pool replastering water flow marks

prasadkm0204

LifeTime Supporter
Feb 23, 2015
130
Santa Clara,CA
i just had my pool re plastered today and is currently being filled with water. i had 2 hoses one on the deep end and another in the spa. after a while i noticed water coming out at the shallow end. i am not sure why that happened but i immediately stop the water to spa and it stopped after a while.

it’s dark right now, but my concern is the water coming out from the shallow end will leave marks since it advised not to spray water on a new plaster.

i will know the exact damage tomorrow. it’s just a cosmetic thing, but is there anything i can do fix this. maybe brush hard once water is filled up ?
 
Shoot. The returns should have been plugged by the plaster guys to avoid this possibility. Always fill the spa after the pool. At least you figured it out fast enough.

All you can do now is finishing filling the pool. The finish is too tender to walk on, so there's no working on any stains from inside the pool. Brushing is about all you can, or should, do.

So fill the pool as fast as possible. More hoses if you got 'em.

Then have the PB take a look and ask him to address this. IMO, it was his responsibility to either plug the holes or manage the fill or both. If he just put hoses in the pool, down low, and you took it upon yourself to fill the spa, then he's less to blame. Though he should have at least warned you not to fill the spa before the pool was done. Now if he filled the spa, then this is on him. That aside, you shouldn't try any DIY fix because 1) you could make it worse, and 2) you could give the PB a good excuse to put this back on you, as in "Well, you shouldn't have done that, now it's your fault."

Hopefully, there will be no stain, or at worst a faint one and/or he will agree to try and mitigate it. Their go-to move is usually to apply acid to stains. This doesn't really attack the stain, but rather burns off a thin layer of plaster taking the stain with it. Sometimes that can leave the surface etched. Not exactly rough, but not as smooth as it should be. So that's not my favorite solution.

Very mild abrasion is preferred, IMO, because it is more controllable, will remove the minimum of plaster required, and leaves the finish smooth. But there will be a point of diminishing returns, when the abrading causes more of a visual scar than it removes the stain. Plus it's labor intensive, and especially so underwater. I'm not sure what is the best abrasion material to try. Not a steel brush for sure, that will be too harsh. We'll cross that bridge if we have to.

Or you can do what I did when I burned an acid stain in my brand new finish on day two. I accepted it as a mistake I made because I didn't know any better and c'est la vie. Every pool has its birth marks. If yours has only one then that in itself is pretty much a miracle. If there is a permanent mark (let's hope otherwise), it's likely that only you will ever notice it. No one has ever noticed mine. Live and learn.
 
Shoot. The returns should have been plugged by the plaster guys to avoid this possibility. Always fill the spa after the pool. At least you figured it out fast enough.

All you can do now is finishing filling the pool. The finish is too tender to walk on, so there's no working on any stains from inside the pool. Brushing is about all you can, or should, do.

So fill the pool as fast as possible. More hoses if you got 'em.

Then have the PB take a look and ask him to address this. IMO, it was his responsibility to either plug the holes or manage the fill or both. If he just put hoses in the pool, down low, and you took it upon yourself to fill the spa, then he's less to blame. Though he should have at least warned you not to fill the spa before the pool was done. Now if he filled the spa, then this is on him. That aside, you shouldn't try any DIY fix because 1) you could make it worse, and 2) you could give the PB a good excuse to put this back on you, as in "Well, you shouldn't have done that, now it's your fault."

Hopefully, there will be no stain, or at worst a faint one and/or he will agree to try and mitigate it. Their go-to move is usually to apply acid to stains. This doesn't really attack the stain, but rather burns off a thin layer of plaster taking the stain with it. Sometimes that can leave the surface etched. Not exactly rough, but not as smooth as it should be. So that's not my favorite solution.

Very mild abrasion is preferred, IMO, because it is more controllable, will remove the minimum of plaster required, and leaves the finish smooth. But there will be a point of diminishing returns, when the abrading causes more of a visual scar than it removes the stain. Plus it's labor intensive, and especially so underwater. I'm not sure what is the best abrasion material to try. Not a steel brush for sure, that will be too harsh. We'll cross that bridge if we have to.

Or you can do what I did when I burned an acid stain in my brand new finish on day two. I accepted it as a mistake I made because I didn't know any better and c'est la vie. Every pool has its birth marks. If yours has only one then that in itself is pretty much a miracle. If there is a permanent mark (let's hope otherwise), it's likely that only you will ever notice it. No one has ever noticed mine. Live and learn.

Thanks for the quick response. The water has filled to some extent and I brushed it quite a bit on those parts, but it did not seem to make any difference.
I have attached some pics on the current status. I do have 2 hoses filling up the pool right now.

with regards to what happened, the setup here is quite different. The plaster guys do not take responsibility for filling up the pool. I do agree with your point that they should have blocked and suggested not to fill up the spa ( but looks like they are not aware of this..which is weird because they have been in this business for decades). The suggestion was made by the pool startup service company to fill up the spa first. It's surprising that both of them were not aware of this. The plaster guy did mention that its not required to fill up the spa first ( but it doesn't matter if you do).

Either way, I like peace of mind more than anything else and I am ok to live with the marks as it doesn't affect the functionality itself.
 

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So has the water gotten higher than any of the stain yet? In other words, can you tell yet if you've got a permanent stain or not? Or is the water mark from the return disappearing as it gets underwater?
 
it’s looks ok around the return, but there is a mark all the way from shallow end to deep end showing the flow. i have attached 2 pics , but it’s does not show properly because of the shade.
 

