Pebbles not exposed in pebble tec

[tamicherrie]

It is 2021, so I’m not sure if anyone is still reading this forum. I had my pool resurfaced with pebbletec. The contractor did an acid wash 48 hours after applying the surface. He did not expose all of the pebbles, so it looks like I have patches of concrete all over. I complained. They had me drain it, came back and acid washed it again. It is much better but there are still large area where the “plaster-concrete” (I’m not sure what the pebble is set in) was not removed. I really don’t want to drain my pool a 3rd time. Does anyone know if a no drain acid procedure will remove the concrete over the pebbles, or does it only work on calcium.? Thank you for any information.

 

[kevinskii]

Could you post a photo of what it looks like now with water in it? It's hard to tell whether the white spots are workmanship defects or just from uneven drying.

 

[tamicherrie]

thank you for your response. Here are some photos. The 3rd photo shows what is over the pebbles. It is better after the 2nd acid wash, but am wondering if adding muriatic acid to the water will remove the “cement” with brushing.

 

[kevinskii]

Some people on here have reported good results using this "Purity Pool OS Spot Stain Remover" on Amazon to do muriatic acid spot treatment without draining the pool. However, as you pointed out, you're essentially trying to remove the plaster itself, not calcium buildup. It would probably take several weeks and many gallons of acid to remove it all, and I think there's a good chance that you'd end up with missing pebbles and other obvious blemishes if you tried.

I understand your frustration about not wanting to drain the pool yet again, but unfortunately it's probably your best option at this point. Every pebble finish has some blemishes, but I agree that yours is completely unacceptable.

 

[tamicherrie]

Thank you.

 

[kevinskii]

Please let us know how it goes, and maybe reach out to PebbleTec if your installer doesn't make it right. Others on here have said that they're quite responsive. I have a pebble finish but I won't use them again or recommend them if they don't stand behind their installers' work.

 

[Marc1310]

It is 2021, so I’m not sure if anyone is still reading this forum. I had my pool resurfaced with pebbletec. The contractor did an acid wash 48 hours after applying the surface. He did not expose all of the pebbles, so it looks like I have patches of concrete all over. I complained. They had me drain it, came back and acid washed it again. It is much better but there are still large area where the “plaster-concrete” (I’m not sure what the pebble is set in) was not removed. I really don’t want to drain my pool a 3rd time. Does anyone know if a no drain acid procedure will remove the concrete over the pebbles, or does it only work on calcium.? Thank you for any information.

Hi. I'm from 1908. And reading your post.

 

[tamicherrie]

Please let us know how it goes, and maybe reach out to PebbleTec if your installer doesn't make it right. Others on here have said that they're quite responsive. I have a pebble finish but I won't use them again or recommend them if they don't stand behind their installers' work.

Good morning. My situation went from bad to worst, my fault. I did not use a pebble tec certified pb. He came out once, drained the pool and acid washed it. We were told the white from the remaining concrete would not show. It did. He would not come out again. I’m looking into making a complaint, but in the meantime, I decided to wire brush where the concrete was. It seemed to expose the pebbles, but now the entire area is white. And of course, it’s on the step. I did not see any pebbles come out. I checked every 3-4 brushings to make sure I wasn’t hurting the surface. I have no clue what I did, but the bigger pebbles are gone. I’m angry with myself. I ruined the step, one of only semi-decent places in the pool. This has been so stressful. With everything that’s going on in the world, I keep telling myself it’s just a pool. But I feel sick every time I look at that step and the other discoloring.

 

[kevinskii]

Most pool builders probably subcontract the pebble installation, and I'd be very surprised if that subcontractor isn't an authorized pebble tec installer. I don't know if they could even get the materials otherwise. It would probably be worth it to contact PebbleTec and see if they can advise on how to best proceed.

 

[tamicherrie]

Most pool builders probably subcontract the pebble installation, and I'd be very surprised if that subcontractor isn't an authorized pebble tec installer. I don't know if they could even get the materials otherwise. It would probably be worth it to contact PebbleTec and see if they can advise on how to best proceed.

At this point, I don’t even think it was Pebble Tec. I didn’t realize (stupid on my part) that there are inferior products. I did look where I wire brushed it. No pebbles were lost but now they are shiny. It’s no worst than the bad areas of the pool, but now it’s on the step. I appreciate your help Kevin. I think I’m going to have to live with this. I attached a photo. On the very bottom right is the area I wire brushed. On the very bottom left is what it looked like before I wire brushed it. The white on the other steps at the middle and top of the photo is from the PB.
Good news I bought a hot tub from COstco. It started leaking a month ago and of course the warranty went out a few months before that. Costco is making the vendor fix it for free.

 

[djdonte]

Honestly that is not a good job, but not horrible either. I would contact pebble tec and see what they say. When you get into colored finishes like that, every little splotch and unevenness can show up real easily. A lot of it nobody will even notice but I know it bothers you. I just replastered my pool and specifically chose a quartzscape with a white background because of all the pictures of colored finishes I saw on here. The problem with the warranties it seems, is unless the plaster is falling off or otherwise catastrophically failing, they will equate it to being cosmetic, or blame poor water chemistry. Maybe pebble tec will be different as they are a premium finish. Best of luck!

 

[Dtkokay]

I was actually thinking that your plaster doesn’t look like Pebbletec. The pebbles are very uneven in size (some large, some small) and not uniform. Try contacting Pebble Tec to confirm if your installer is actually one of their installers.

 

[djdonte]

Now that you mention it, that looks like the Stonescapes samples I was shown.