swimming pool

Hi,

I'm renovating an old concrete pool which is tiled, but in very bad shape. We'd like to remove tiles and put a cement or plaster finish on the concrete. Every professional in Belgium I've talked to says it's not done, but when I look at US sites I find it's very very common. Any tips (cement mix manufacturers, what to look out for during appliaction, etc....). All help greatly appreciated.

Jan Holvoet.

Reply to
Jan Holvoet
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I assume you mean the entire bottom surface is tiled, not just the waterline. Since the grout between the tiles is more or less the same as a plaster finish, using tile doesn't eliminate any of the problems of plaster finishes.

Refinishing a pool is literally a massive undertaking. See my Web page:

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Reply to
Richard J Kinch

Hire a pro. They came at 7AM on Monday morning. They had 10 guys in the pool air chiseling out the old plaster, left at 10:30 and left two guys doing some patch work with gooey cement. The plaster they chiseled out was taken with them. They came back Tuesday morning at 7 AM and plastered it. Most of the guys left by 11, except a couple that finished it and a couple that cleaned up. I was putting water in it by 3PM on Tuesday. It looks great. The best $2800 I ever spent.

I could build a house, but wouldn't touch replastering a pool.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

I think the OP's problem is that you can't even buy such work where he lives. Old-world craftsmanship doesn't extend to swimming pools, which are a new-world extravagance built and maintained largely by the descendants of the conquered indigenous peoples. Just like Boca Raton landscaping. The only lawn in all of Russia is inside the Kremlin.

Swimming pools in Europe are very strange; after the horrors of WWI no one could be convinced to use chlorine.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

Indeed, $2800 I would gladly spend if I found the pro around here. We're talking about 7000 euro just for a "liner", which is just an ugly sheet of plastic they put in ..... We need a good recipe for a finishing mix and some pool-specific expertise so we can let the guys that plastered our home-walls give it a try.

Other questions; the whole pool is tiled, but what do you mean by just the waterline ? Is this sometimes done and why ? Is grout the cement mix they fill up the gaps between tiles with ? And everybody says plaster, but it's basically cement, right ?

regards,

Jan Holvoet.

Reply to
Jan Holvoet

In the US, it's common to plaster the pool and tile the waterline, usually 6 or 8 inches. Helps on maintenance and the tile color can help determine the water color since it refracts through the water surface.

Yup.

Not really. At least in the US, cement, plaster, stucco, concrete and so on are all different products, though there is a similarity. Pool plaster here is higher in Portland cement and lime content than ordinary cement.

But the key in any pool world wide is whatever holds water. The normal concrete shell of a pool will seep water, so a finish is put on to retain the water, as well as provide a suitable surface for bathers. Plaster, tile, marble, plastic, rubber, copper, alabaster and many other materials have been used.

Plaster pools in every backyard are a feature of modern US neighborhoods in the sunnier climates. Here, a tile pool is an extremely expensive luxury.

Richard has (had?) a site where he plastered his own pool you might look at. It's backbreaking labor, but not rocket science.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Cochran

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Reply to
LugoMan

Plaster has a water absorption property (like a sponge) such that it will be stained by minerals deposited by evaporation and oils and other contaminants floating on the pool surface, like a "bathtub ring".

Porcelain tile has zero water absorption, so stains will not adhere.

Cheaper tile has significant water absorption, and will tend to stain. For immersion, use porcelain tile. Dark colors must be lightfast mineral pigments.

Yes, portland cement plus sand aggregate. Cement shrinks with curing, so sand must be added to prevent shrinking in joints wider than about

1/16".

White portland cement, quartz sand or marble dust aggregate, possibly polymer admix, possibly accelerants, formerly asbestos. Most of the mass is in the aggregate, like concrete, not the cement.

Not lime or gypsum plaster such as is used for interior walls.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

Hello Jan in Europe! Do not listen to those people over there! They will lie to you! You have the power of the Internet backing you up! You can fix your pool yourself! Double click on the following link to see how to fix your pool:

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Also, aim your web browser to "
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" the most powerful search engine on the Internet. When you get to the Google search window, type in the box..."pool replastering". There are lots of pool repair men in the United States who will fly over to Europe to fix your pool if you will buy them a plane ticket!

Regards, Bill

Reply to
Bill

Did your marriage survive this project?

Reply to
Steven Scharf

We're in the middle of a pool renovation, and we're replacing the plaster with "Pebbletec,"

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It's an old pool (by U.S. standards), about 30 years old and never been resurfaced (apparently).

The problem with plaster is that it requires re-plastering every 5-8 years or so, though people push it out for longer. Pebbletec is supposed to last 15 years, but it's twice as expensive. In my area, pools are not that common and renovations are expensive as there is not many firms doing it.

I wonder if the reason they don't want to do plaster is because it doesn't last as long as tile. I've never seen a pool that was completely tile on the sides and bottom, I guess it isn't done in the U.S.. We have tile only at the water line.

See

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for photos.

Reply to
Steven Scharf

Hardly a bump in the road.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

That's the sales pitch for suckers. Sounds like they got to you. Plaster with pebbles stuck in it will fail just as soon as plaster alone. Weakest link in the chain.

Likewise, "tile" is just plaster with tiles stuck in it, except you call the plaster "grout". The tiles could last forever, but the plaster ... er, grout, will fail.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

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