Footprints in Brand New Plaster Pool

[ajw22]

There is no guarantee that a replaster will be better and it may be worse.

If they just plaster over the existing plaster then you already have two layers which will make it more expensive when you need to redo your plaster down the road.

You can ask but I doubt your builder will agree to a full chip out and replaster.

Most plaster contracts contain a warning and agreement that plaster may have visual imperfections.

 

[Rich D]

If they just plaster over the existing plaster then you already have two layers which will make it more expensive when you need to redo your plaster down the road.

Great point, forgot to mention that one. That part is still in negotiations on my pool. They only want to do a partial chip out and they will not pay for the replacement water either.
I definitely don't want to start off with two layers of plaster on my new pool.

 

[johnmastraci]

So, if I could get the pool builder to do anything I want, what is the best 2 possible scenarios?

 

[johnmastraci]

Update. They are currently performing an in pool acid wash- They added about 12 gallons of Hcl to my 22k gallon pool, brushed every day for 3 days, then added soda ash. They isolated the heater and chlorinator and ran the pump very slow with the filter cartridge out during the process. We’ll see the results when the pool clears up, but I saw quite a bit of black plaster dust being pushed around with brushing. The color might look better when they are done, but I am unhappy that I paid for a brand new pool and now I have a finish that has been acid washed. It’s like paying for a new car and getting a used car with 25k miles on it? Any suggestions as to how to approach the pool builder?

 

[johnmastraci]

So...

The no drain acid was is complete. They dumped about 12-15 gallons of HCl into my pool (21,500) gallons. They brushed every day for 2-3 days and reversed the reaction. When the pool cleared up, you can tell that the quartz plaster was completely different - you can actually see a the quartz aggregate throughout the pool, which wasn't how it looked prior. The prior footprints and "cream" marks are all gone. I was brushing like crazy for days to get the plaster dust off of the walls and floor and apparently there was quite a bit that was vacuumed and removed from the temporary filter cartridge that the pool company used.

A few issues do remain.

1- there are 2-3 deep pits in the plaster - looks like down to concrete.

2- There are small black blotches throughout the pool. When I put goggles on and inspected the areas, they look like areas where the blue aggregate is missing from the black plaster.

Couple of questions-

1 - Any idea as to why the finish did not come out well? I'll remind everyone of the timeline - Quartz blue black plaster on a hot day, followed by an acid wash the next day (they did not neutralize the acid, just power washed it off), followed by and Orenda start up with 4 garden hoses filling the pool which took about 20 hours. The immediate result was not good - footprints, cream, and big areas where the aggregate was not visible.

2- How should I address the black blotches and the plaster pits down to concrete? At this point, should I just request a re-plaster?

Attached are a few pics of how the pool like right when the fill started.

Thanks!

 

[johnmastraci]

Here are some more pics. The main drain looks like a poor job to me. I tried to send examples of the black spots which are throughout the pool as well as the deep gray parts which I think are concrete showing through. Thanks again.

 

[onBalance]

The plaster is most likely to be etched now with that high amount of acid added.
Your best bet at this point is to insist upon having the pool drained and power-sand the plaster finish to restore the smoothness. The sanding may also improve the appearance significantly.
And that will also allow a close-up inspection of damaged areas and spots and then remedied.

 

[johnmastraci]

The plaster is most likely to be significantly etched now with that high amount of acid added.
Your best bet at this point is to insist upon having the pool drained and power-sand the plaster finish to restore the smoothness. The sanding may also improve the appearance significantly.
And that will also allow a close-up inspection of damaged areas and spots and then remedied.

I went in this past weekend - the surface did not feel rough under my feet - confirmed with a few other people in the pool.

 

[onBalance]

That is surprising. If the plaster is not rough, but the color is not acceptable, take some 80 or 100 grit wet&dry sand paper and see if sanding for a minute improves the color and finish.
btw, what is the alkalinity of your tap water? And do you know what the alkalinity was before the acid was added?

 

[johnmastraci]

That is surprising. If the plaster is not rough, but the color is not acceptable, take some 80 or 100 grit wet&dry sand paper and see if sanding for a minute improves the color and finish.
btw, what is the alkalinity of your tap water? And do you know what the alkalinity was before the acid was added?

the color is for the most part acceptable other than the areas of gray (which look like plaster was brushed down to the concrete) our areas of black (which look like the blue aggregate was sanded away from the black base plaster).

the alkalinity off my tap water is low. Prior to the no drain acid wash, my alkalinity was 100. They reversed the acid wash with soda ash so I’m assuming that raised the TA?

 

[johnmastraci]

the color is for the most part acceptable other than the areas of gray (which look like plaster was brushed down to the concrete) our areas of black (which look like the blue aggregate was sanded away from the black base plaster).

the alkalinity off my tap water is low. Prior to the no drain acid wash, my alkalinity was 100. They reversed the acid wash with soda ash so I’m assuming that raised the TA?

the alkalinity is now close to 300