Uh oh……newly resurfaced mini pebble bottom pool has some pretty severe cellulite

[remodelpool]

As suggested on the site, we held off on having our pool resurfaced a few weeks ago until our temperatures were well above freezing. The resurfacing was completed today, and done with a mini-pebble finish, and I am upset with how rough and bumpy it came out. Our old pool was plaster and had a smooth finish. When the removal of the old plaster was done with a jackhammer, it left a very rough bottom. I though all the lumps and bumps would be smoothed over when the new product was applied. I would sincerely appreciate some input as to whether or not this is normal and should be accepted. I am pretty disappointed with how it looks and am not sure what to do at this point. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Poolbreh]

It looks good to me, I would wait for it to be full and the sun comes out. The pool light will cast shadows. I don’t think any guest would think twice about the workmanship.

 

[Dirk]

The larger lumps are normal. Pools are hand troweled and will not come out smooth, say, like a concrete walkway. The smaller bumps and divots, if that's what I'm seeing, don't look right to me. But @Poolbreh is correct, the angle of the lighting is magnifying the effect. We hear this all the time from members with new finishes, and I had the same complaint, when viewing the new surface at night for the first time with the pool light on. During the day, with water in it, you won't see the larger lumps.

I don't know what to tell you about the smaller pimples. I've no doubt the previous finish was smoother. Workmanship is not what it once was. That's not an excuse, just a sad reality.

Regarding the chip out, mine looked as bad as you can imagine. They use jack hammers after all. That too, I think, is normal, and wouldn't affect the finish.

These types of "waves" are typical:


I wouldn't be happy with these rough spots either:


Have they done an acid wash? My finishers applied the pebble on day one, then came back on day two for an acid wash. They also used some sort of grinders/polishers to smooth out the finish. Did that happen in yours? If my pool had the same smaller rough spots, then maybe the grinding took care of that. Maybe that's all your finish needs, too. Have a talk with the finishers and see what they say...

 

[remodelpool]

I really do appreciate your responses, and trying to help me out. The builder applied the new surface 2 days ago, then came back yesterday afternoon for the acid wash. No grinding of the surface was done that I know of. We love spending time outside at night, and the pool was just beautiful with the lights on with the prior finish. We had to get the resurfacing done as the finish was roughly 15 years old and starting to bubble off. I’m just feel disappointed with the night visual look of it, and was wondering if it was a poorly done job or if that is the norm when resurfacing after jackhammer job? In the daylight, the unevenness isn’t as noticeable. This is what is looked like after jackhammering. It’s still filling up, and here is an couple images of the pool this morning.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I’m not seeing anything out of the ordinary. You’re never going to get the smoothness of an original finish. I think they could have done a better job with the air hammers though. They started with a very uneven surface and so what you currently have is pretty good considering the chip out job.

Like your kids, learn to love all the imperfections as you’ll really be the only one that notices them.

 

[Dirk]

Like your kids, learn to love all the imperfections as you’ll really be the only one that notices them.

So true. All pools, even brand new ones, have "birth marks." The nature and scope of pool construction techniques and materials don't lend themselves to perfection.

My old finish was blotchy. The new one is getting there. I put a big scar in my finish myself. And as I said, mine is a little lumpy, too. I decided that those things are organic-looking, and part of my pool's charm.

If the pool is near-full, not sure what can be done in terms of grinding or polishing at this point. That happened in my pool before the fill. The fill needs to be non-stop, or you'll get a nasty, permanent ring if you pause a fill long enough. So I think the time to address the surface issues is past, or you risk having to do a significant part of process over again.

You want a full chip-out for a new finish. It ensures a good bond between new and existing materials.
My chip-out was considerably rougher than yours.

Sorry, not much help...