calcium deposit (caked on plaster dust)? I am going to be adding Orenda SC-1000 (SC-1000 Scale & Metal Control | Orenda Products) during startup this time help get rid of the stains eventually and I'll be adding the recommended dose weekly as part of maintenance and prevention.

Also, the plaster warranty will cover the cost of refilling the pool and they will do the pool startup as well (so I'm told).

Thanks that's a good idea. I'll go post there now!

Edit: looks like the mods merged it back into here.. see below:

 

[Vonswoopington]

(mod merged from another thread)

I have a 3 month old pool that will have some warranty work done on the tilework. They will drain the pool to do this so I wanted to take this time to make sure I can remove the white deposits that have accumulated around the edges of stairs and corners. See pic below.

I have Orenda SC-1000 available (SC-1000 Scale & Metal Control | Orenda Products) so I was going to pour in the recommended amount for my pool during startup so it can take care of the buildup over time. Any issues with using this besides the drop of FC to 0 for the first 3 days? Afterwards, I was going to add the recommended maintenance amount on a weekly or biweekly basis. More information about the tile repair can be found on my other post: Brown stain between stair line tiles .