Hi there! We're new home & pool owners that inherited a pool that has old, peeling kool deck all over it. It's looks like a weird, cheetah-printed kool deck/concrete combo! The peeling is so bad that I highly doubt a simple Kool Deck repair kit will fix the problem, and it is highly uneven... Like moon craters lol. I've received a couple different opinions from contractors. One mentioned grinding/power-washing the current kool deck and then replacing it with whatever else we wanted on the concrete slab. Removal would cost us $2500 alone... The other mentioned saving the money by leaving the current kool deck and just covering it up with a layer of concrete overlay (I question if the new concrete would adhere well to hodgepodged concrete/kool deck ?). We live in hot Oklahoma and have a bullnose pool liner that was replaced right before we moved in. I'm sure we're not the first to have this problem, and we would really like to keep this low budget since it's cosmetic... Does anyone have any suggestions or know someone who has had a similar issue? Thanks in advance!
Cool (Kool) Deck Peeling Horribly
- Thread starter Cam7771
- Start date
Looks like it was installed wrong/on unprepared concrete to fail like that. I definitely wouldn't cover it up as any top coat will fail the same without proper preparation (grinding down to clean concrete)
Depending how low budget you want to go, a DIY route I would try is to rent a grinder (maybe like Concrete Grinder 10" or buy a handheld) go over the whole slab to remove all of the kool deck then pressure wash all debris away. Then resurface it one section at a time. QUIKRETE® - Concrete Resurfacer It'll take awhile if you go DIY. You could remove it yourself then pay a professional to resurface to save some coin.
Depending how low budget you want to go, a DIY route I would try is to rent a grinder (maybe like Concrete Grinder 10" or buy a handheld) go over the whole slab to remove all of the kool deck then pressure wash all debris away. Then resurface it one section at a time. QUIKRETE® - Concrete Resurfacer It'll take awhile if you go DIY. You could remove it yourself then pay a professional to resurface to save some coin.
I see. How would you DIY such a project without getting chunks of debris in the pool? I debated doing something like that, but it sounds overwhelming when I watch Youtube videos like this one:
. I have no prior experience working with grinders, powerwashers, etc. Maybe they don't require as much skill as they intentionally appear since the average joe can rent them...
Quick question: Were you saying that covering it up with more concrete would likely yield the same result?
Quick question: Were you saying that covering it up with more concrete would likely yield the same result?
You make a shield out of rigid foam and stand it up in the pool or use plywood with braces on edge of pool. I wouldnt resurface it with concrete personally it will likely pull away again. I cant see the pics well but it looks like the concrete was overworked and had too much cream on top and that has spalled it with the coating. You would have to etch the concrete to adhere anything to it anyway. If you did a decent job grinding it you could stain it as is. Make some calls to some concrete guys I bet you can get it grinded for less than 2500. Its 2 guys 1 days work maybe 2 at best
