I am on this one to cheer you along! Good job taking care of business on your own when the PB would not. GURRRRRRRRRRR to him!
Pool guy told me this is how it's done. I disagree
- Thread starter Brandon1023
- Start date
Thank you for the kind words. A couple tiles around the skimmer might have been adhered to the painted surface unfortunately but I think I'm going to just let that stay the way it is. Couldn't be on top of these guys the entire time and given I live in Miami, the workers only speak Spanish
.Also, it's actually my dads pool but I've been the most involved and like to believe I've saved some big problems down the road. I do love to do my research and will be learning how to monitor the water chemistry after start up.
My only concern is the fact that they used Versabond to adhere the tiles and the manufacturer website says it's not recommended for submerged applications. Maybe it's just their way of getting you to buy the more expensive stuff haha. But what's done is done and there's nothing I can do about that. It's just gonna have to stand the test of time.
I will post more pics whenever more progress happens. We're almost a month deep in this project, which is totally ridiculous. Should've taken a week I'd think.
Last note... The guy brought two bags of Bond Kote to our house and upon reading the bag, I see the bag covers approx 200 sqft. Our pool is approx 900 sqft. He is adamant that two bags is more than enough, despite what I read. This guy's logic is that you just mix it with water to make enough (aka thin it out and do a mediocre job) Had to argue with him and finally we'll be getting two more bags and he's charging for them separately, which is really unfair but what can you do.
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Bond kote is getting done now. The guy thinned it out so much, he used less than two bags to do the entire pool and is drying the cement with a blower. Can't wait to see how the pool comes out and holds up down the road. Sometimes, when you don't pay for a job, maybe it's just best to not get involved 
unfortunately you never know what to ask for upfront until you have been burned and for an infrastructure project that a homeowner has done maybe once or twice in a lifetime that is a long time to wait to get it right the second time. There are a lot of people who "have been doing it this way for years" despite the package instructions, that just coincidentally (I am sure) makes it cheaper for them.
Ours neighbors pool renovator used that method where they made 1 inch chips every few inches. They subsequently plastered over it with pebble plaster. It’s been a few years and no delamination.
This pool was painted, which is a completely different thing.
I don't think that just chipping it everywhere is going to do very much.
You can't always see delamination unless it actually begins to break loose.
While the anecdote is interesting, it doesn't really substantiate the that the method has any real merit.
This pool was painted too. I remember it well. Bright blue paint with grey chips across it.
Im not saying it’s right, I’m just pointing out that it does get done that way.
Plastering over paint is a bad idea.
People do lots of things that are not right just because it's faster, easier and cheaper.
Also, you don't know that it is not delaminating.
It might be significantly delaminated without being obvious.
People do lots of things that are not right just because it's faster, easier and cheaper.
Also, you don't know that it is not delaminating.
It might be significantly delaminated without being obvious.
I'm back for an update. We've been getting a lot of rain lately and I have two questions. In the attached picture, you can see a large white patch where a puddle of water sat for a couple days and it makes me wonder if this is a type of effloresence coming out of the cement Bond Kote. I fear this coming through the plaster they're going to apply. Any thoughts on this is welcome.
Second question.. You can see the wall is mostly dry with the exception of some areas where water is dripping down. I wonder if this is water leaking in from the patio through the cold joint they added to build up the coping for the new deck. If we raise the water to this level, will it be a leak point?
Second question.. You can see the wall is mostly dry with the exception of some areas where water is dripping down. I wonder if this is water leaking in from the patio through the cold joint they added to build up the coping for the new deck. If we raise the water to this level, will it be a leak point?
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To me that white puddle is most likely just the concentrated remains of all the dust that was in your pool that drained to that low spot when it puddled up.
Back again. It's been raining everyday here so nothing has been done lately. The plan is for the guys to come on Saturday to do the plaster but we're missing a few spots of grout on the waterline tile. This guy says that instead of the underwater tile on the steps and seat being grouted, they will fill it in with plaster. I guess I don't see why that wouldn't work, but everything this guy has done has been completely wrong and I wish we had waited for another company that was too busy.
When this is done you can start your own pool plastering company
Haha I said the same thing. At this point I think I have what it takes.
On a side note, we pumped out all the rain water today and the pool is quite dusty, which I don't get. They did the bond kote a few days ago and I know you're not supposed to wait more than a few days before plaster but it's tough with the weather and lack of professionalism from the pool guy. I just don't understand why all the dust. We cleaned it thoroughly after grinding all the paint. Kinda concerns me about getting a good bond with the plaster.
Thanks again for everyone's constructive input.
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Quite a few use plaster instead of grout for their marker tiles. I think it looks better.
Ok good to know. At this point I have to get a second opinion on anything he says. XD
Back for another update. They came today and did the plaster and it looks great. They acid washed it after they finished to expose the aggregate and it wasn't till after that I realized you can see run marks down the floor of the pool where the acidic water ran to the deep end and basically etched the new surface. You can see it in the picture pretty well towards the middle of the stairs. Is this just something we have to live with now? It's not the end of the world and hopefully it'll be more hidden when the water is full but still kind of a bummer. I asked them and they assured me once it's full and the chemicals are balanced, you won't see it.
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The only thing they could do to fix it is take out and redo the plaster. It might blend in better as the water gets in AND you do some good brushing. You will always see it BUT others should not really notice it too much. Just keep the pump running so the water is moving and no one else will even notice.
BigPapaSmurf
Well-known member
No biggie. It doesn't look bad now that the pool is full. As you said, I'm the only one who will notice it and that's because I have an eye for this stuff.
The pool guy has sent someone who's going to maintain it for four visits and then we'll take over. The water comes out of the tap at a green tint for whatever reason but I know once everything is balanced, it'll be nice and blue.
To everyone else: unfortunately, when they built the pool they didn't plumb a vacuum port so we have only a main drain and skimmer, which we plug the vacuum into (I know. No vac for 30 days). My dad also opted not to raise the skimmer because we really can't use it as intended. I've seen on this forum, another user recommended a product called the "skim doctor," which seems to raise it up inside. Could this be a substitute that we could use every few days to skim the water?
Also here is the pool. I did the tiles on the stairs after they said it's okay to lay thinset on the old pool paint
. They have to come back and grout the rest of the coping, because the rain washed it out after they did it. They also have to install a new lamp (beats me how they're gonna reach it with water in the pool but he said it's no problem.) And they need to remove the rest of the debris from the job.Attachments
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