Remodel of 1980s pool

[eileeninok]

We bought a fixer upper, and it took us a while to find a pool builder that was actually willing to work on our gunite pool from the 80s that has not been used in at least five years. We signed with a pool builder in Nov 2021. They installed a new pool pump and filter for us in Feb 2022, and then told us in July 2022 that they have closed down on their pool remodeling business. We had to look for someone else to fix the pool drain and resurface our pool.

We finally found someone who is going to work on our pool drain and install a new pool light before another contractor will resurface our pool for us. He also asked if we wanted to resurface and paint the pool deck, and install a small 5 foot tanning ledge which we agreed.

Here are my questions if anyone has any recommendations/opinion:

1) Tanning Ledge: Is the 5 ft tanning ledge too small? (Probably fits just one upright pool lounger?) Should the bubbler be right in the middle of the tanning ledge? I noticed that it might be not evenly 5ft in radius when I measured from the deck to the wood piece. One side may be 4-5 inches off. Should I insist that they fix it before they pour the concrete?



2) Pool deck: There seems to be a pretty obvious color difference around the rim of the pool deck. Is that normal? It has been a few decks. Do we have to pay the contractor more to add another coat of stain? (Just material cost or labor too?) He said there is two coats right now.

3) Stain on back patio: I know I made the mistake of choosing such a bright white for the stain, but I feel like they did not do a good job with the crack on our back patio. Am I being too fussy? It looks worst after they grinded into the crack and "patched" it before staining. Below are two close up photos of the crack.
Do I have to pay more for the contractor to sand/patch it a little more? Or is it simple DIY job that my husband can work on after?




Thank you for your time!

 

[HermanTX]

1) Tanning Ledge: Is the 5 ft tanning ledge too small? (Probably fits just one upright pool lounger?) Should the bubbler be right in the middle of the tanning ledge? I noticed that it might be not evenly 5ft in radius when I measured from the deck to the wood piece. One side may be 4-5 inches off. Should I insist that they fix it before they pour the concrete?

It should be corrected now to your wishes. If you want it to be symmetrical then have it fixed now. What is the purpose of the baja deck? Will kids play on it or just for the lounger. Another factor is depth. Do you wish to have the lounger touching the water when you sit in it? Suggestions range from 6 inch depth to 18 inches. 9 inches tend to be a happy medium.
Are they laying a separate line for the bubbler? Given the size of your Baja shelf, will the lounger be positioned over the bubbler? Ensure your bubbler line has a diverted valve on it at the equipment pad so you can control the flow to it.

2) Pool deck: There seems to be a pretty obvious color difference around the rim of the pool deck. Is that normal? It has been a few decks. Do we have to pay the contractor more to add another coat of stain? (Just material cost or labor too?) He said there is two coats right now.

The underlying color may have something to do with this. If the pool water affected the original deck color then the new coats may be different shades. Discuss it with the contractor and express your concerns. Negotiate the best deal you can but more importantly you need to be happy regardless if it may cost a little more. Better to fix it now then be unhappy.

3) Stain on back patio: I know I made the mistake of choosing such a bright white for the stain, but I feel like they did not do a good job with the crack on our back patio. Am I being too fussy? It looks worst after they grinded into the crack and "patched" it before staining. Below are two close up photos of the crack.
Do I have to pay more for the contractor to sand/patch it a little more? Or is it simple DIY job that my husband can work on after?

This is poorly done. The work should be redone. there is not enough filler and the surface should be smooth. you still may see the line because of the filler but it should not be as it is shown in the photo.

 

[eileeninok]

It should be corrected now to your wishes. If you want it to be symmetrical then have it fixed now. What is the purpose of the baja deck? Will kids play on it or just for the lounger. Another factor is depth. Do you wish to have the lounger touching the water when you sit in it? Suggestions range from 6 inch depth to 18 inches. 9 inches tend to be a happy medium.
Are they laying a separate line for the bubbler? Given the size of your Baja shelf, will the lounger be positioned over the bubbler? Ensure your bubbler line has a diverted valve on it at the equipment pad so you can control the flow to it.


The underlying color may have something to do with this. If the pool water affected the original deck color then the new coats may be different shades. Discuss it with the contractor and express your concerns. Negotiate the best deal you can but more importantly you need to be happy regardless if it may cost a little more. Better to fix it now then be unhappy.


This is poorly done. The work should be redone. there is not enough filler and the surface should be smooth. you still may see the line because of the filler but it should not be as it is shown in the photo.

We got the contractor to make it symmetrical before they poured. I honestly don't know if/how we will use the baja deck since we never had one. It might just be for our dogs to chill in the pool with us. I did ask for it to be 9 inches deep. We should have just enough space to put one or two plastic adirondack chairs or the IKEA SKARPÖ armchair on it. The contractor converted one of the returns into the bubbler.

The contractor said he would add another coat on our deck if we paid for the labor. He said our color was too close to the color of the texture, so they couldn't see well. He hasn't been responding.. I don't know how much more he would do. I should have just paid a concrete contractor to do the job instead. The back patio is already peeling when I was cleaning it with a water hose.