New pool finish is awful! Need professional advice

10 years ago

Our pool contractor hired a subcontractor to plaster our new pool. The finish is Premix Marbeltite color : Sapphire ( marquis series) from a local distributor.
It looks and feel terrible! Big blue and white streaks and splotches, bumps, uneven texture, so rough our kids feet and toes got several abrasions, some white spots looks like chips , and some plaster entirely missing around cap tiles in areas. Around the steps and swimout its all bumpy and chunky in areas. After one month of complaints emailing, calling, sending photos , my contractor admitted it was not satisfactory ( curious why WE had to tell him that ) and he'd have the subcontractor redo it. We also called the MARBELITITE Rep. To come and see it , and said there was nothing wrong with the product, it just looks like they did a " rush job" he also told us that when they RESURFACE they must use the brand MARBELITITE binding agent in order for us to have warranty coverage.
So the sub con. Shows up, chips 2-3 inches of plaster off under the border tiles and uses this SGM bond Kote ( not Marbeltite) product and applies it and also applies it right over our cap tiles and ,oasis without chipping them out first. They left all the thick uneven areas around the steps and sun shelf and they are just going to plaster over all this??
My husband told the crew he bought a new pool , nor a resurfaced one and he wants them to chop off the entire first layer and start from scratch and apply it properly using the manufacturers products.
Anyone know if this is a reasonable request on our part ? Is it possible to chip it all out entirely down to the gunite?
Also, we are very concerned that this crew are certainly not experienced , for if they were it wouldn't look so bad the first time. Can we demand contractor use someone else ?
Should we use a different product?
Anyone have experience w/ pool surface techniques wh can give us suggestions?
Thanks!

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Comments (4)

golfgeek
10 years ago
poolproblems,
Replastering with a bond coat will fail in about 5-10% of the time it is used. Failure may occur 5 years down the road.
It is perfectly fine to ask for a chip out of the bad plaster.
It sounds like the contractor has little experience with the product you chose. You might want to look at some of his work with a similar product as yours.
Also, find out from the manufacturer about special instructions for starting the pool up after plaster. With color specific pools there are methods that are different from white plaster pools. Good luck.
poolproblems
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you golfgeek. Our contractor doesn't want to hire another subcontractor because he paid them , so he wants them to fix it.
The problem is , we don't think these guys are experienced, but we can't force our contractor to hire someone else.
The representative from MARBELITITE said he would gladly show up to supervise / advise on the day they resurface. Would it be a fair compromise on our part to insist they chip ALL The existing plaster out since there are so many rough, thick and bumpy areas? We are not professionals , but it seems common sense that they will attain a better and lasting result if they start on the original gunite. Is that an accurate assumption on our part?
It would be terrible if they replastered over this and botched it up again
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golfgeek
10 years ago
poolproblems,
Take the manufacturer up on their offer. If it is as bad as you describe it, then I think they should chip the old out. Replaster can be thinner(not by design) than the original plaster.
Everyone errors once in a while, but I think you should push for a chip out unless they give you a lenghthly labor guaranty should it fail in 5-10 years. Original plaster should be good for a minimum of 15 years and as much as 25 years.
poolproblems
Original Author
10 years ago
Golfgeek, Thank you so much for your advice. Yes, it really is a terrible finish. Living in Florida, I've been in countless pools and I've never seen anything like it. It's a shame! But based on the info. We've collected , including yours, we are insisting that the contractor chip it out in its entirety and apply from scratch. So far, he doesn't want to oblige and he's only wanting to replaster w/ minimal chip out. We're not excepting this as its not our fault it wasn't done right to begin with.
Sadly, this can go on for weeks , months... It's apparent we chose the wrong pool contractor : (
Thanks again, I'll update when we come to a resolution