I am so annoyed it even happened. Sigh. Here's a pic for reference
New pool build
- Thread starter kineticblonde
- Start date
They just came out and said they want to wait for it to finish curing completely (so the full 28 days). And then they want to do an acid wash that takes about a week from start to finish. They're going to leave the water in and drop the pH low and let it sit like that until the footprints aren't there, and then bring the pH back up. Any thoughts on this?
Acid washes are exactly as they sound. It's chemically stripping layers of the new finish hoping that it all matches underneath. Or underneath that. Or underneath that again. Lifespan is affected proportionately to how much is removed.
Sometimes a light acid wash is the lesser of two evils. Sometimes a light acid wash accomplishes nothing but doesn't hurt that much either. Other times, too much is removed (also with mixed results) and you'll be refinishing it sooner. It's not an exact science.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,343
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
That is the typical Pool Builder response. It is the easiest and least cost remedy for them.
The acid will remove a layer of your plaster that is about 3/8" thick. How much plaster will be removed is impossible to say. And if it will be enough to remove the footprints that bother you is impossible to say. Reducing the thickness of your plaster will reduce the life of the plaster.
Would you rather have no footprints, or lighter footprints, and have the plaster last 10-15 years?
Or would you rather leave it as is and have the plaster last 15-20 years?
Personally, I would tell them to forget about it and keep the thicker plaster with the footprints. No one who is enjoying your pool will every notice them. And eventually they will blend in with the inevitable dirt and stains your pool will develop.
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For the amount of money we paid for this....I don't feel like we should have to deal with the footprints. We paid an insane upcharge for wet edge prism matrix indigo blue.
Are there any other alternatives for what they could do to treat the footprints?
Should we just ask them to chip it out and redo it? Other ideas?
Thank you!
What would you do in our situation?? I just don't even know what our options are. More pictures of the footprints (look back in this post to find more)
I think you have commented on one of my other posts.
We have Wet Edge Prism Matrix Indigo Blue.
They finished plastering around 4pm
They did the acid wash around 6:30pm and started filling it right away
Is that proper protocol? Maybe this is why we have footprints....
See attached picture of the guy using a leaf blower after the acid wash to...blow the water/acid down to the deep end drain?
All of them were wearing normal tennis shoes/sneakers....
Attachments
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,343
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
You can drain the pool and they can power sand with a diamond disc the areas with the foot prints. That only removes plaster in those spots and not the entire pool.
That is more work for them.
You can ask but they will not do that. The footprints are not enough of a defect to warrant that.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,343
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
It's tough KB. I chose to let a sloppy floor go because I half didn't have any fight left in me and I half didn't want to take several big steps back.
If it helps any, every pool you've ever seen had imperfections in the finish and you've never noticed. Plenty of those had it way worse than you. Nobody will ever notice yours either. Unfortunately though, you'll notice them and for that I'm sorry.
I can also tell you that after the project is finished, there will be 100 things to catch your eye besides the defects. So not that it will get better, but it will be harder to see when you're too busy picking up towels to care.
If it helps any, every pool you've ever seen had imperfections in the finish and you've never noticed. Plenty of those had it way worse than you. Nobody will ever notice yours either. Unfortunately though, you'll notice them and for that I'm sorry.
I can also tell you that after the project is finished, there will be 100 things to catch your eye besides the defects. So not that it will get better, but it will be harder to see when you're too busy picking up towels to care.
Sorry for delayed reply! We are using Chuck from Aloha Pool and Design
Wanted to report back to everyone. We did the acid wash yesterday to correct the footprints. It was a great success! Our pool builder instructed them to do it really "gently". So they didn't make it very acidic at all and only said they would make it more acidic if the footprints didn't disappear. The footprints were gone in about 12 hours. We called them and they came back and raised the level back to within normal pH over the span of a few hours. Process was easy and short and our pool looks great. Our wet edge prism matrix indigo blue color actually looks better than it did before the acid wash in my opinion. A little darker and with more pop. Exactly what we were going for. Will post more pics soon!
Wanted to report back to everyone. We did the acid wash yesterday to correct the footprints. It was a great success! Our pool builder instructed them to do it really "gently". So they didn't make it very acidic at all and only said they would make it more acidic if the footprints didn't disappear. The footprints were gone in about 12 hours. We called them and they came back and raised the level back to within normal pH over the span of a few hours. Process was easy and short and our pool looks great. Our wet edge prism matrix indigo blue color actually looks better than it did before the acid wash in my opinion. A little darker and with more pop. Exactly what we were going for. Will post more pics soon!
See attached pics!
See attached pics!
Attachments
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