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I'm seeing some white-ish tracks, a foot or so apart. Is that what you're describing? Pretty faint. And the vertical wet spot seems to be blending in. Maybe not so bad. Fingers crossed for ya...
 
I'm seeing some white-ish tracks, a foot or so apart. Is that what you're describing? Pretty faint. And the vertical wet spot seems to be blending in. Maybe not so bad. Fingers crossed for ya...
yes. it’s not faint but not too bad either. the pics aren’t doing justice due to cloudy weather. the pool startup service guy mentioned he will take care of it with acid wash but i am undecided if i want to take that route. will decide on monday based on the condition.
 
Wabi Sabi. There is beauty in imperfections.
Then I must be gorgeous! 🤪

the pool startup service guy mentioned he will take care of it with acid wash but i am undecided if i want to take that route.
Told ja. That's what they always want to do. Quick and easy. No labor. Not their pool. I'm not saying this isn't the best fix, especially if the guy is very experienced with acid washing and knows how to apply the correct pH of acid for the job, and how to neutralize it quickly after the repair. But a "pool guy" melted my plaster right off with an acid wash, because he was a complete nincompoop. $9K later I pass along my admittedly very limited experience with acid washing so that others can make an informed decision about it. Or at least look into it before blindly accepting the wisdom of a pool guy. (No, I'm not still bitter! :rant: )

Will he have to empty the pool or try it with the water in it? I don't know if there is a way to spot treat a stain with acid while the pool is full. There may be. But if he suggests a no-drain acid wash, where they lower the entire pool's pH (making the entire body of water very acidic), then I would really not want that done on my brand new finish. Because, again, acid doesn't magically attack stains and leave the unstained portion of your finish alone, it burns a layer of plaster off and takes the stain with it. So if they do a no-drain acid wash, they'll be taking years off the life of all your plaster/pebble!

I wish I knew more about this, so I could better advise you. What I do know is to encourage you to discuss the process with the pool guy beforehand, not "day of," and be crystal clear on the implications and consequences of his process. If you're not 100% sure he knows what he's doing, then maybe seek some other opinions about it.
 

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Thanks for your detailed responses Dirk. I decided not to go with acid wash.

I now have another question. I see white spots at different areas on the pool. I'll take some pics tomorrow during the day at post.
I am concerned as to what that is. The startup guy says these marks will go away with time or with acid wash ( if I want it to go away right now, or see the beautiful texture of quartz).

I tried looking up on the forums and it looks like this may happen if the plaster mix has higher percentage of calcium chloride.

Maybe this question required a separate thread. If so, I'll take pics in the morning and start a new thread.
 
Keep everything in this thread. You might have already found what I could have referred you to. Let's look at the pics. We've heard these types of issues before, with similar responses from the PB/plaster guy. I'm not super confident he's telling you something that will just get you off his back so he can finish, and the consequences of his temporary fix might not rear their ugly head for a while, maybe even years, when you'll find it impossible to go after the culprit. I'm giving you worst case. Maybe there is a simple fix for some of these issues. We have experts here that really know this stuff, that I can call in for you once the pics are up.

It's best to understand what is happening now, especially if we can show the installation was compromised, so that you can deal with it now.
 
See a few pics. Its shows the most during the morning. Some of it is plaster dust since I took the pics before brushing. But most of it won't go away even after brushing.


The PB might come today since they need to install the SWG yet and the full payment hasn't been made. So any info to discuss would be helpful.

Thanks for all your support.IMG_7103.jpgIMG_7101.jpgIMG_7100.jpgIMG_7099.jpgIMG_7098.jpgIMG_7097.jpgIMG_7096.jpg
 
@onBalance, thoughts about the various stains, white and dark, and the trails from the leaking returns?

@prasadkm0204, here's an article our prodigious expert onBalance wrote that might pertain:


I see the white leeching. Yah, that's not good. The darker streaks, the ones that almost look like shadows of gnarly branches, are those in the new finish?
 
yes..its the new finish..
while i like a good looking pool, i am also ok to live with these marks as long as it doesn't affect functionality.
i read on tfp that these surfaces will be smooth, but when I touched them now, the white spots are actually rough compared to the regular spots.

will the plaster wear off over time resulting in shorter life frame, or will I have excess calcium issues. what i am looking at ?
should i call the installer and let him about these right away ?

what i have installed is colorscape quartz caribbean blue.
 
Be sure to stay with your very smart decision to not allow any kind of acid treatment. Acid treatments would just make things worse.
The photos are showing major discoloration issues. But let's wait a few weeks before coming to any conclusions and remedies.
Make sure that everyone involved is aware of the current condition of the pool. Test the water, make a record of the readings, and keep the water balanced for your own protection regarding responsibility.

It appears that the article "White Spotting of New Plaster Pools" is relevant to this situation. I am concerned about any roughness of various areas or spots of the plaster. Try to determine in time whether the surface is etched like sandpaper, or a thin layer deposit of calcium scale.
 
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Thanks @onBalance .

I verified it myself and asked my wife to confirm. We both feel the surface is rough like sandpaper, but it also feels like a deposit on top of plaster.
I called the PB guy twice but haven't a response. I have left a voicemail and text.

I maintain the pool myself but I hired a startup service through the pool installer to make sure its taken care of properly (so as not to take blame if anything goes wrong).
 

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