I have a small (10k gal) inground swimming pool that is probably around 27 y/o. House was built around 1983 and I think it was built then. The plaster has seen better days. I don't think the previous owners took very good care of it. It's pitted, discolored and cracked in a few places. I was watching a movie last night and there was a pool in it that was tiled. I thought that might be a cheaper way of refinishing mine. It would have to be a small mosaic tile that could stand up to the chlorine. The draw back would be all the grout lines that have a tendency to grow algae but if I watched the chemicals closely and diligently cleaned it I might be able to control it.
Dumb idea? I think it would look really nice. At least for awhile. Anyone have a fully tiled pool and what are the draw backs?
William Randolph Hurst had an indoor pool made at San Simeon by craftsman who used lapiz lazuli 1" square tiles that were veined in gold. In that day, many people did not swim, and it was a deep pool, very deep, so the guests would not use it. Instead, it became the help's pool. It took something like 20 guys working 40 hours a week three years to do it. How's your bank book?
I had a pool replastered about three or five years ago. They came in at
0700, and at 1400 the next day, started to refill it. $3200, IIRC.
Tile has all the things you mention, grout problems, coming loose, plus, it is very difficult to get every piece of tile to stick WITHOUT having any air spaces behind it. That's where gunge is going to form. On a floor, it is hard enough to get a craftsman to grout it correctly so you don't have voids.
No matter how you to, tiles come off. I see it all the time on real estate surveys I do. It's put on there sometimes by the best of craftsmen, yet it comes off.
Unless you are as rich as Mr. Hearst, I'd suggest you just go plaster. There are, however some absolutely spectacular insets you can have done in the bottoms of pools. You can also get tricky on the sides, and make a plain Jane job really nice.
My neighbor did a dolphin on his pool bottom, but he was the best brick and block man I ever saw. Only guy I EVER made wrought iron for without having an opening to measure. He never missed it by more than 1/8". He did all the work for Marnell/Corrao Construction in Las Vegas (sp) on their houses. (LV casino magnates, George a high profile pro stock drag racer for years) Can't say how you'd do in the regular job market.
If you ever get a chance to go to San Simeon, GO! There's a tile inset at the front door that came from Pompei.
If you're rich enough to do this, please contact me, as you will definitely need a good super, and just so happens, I'm available.
Steve
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I have about the same size pool. I call it the "ole folks pool". Just the bride and me most of the time.
The pool is 12 years old. I now have some small/dollar coin size pock-marks in the pool plaster. Even have a rebar rust in one spot.
My first thought was to have it Pebble Tech (sp) refinished. For me the cheapest way would be to re plaster (Steve B, Got a local name in LV?).
Before you even begin to set tiles for a long lasting finish -- plaster will still need to be taken down, weak plaster removed and other things. Tile would get slippery in that shallow pool.
Tile it and it won't add one red dime to resell value. Plaster it.
Very rare to have fully tiled pools any more, and very expensive and difficult to maintain. Pebbletec or similar surface looks very good and is less prone to algae and calcium problems, but is pretty costly. I had my pool done in Pebbletec about six years ago, I think the pool had never been replastered prior to that, about 20 years since it was built, and it was badly pocked and difficult to keep balanced.
Here's my photos of the project: "
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" Remember, after you plaster or tile or Pebbletec, and are filling the pool, always fill the deep end first.
My pool isn't hard to maintain now. It's only about 5' deep at the deepest point and a mere 10k gal pool. Yours is much larger. The chlorine and pH are easy to maintain. The dreaded black algae grows in the little pockets and cracks and it's real tough to get out. The mosaic around the edge is in need of replacement tiles that can't be found; of course. I also need a deck overhaul but I'll have to do that. Pebbletec look great but I'm sure it's more than I want to spend.
Thanks for your input and no I'm not in the market for a Super.
$3200! You got a great deal or you have a very small pool. . I heard it cost more like $32,000 to get a pool redone. I could be wrong because I haven't really researched it yet. Sounds like I should.
I thought there would be draw backs to tile because you don't see very many tile pools. As I thought, it's beginning to sound like a bad idea.
They do that up north a lot. Out here we don't have to because the ground doesn't freeze solid. I doubt I'd like a vinyl lining but it's something to consider.
One of my relatives suggest painting it but I don't know if they make a paint that can hold up to years of chlorine abuse. And when I had to really scrub it down I don't think paint would hold-up.
I'm in Canada and my vinyl lining is 25 years old. Inground 16' x 32' pool, 9 feet deep at one end, 3 1/2' deep at shallow end. The vinyl is in great shape. Easy to scrub and vacuum and clean, algae is easy to come off it too after those periods of neglect we all go thru.
I always wonder why we used vinyl and in the American south they don't. Now I know.
That's very high. In my area I was quoted $8K for plaster, $12K for Pebbletec, on my pool which is about 16' x 32' but very deep (40K gallons). That was before the recession, and it's in the SF Bay Area where prices are high for this kind of stuff. I bet you can negotiate a much better deal these days. My brother in Florida paid about $3000 for "diamond brite" for a pool about the same length and width as mine, but not as deep.
That $12K included all new plumbing, new tile, new coping, and a new ladder and I did not choose the cheapest tile and coping options. It also included a new filter, things you may not need, but my existing filter was way too small for a 40K gallon pool and needed frequent cleaning. I used my existing pump.
At the same time, I had the old deck replaced, and a ridiculous raised concrete deck that overhung the pool removed ("
It was a good deal, and the pool is about 30,000 gallons. Let's see what Oren gets priced if that same company is still in business. The prices should be pretty good right now with the downturn.
I found B N D Plastering in Herdersen and just called them. They don't like to give estimates over the phone. Sally did say between 3,000 and 7,000 dollars. I'm sure it would be at the low end for 10,000 gallon pool. If this is the same company you used, $3200 for 30,000 gallon pool is a _good_ deal.
I can live with the small damage I have awhile longer. I want to replace the HVAC first and get the tax credits. My unit is over 12 years old.
I've got windows to replace. Last year was the A/C. Be careful on the SEER rating. To get some tax credits/rebates the A/C has to be a 16 SEER and 15 on the heat pump. The guy that installed mine was intentionally vague about it. Mine is a 15 or 14 SEER and my elec bills are higher than before the new a/c was installed. Plus I didn't get the tax credit. The installers sucked. As it turns out, the cost of the higher SEER rating was higher than the cost of local rebate.
If I could get the pool plastered in the $3k range I might be looking at next season.
I live in Florida and have a fairly small pool. The deep end is a little over 5 feet deep. It began as a marcite pool ... built in
1992. The finish didn't last long. I was told that old marcite pools had asbestoes mixed in and that's why the finish lasted so long. Anyway, in 2002 we had the pool done over using a silicone substance called "diamond brite". It is still looking pretty good and was guaranteed for 10 years....much longer than marcite. I paid about $2500 for the refinishing job.
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