New Plaster Problems

[dylanac]

Looking for some advice from others that have dealt with replaster quality issues. I had my pool replastered last May. I stayed on top of the chemistry per NPC guidelines and followed instructions on brushing etc. I could tell there was some discoloration during the summer and it seemed to get worse as time went on. When I drained down for the winter I could really see how bad it is. I contacted the PB, they came out and offered to do an acid wash for free next spring, but I would need to pay to refill the pool. From what I have read, this seems to be the fault of the PB. I suspect calcium chloride in the plaster mix or improper trowing caused this.
Should I take them up on the offer to do the acid wash and will this solve the problem?
Am I shortening the life of the plaster by doing this, and if so, how much?
Should I argue that they should be responsible for replacing the water?
thanks

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum.
I suggest reading through Being Blamed for Plaster Discolorations? Don't Get Hoodwinked

Rarely does an acid wash result in a better outcome in the long term. It WILL remove plaster and likely make the surface rough and also reduce the life substantially.

It is likely a choice between living with it or replastering.

 

[Bperry]

Looking for some advice from others that have dealt with replaster quality issues. I had my pool replastered last May. I stayed on top of the chemistry per NPC guidelines and followed instructions on brushing etc. I could tell there was some discoloration during the summer and it seemed to get worse as time went on. When I drained down for the winter I could really see how bad it is. I contacted the PB, they came out and offered to do an acid wash for free next spring, but I would need to pay to refill the pool. From what I have read, this seems to be the fault of the PB. I suspect calcium chloride in the plaster mix or improper trowing caused this.
Should I take them up on the offer to do the acid wash and will this solve the problem?
Am I shortening the life of the plaster by doing this, and if so, how much?
Should I argue that they should be responsible for replacing the water?
thanksView attachment 542280View attachment 542279

How have you been managing the water chemistry? Have any test results to share?

 

[dylanac]

Welcome to the forum.
I suggest reading through Being Blamed for Plaster Discolorations? Don't Get Hoodwinked

Rarely does an acid wash result in a better outcome in the long term. It WILL remove plaster and likely make the surface rough and also reduce the life substantially.

It is likely a choice between living with it or replastering.

I have looked at those posts and thanks for providing the links. The PB never tried to blame me for the discoloration, although they didn't accept full responsibility either. I told him I followed the startup procedures very closely and had logs as evidence, which he didn't question. He acknowledged the issue and offered to do the acid wash for free as a way to fix the problem, which I took as an admission that they were at least partially responsible. He never tried to point the finger at me. The question now is what to do about it. I could try and argue they should redo the whole plaster job, but I don't have any leverage since I made final payment the day after completion when the plaster still looked perfectly white.

 

[dylanac]

How have you been managing the water chemistry? Have any test results to share?

Here are logs for the month after fill. I used city water/hose fill which took about 18 hours, then followed NPC startup as closely as I could, although my CH went slightly above the recommended 150 for first week, although I didn't add any CaCl. I normally run SWG, but kept it chlorine for this season. I kept PH slightly high, but that was because I didn't want CSI to get too negative while I slowly increased CH. I can share results for the remainder of the summer, but generally I raised CH to around 400 and kept PH close to 7.7, FC =3, TA = 80.

 

[dylanac]

Anyone have a similar experience? Is it possible to have good results from acid wash, or has anyone been able to convince their PB to redo the whole job? Struggling with what to do...

 

[Bperry]

Anyone have a similar experience? Is it possible to have good results from acid wash, or has anyone been able to convince their PB to redo the whole job? Struggling with what to do...

Like said above, an acid wash might make it look more even for a bit but it may just be a temporary result. So you may just need to chose between living with it and having it redone. It definitely looks like something’s wrong with it though.

What color was it supposed to be?

 

[dylanac]

Like said above, an acid wash might make it look more even for a bit but it may just be a temporary result. So you may just need to chose between living with it and having it redone. It definitely looks like something’s wrong with it though.

What color was it supposed to be?

Supposed to be white

 

[Bperry]

Supposed to be white

Weird, what’s the brand name of the plaster? It almost looks like some kind of paint and not plaster. Do you have any pictures of the application process?

 

[onBalance]

An acid wash isn't going to make the plaster color uniform. If the builder insists on doing an acid wash, then he should agree to have the pool re-plastered for no cost (free), if in fact, the acid wash doesn't work. Get it in writing.

 

[dylanac]

Weird, what’s the brand name of the plaster? It almost looks like some kind of paint and not plaster. Do you have any pictures of the application process?

Sorry, I didn't get the brand name. Only got this one pic when they were installing. It looked white for a while. The grey starting showing itself in the weeks and months over the summer. Was there anything with my chemistry that could have caused this?

 

[onBalance]

Adding too much calcium chloride when mixing plaster and excessively late hard troweling is known to cause graying of white plaster. It does often take a few months before the discoloration starts showing.
There is nothing about water chemistry that can cause graying and white spotting with typical plaster pools.

 

[ajw22]

How White Pool Plaster Turns Blotchy This experiment below explains how white pool plaster can become blotchy gray, and also have white areas mixed into the gray areas.

How White Pool Plaster Can Turn Gray One would think that when mixing white cement with white limestone aggregate, the final pool plaster product would always be white. But that is not always the case. Unfortunately, white pool plaster sometimes turns gray (or grey) either immediately or a few months after the pool is filled with water. So what causes that to happen?

 

[MAPR-Austin]

Do you have any pictures of the surface prep before plaster?

You could always try a little acid solution on the top step to see if it removes the discoloration, before you go with the full acid wash. Is it on the surface, can you scratch through the gray?

 

[dylanac]

Do you have any pictures of the surface prep before plaster?

You could always try a little acid solution on the top step to see if it removes the discoloration, before you go with the full acid wash. Is it on the surface, can you scratch through the gray?

Here is pic of the prep prior to plaster. I tried to scratch at the grey with a finger nail and it doesn't come off. I suppose I could try a scotch brite pad or steel wool, or maybe even sandpaper to see if it comes off in a small spot. I like the idea of trying the acid on a step while it is drained down to see if it helps. Any idea what the recommended procedure would be for this attempt?

 

[MAPR-Austin]

You can mix the acid 50/50 with water, and use a rag to just dab a bit onto the surface. Let it sit for 15 seconds or so and wash it off with clean water. Use gloves, don't let the acid drip onto your deck or anything.

 

[dylanac]

You can mix the acid 50/50 with water, and use a rag to just dab a bit onto the surface. Let it sit for 15 seconds or so and wash it off with clean water. Use gloves, don't let the acid drip onto your deck or anything.

Here are the before and after pics for the test acid wash on the top step. Not much of a difference.
Side note- I noticed the grey spots are smooth, white regions are rough.

 

[Bperry]

Here are the before and after pics for the test acid wash on the top step. Not much of a difference.
Side note- I noticed the grey spots are smooth, white regions are rough.

Which one is before?

 

[dylanac]

Which one is before?

One on left is before. At first glance they appear the same, but if you look close the one on the right has some spots that got lighter. I would say a minor improvement and not nearly good enough. I'm going to call PB on monday and see if I can get them to redo the whole job based on this evidence.

 

[dylanac]

Update: Discussed situation with PB and they are confident acid wash and chlorine wash will bring the plaster to a good appearance with minimal negative impact on the life of the plaster. Their logic is that the grey is moisture trapped in the plaster and the acid will open the pores to allow the moisture to escape. Plaster manager has over 40 years' experience and is convinced this will solve the problem. I feel like I have to let them do the wash and if it isn't satisfactory, I can then demand they redo the whole job. Not sure what else I can do.