grakk

So my pool guy just came buy.. I have a relly old Jandy Aqualink system that isnt working anymore.. They are talking about getting a replacement.. My pool is a small/medium pool with a 2 stage pump, blower, 2 actuators (spa mode), lights. We had priced out a AquaLink RS4 with the PDA controller which would run ~2k. He mentioned that since I have a simpler system that I could get by with an Intermatic which would run ~1k after installation - what are your opinions on these controllers? I believe it is this one Controller

When I get home today I'll try those suggestions - I don't think there is any metal pieces present in the pool (that I can see) I do know when I bought the house my metal level in the water was really high but I've brought that under control.

These seem to be popping up all over, but I cannot brush them away by hand or with a steel brush. If I take a pocket knife and scrape some there is no stain under it (which makes me think its not rust) Any ideas? Aside from the linked ones below (don't want to link 20+ pics in this post) you can see more here: Photobucket Stains: Half scraped stain: You can see some discoloration here kind of "in" the plaster in the bottom-centerish

So my contractor told me he does not use a bond coat, that what he does is he mixes a bonding agent in the first coat of plaster, then covers that with more layers. He said that he doesn't think a bond coat is necessary with proper preparation but would be more than happy to do one if that is what I wanted. I did some checking and he has been doing this for years with no negative feedback and I was referred to him by a number of people. But this is conflicting with everything I have read that says you need a bond coat.

The pool is roughly 12 years old and we THINK it is the original plaster - we will be doing a quartz plaster. I can't remeber the exact name - It was something like "Marque" but it was a premix aggregate plaster (where you can add color crystals to) - I'll get in touch with him and ask the exact name. I do know he was not a fan of Pebble Tec as he felt it could hide problems that may arise in the pool (hard to see stains etc). Could you give a short summary on why you don't like a third layer (just in case it has been resurfaced once)

He did not mention anything about a bond coat - I'll ask him about it, what exactly is in and why do I need it? He did offer to remove everything when I brought it up to him, but he did mention he thought removing everything wasn't worth the price. So I wanted to get some assurance here.

I bought a house with a pool recently, and we are getting some rust coming up from underneath and since we will need to resurface in the next 2-3 years we are doing it now. We have a contractor that our local pool shop swears by, and when he was over talking the price sounded right. But then he mentioned that they will not remove all of the old plaster, what they will do is remove 4-5 inches around the tile light, drains, and all fixtures, then walk through the pool chipping every 8 inches. They said they would tap with a hammer while doing this and if nothing sound hollow they will not remove the plaster. If there is a hollow sound or in a spot where rust is visible they will pull it up to the gunite. So should he be removing all the plaster? Once again the pool store here (all good guys) swear by him but I would think you would want to remove all the old plaster.. What do you guys think?

So what they suggested I do, is have them come in and pull up all the coping, cut away some of the concrete decking then install a new coping w/expansion joint. Do you think I have any cause to worry about the concrete shell itself if the coping is pulling away? Sounds like a typical thing the way you describe it. The pool guy also said that the filter was too small for the pool he recommended a FNS plus 60. Some of the jandy valves were not working correctly either. And the non pool inspector had issues with the controller the pool guys seem to get it to work though - its an old Aqualink. What does these cost (roughly) to update?

Hello all, I am in the inspection phase of purchasing a house down in Cedar Park, TX. There is an in ground pool here, and upon inspection by both my inspector and pool company it there are no expansion joints and the coping has begun to lift away from the pool. It seems that there was only mortar between the coping and concrete deck. The pool company is suggesting to remove the coping, then add a new one done right. The ground has a lot of limestone in it. There is also a stump from an oak tree which was cut down (I'm assuming it caused some of the separation) I am worried that if they did not put expansion joints around the coping that there could be other hidden problems. This pool is over 10 years old, so I expect I'll be resurfacing it soon if we buy the house. Is there any cause for concern for the the actual concrete shell? Both inspectors said it looked fine (other than being 2 years out from resurfacing) The pool company said it would be "less than 5k" (the guy who came wasn't the construction guy - hoping to get a better estimate tomorrow from them). Here are 4 pictures (sorry for not having better quality). You cannot see where the coping is lifting off the top of the pool, just the separation from the deck (and this is hard to see as well due to the blurry pics). I'm planning on trying to get the current owners to pay for this in an amendment to our contract. What do you guys think? You can see the cracking on the right side w/o joint Stump is on the far right The shrub in front of the pool is right behind the coping.. with soil there thinking we should fill that in instead of having somewhere water can sit You can see the are with the shrub in the back