Rehab advice? Lots of calcium and popoffs

[ftw]

A few months ago we bought a new house and the pool had been very poorly cared for. I’ve gotten it pretty well stabilized and now thinking about best path to restore it.

First big issue is that the plaster is bubbling and popping off on the first step. I haphazardly tried some underwater plaster patch to no avail.



The second issue is calcium (I think?) build up around all the tile. It is worst where the water runs off from the spa and you can see it on the brick from the fountain spash as well.



Is it time to replaster? Or is there something I can do to delay? And if so, should I wait to try to clean up the brick?

Im also wondering if those popoffs might leak water, or does the shell of the pool prevent that to some extent? I do lose water but I am not sure if it is evaporation or not since the bucket test has been inconclusive. Appreciate any advice!

If it’s of any use my stats are:

FC: 8
CC: 0
PH: 7.3
TA: 100
CH: 370
CYA: 85

 

[duraleigh]

1. Certainly a little unsightly but the steps are not leaking any appreciable water. I would drain the pool down below that step, let it dry and replaster that step. It won't be perfect but I bet you can patch it and make it look OK.

2. The calcium is, of course, from water evaporating on the brick and leaving calcium behind. You will have some success by mixing a 3:1 ratio of water and muriatic acid......maybe a little stronger. The calcium will "foam up" when you apply this solution with an acid brush that you can get at HD/Lowes. Rinse immediately after scrubbing.

If you have not worked with acid before, consider hiring a tile guy to do this work for you.

 

[ftw]

Thanks for the advice! I will give the patching a try and likely will call in a professional for the calcium removal... I did some tests and if it was a small spot or two I’d feel fine but messing with muriatic acid for that long seems a little advanced for me

How do I know when it’s necessary to replaster?