How to Tell if it's Time to Resurface Your Pool or Spa

Plaster Detaching or Cracking

Maybe you’ve observed the plaster is coming off along the steps or floor of your pool or spa. The pool industry refers to this as spalling. Destructive pool water with sustained low PH or low calcium levels is the typical cause of spalling. It dissolves a soluble calcium compound called calcium hydroxide. Often, this occurs under a moving chlorinator on the top step of a pool or spa. Once this happens, there is no proper way to repair it. Usually, when this happens, it’s time to resurface your pool.

Surface Stains

Copper, calcium, and salt are the main offenders for creating exterior stains on your pool or spa. These discolor the pool and turn it a blue-grey color, or deposit crystals in the water. The pool industry refers to surface stains as topical stains. A topical stain will stick to the plaster much like dirt sticks to a windshield. You can clean a stain with an acid wash, but you should proceed with care; an acid wash can damage the pool surface and cause health issues if used incorrectly. If the pool is severely stained, skip the acid wash because it will not be enough to eliminate the stain.

 

Roughness

Once upon a time, you had a perfectly smooth pool that any homeowner would be proud to have. Unfortunately, over time the pool chemicals used to keep the pool water sanitary have eaten away the pool surface or it has left a rough calcium deposit behind. The kids are testy and don’t seem as eager to go into the pool that feels coarse. You could drain your pool, give it an acid wash and polish, and refill it. This might work or it might be a waste of money. Instead, we recommend fixing the roughness by resurfacing the pool, as an acid wash can cost almost as much and the results are not very consistent.

 

           Check Cracks

The cement in your plaster expands and contracts with the temperature, causing nearly invisible cracks to develop in surface. This is a natural process, one that cannot be avoided, and it is impossible to get rid of these cracks, but luckily these types of cracks are not dangerous – they are simply an eyesore. The cracks are easier to notice when the pool is drained. These cracks resemble a spider’s web or a cracked eggshell. In the professional world of pool resurfacing, these types of cracks are referred to as Craze Cracks. The best way is to either re-plaster or resurface your pool to eradicate these blemishes.

Discoloration in Your Plaster

Your pool or spa may have started with a lovely blue or gray colored finish, but now it is so discolored you have no idea what that original color may have been. The staining is because the coloring of your pool deck is being bleached out. You can usually notice it at the top steps of the pool. This is typical with colored pool plaster finishes. It cannot be repaired and must be re-plastered to fix the problem. You can also consider trading your current plaster pool flooring for a durable pebble finish that does not discolor as easily.

Structural Cracks

Have you been filling your pool more often than usual? You may have a structural crack that is letting your pool water out into the ground around it. These are easy to visually confirm. At this point, it doesn’t matter what caused the crack. What matters most is fixing it correctly. A structural crack goes beyond the plaster, so these types of cracks require more than a simple re-plastering.  First, fill in the crack with epoxy and and steel staples and let this set before re-plastering the pool.

An important note on this type of damage: This is not a do-it-yourself type of job as there is no way to tell on the surface just how severe the crack is. Some cracks that look small on the surface are hiding a more severe problem that could require rebuilding portions of your pool. So, have a professional from an experienced pool resurfacing service take a look at the damage to determine what is needed to fix your pool.

Rust Stains

It started as a small spot, no bigger than a penny, at the bottom of your pool. You probably didn’t really pay any attention to it. However, over time that tiny, unnoticeable rust spot will grow and become an ugly eyesore that your friends, neighbors, and family members start commenting on. may have started as a small spot of rust the size of a penny on the bottom of your pool. For some rust stains, you can cut out and patch over these annoyances, but the repair will be noticeable. You may want to consider getting your pool resurfaced if rust stains cover large areas of your pool.

Loss of Pebbles

You resurfaced your pool with pebbles a few years back and now you have noticed that those pebbles are coming loose. If done correctly, this surface should last 20 years or more. However, if it is acid washed too often, the pebbles will come loose and dislodge. If you do notice loose stones and pebbles, it is a good indication that you need to resurface your pool or spa.

Rebound Cracks in Steps and Benches.

Unfortunately, a poor trade practice was used for many years by gunite contractors involving the re-use of “rebound gunite”.  This is the bounce back sand from the high-pressure application of guniteing a pool or spa. This bounce-back sand has very little cement around it and should be discarded. Very often this material is re-used and thrown onto the steps and benches as a filler. Years later this weak “rebound” will separate from the sound gunite and form cracks along or below the edges of steps and benches. If so, it’s time to patch or resurface.

Paint or Fiberglass Failure

Many times, pool owners elect to patch-up their pool surfaces with a lower cost pool paint of fiberglass overlay.  This approach typically lasts a few years before they delaminate or chalk up and cloud the water. The best restoration technique is to remove the damaged pool or spa and replace them with plaster or pebble.