Post-plaster, pre-fill questions!

[Howewedo]

Hello, we are first tile pool owners. Our 25k gallon pool was plastered with Stonescapes Caribbean Blue plaster yesterday. There are a few things we see as “issues” and wanted to see what more experienced owners thought before we freak out!

They are supposed to come acid wash today so I’m not sure how much - if at all - that will change how the plaster looks. But as of now, it looks as if the pebble application is extremely uneven. There are some spots where it looks as though there is very little pebble and others with an over abundance. There are also a few spots where the gunite was kind of weeping where the plaster is weeping in the same pattern. This is concerning for us as well.

The last issue is that around the area where the tile meets the plaster, there are gaps and holes, mostly in the corners. (I’ll attach a picture.) Again we don’t know what’s normal but it would seem they shouldn’t fill the pool until the holes are taken care of, no?

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[ncbart]

I'm by no means an expert, but I did want to chime in that we also just got the Caribbean Blue plaster as well. It looked very uneven while filling, but once filled and cured a few weeks, it looks almost perfect. If you have an acid wash scheduled, it'll likely even everything out. Our builder elected to do a no-drain acid bath after the pool was filled to help even out a few spots. I would say let your builder know if you have some concerns after they fill, and just make sure to brush regularly the first month.

I would, however, point out the gap in the corner. Plaster is supposed to act like a waterproof seal for the gunite. No idea if they can do anything about the weeping besides fixing it later?

 

[Howewedo]

I'm by no means an expert, but I did want to chime in that we also just got the Caribbean Blue plaster as well. It looked very uneven while filling, but once filled and cured a few weeks, it looks almost perfect. If you have an acid wash scheduled, it'll likely even everything out. Our builder elected to do a no-drain acid bath after the pool was filled to help even out a few spots. I would say let your builder know if you have some concerns after they fill, and just make sure to brush regularly the first month.

I would, however, point out the gap in the corner. Plaster is supposed to act like a waterproof seal for the gunite. No idea if they can do anything about the weeping besides fixing it later?

When they showed up this morning to acid wash I let them know about the gaps and they filled them. Hopefully that takes care of the problem, but it has been documented, at least, should problems arise.

I’m glad to hear the unevenness should work itself out. I’ll post a post acid wash picture shortly.

 

[mikes112]

Question about the weeping? Do you know if you have a high water table where you are? And I assume they plugged the bottom of the pool so your hydrostatic pressure relief valve couldn't allow water into the pool so they could do the plastering? Because I had weeping in an unexpected location about 5 feet above the bottom of my pool when I temporary plugged the bottom of my pool after I drained a lot of the ground water around my pool. Because I live in an area with clay soil I believe the water rose between the outside of the pool shell and the inside of the clay and forced some water through the pool shell. Now I know that was a risky thing to do but it was only for a day and it may be a way to find leaks in the pool wall?