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jenspencer001

Saltwater sealer

jenspence
10 years ago

Hello everyone! We are still in the build process, but would like to start all of this out right. What kind of sealer should I use on my stonework once the pool is complete (if any)? We will have salt, and my builder is sealing the coping, but think I may want to seal the other stone as well. Is this recommended? Also, do I need to seal my aggregate decking as well? If so, how often? I've read a few different brands, but not site where exactly to go from here. Thank you!!!!

Comments (10)

  • Chris
    10 years ago

    We have a lot of stacked stone and are also going saltwater. We have used DuPont Stonetech professional sealer. Our PB said it should be good for 3 or so years but to go ahead and reseal it every year. The PB did the first seal for us and put it on the coping, the stacked stone (in the pool and the stacked stone that faces our spa, firepit and planters) and also on our moss rock for our grotto/waterfall.

    Don't know re: the aggregate decking (think there may be a different product for that but am not certain)

  • airb320
    10 years ago

    I would not seal anything around a Pool. Our neighbors did and after about a year it looks horrible, like someone is peeling ! Also, it make the surfaces extremely slippery which is actually dangerous when walking around.
    The Saltwater stories about corrosion is a myth and mainly posted by people who don't have but "heard" about it. The Salt content in your pool is so low (2900-3500ppm) hence barely higher than saltcontent in regular water (500-700ppm) but still far below where it has real "damage" potential (4500ppm or higher). Water will corrode your equipment and stone no matter if its a salt pool or regular old fashion pool.
    On the other hand if you seal things you have to seal it yearly which really adds to your expenses for Pool upkeed... just something to think about...:-)

  • Chris
    10 years ago

    Airb320 - do you know what your neighbors sealed it with?
    I've not heard of it peeling and I can tell you first hand it's not slippery. I have a beach entry which is flagstone and is sealed with DuPont stonetech and despite being on an angle and constantly wet it isn't slippery.

  • womanowned
    10 years ago

    I have to disagree with Airb320, although I don't know what part of the country that user lives. I can tell you that here on the Gulf Coast, salt often corrodes natural stone. It does it so often after some years of use that many pool builders will not use it or make you sign a disclaimer that you have been warned about its use. The DuPont Salt Water sealant is a good one to use and I recommend all natural stone be covered.

  • airb320
    10 years ago

    cbink, I'll check with the neighbor to find out but it was extremly slippery, after it started peeling he finally decided to just scrub it off and go unsealed.
    womanowned, I live in the DFW area and I almost bet you that the deterioration comes from being on the coast and NOT from your saltwater pool... chemistry doesn't lie...;-)

  • jenspence
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    My PB did tell me that unless I was willing to seal the stone, then I should go with chlorine. He likes saltwater better and has it, but says the upkeep of the stone is a bit higher. The kind I am looking at going with is not a shiny one and have been told it doesn't peel either. Just not sure if I need to do it all or just the coping. My PB is doing the coping initially. Should I do all of the stone around the pool and the decking as well?

    I have heard the DuPont is good, but wanted to make sure it was really worth the price. The cheapest I have found the DuPont saltwater Sealer is for $118 per gallon.

  • Chris
    10 years ago

    @airb320 - I don't disagree and have held the opinion that it's probably the chemistry and salt levels that do the damage. I only know of one pool personally that has erosional damage and know that it's been drained almost once a year because the salt level was too high. I don't know the levels or pool chemistry of that pool to quantify what too high is.

    With sealer and careful water chemistry monitoring I am willing to take the leap and install a SWCG with a lot of stone in my pool.

  • airb320
    10 years ago

    cbink, if the Salt level was too high then that is actual a sign of too much salt added to the pool. Salt doesn't go away, like Borate and CYA, hence you need to add very very little over a years span since the only loss you get is from splashout and rain.

  • Chris
    10 years ago

    airb320 - yes, I think they kept adding salt to it. I think they had undersized their SWCG (I recall them saying they had to run it at 100% and it still wasn't enough) and thought adding more salt would help produce more chlorine.

  • airb320
    10 years ago

    We did alot of research on the SWCG's and one thing became apparent very quickly that the generators build for up to 25000gal pool don't produce enough in a day ! The guideline is that you need 0.05lbs Chlorine for every 1000 gal of water. So for a 15000 gal pool you'll already need 0.75lbs. If you look at the total capacity of these up to 25000 gal generators it's around 0.8 to 1 lb a day. So, if you choose this size generator you have to run it close 100% all the time. Because of that fact We asked our PB to use the next size up and that should be plenty. Going to the next size SWCG is only a $100 difference in price but totally worth it !