Warranty Work Questions

[Tired of My New Pool]

New here and have a few questions.

We have a new pool (less than 6 months old) and the original (traditional white) plaster had many cracks in it with a sizable crack that ended up being patched with no success. It patched the crack, but left a discolored circle where the patch was - ugly. After three visits from their diver to fix the cracks and an unsuccessful attempt at patching it after draining, we ended up getting it re-plastered (their call, not ours). We opted for the River Rok pebble finish and I can see cracks in it too. We like the way it looks overall, but it doesn't look like the sample we picked. The good news is, the water is at least close to what we wanted.

So, my questions are:

1. Are cracks in new plaster normal?

2. Are cracks in the pebble-type finishes normal?

3. We are supposed to pay for the upgrade ($2K) and want to hold out costs for 2 start-ups and 2 fill-ups of the pool. Is this acceptable practice?

4. How do you know if they even installed what you thought?

5. I have had to clean my filter cartridges every 5-7 days. Several of the bands have broken (I have cleaned them according to the Pentair manual)

What is the normal life expectancy of the cartridges and how often should I be cleaning them?

I hate to sound so cynical, but the pool experience has not been good and we want to ensure that we are getting, eventually, what we pay for.

Thanks for any input or advice.

[polyvue]

We have a new pool (less than 6 months old) and the original (traditional white) plaster had many cracks in it with a sizable crack that ended up being patched with no success. It patched the crack, but left a discolored circle where the patch was - ugly. After three visits from their diver to fix the cracks and an unsuccessful attempt at patching it after draining, we ended up getting it re-plastered (their call, not ours). We opted for the River Rok pebble finish and I can see cracks in it too. We like the way it looks overall, but it doesn't look like the sample we picked. The good news is, the water is at least close to what we wanted.

So, my questions are:

1. Are cracks in new plaster normal?

2. Are cracks in the pebble-type finishes normal?

3. We are supposed to pay for the upgrade ($2K) and want to hold out costs for 2 start-ups and 2 fill-ups of the pool. Is this acceptable practice?

4. How do you know if they even installed what you thought?

5. I have had to clean my filter cartridges every 5-7 days. Several of the bands have broken (I have cleaned them according to the Pentair manual) What is the normal life expectancy of the cartridges and how often should I be cleaning them?

Welcome to the forum. Sorry you've had troubles with your pool build.

I'm a pool owner, not a builder or contractor, but I don't believe new marcite should have cracks in it. Plastering is both an art and a science and there may be any number of reasons for plaster failure, often involving weather/environment and/or installation/materials/skill issues. Material and labor costs for pebble finishes exceed that of regular plaster so the $2K may be justified. Unless you've been in the business or have read up on each of the trades, you're never going to fully know if the contractors performed exactly as they should have. If you specified the equipment (brand names, capacities, model numbers) in your contract you should be able to determine whether these items were indeed installed. Go look at the manufacturing labels (on the filter, pump(s), heaters etc) and create a notebook of specifications to compare to your builder's list of equipment.

RE: filter cleaning. Need more information. How big is your pool? Is the water clear? What model of Pentair filter? Don't worry about the bands breaking... Why are you cleaning it so frequently? What is the normal pressure reading (PSI) at the filter? Unless you're fighting an algae outbreak with an undersized filter, you shouldn't have to clean it that often. (I clean mine once a year... but nevermind.)

This should get the conversation started.

[Tired of My New Pool]

My pool is pretty small. Kidney bean shaped with a raised hot tub. 32 ft. long and 16 ft. wide at the widest and it's a splash/play-type pool at 5.5 ft. deep.

I've got the Pentair Clean and Clear Plus, I believe. The reason for the excessive cleaning is due to the filtration system's high pressure reading on the gauge. I set the "start" mark (approx 17 psi) after every cleaning and it only takes a week or so for the pressure to rise above the "clean" mark (approx 30 psi) which is a higher pressure reading. After I clean the filters, the fountain and bubbler on the tanning ledge work like they should. The water is clear.

4. How do you know if they even installed what you thought?

I only asked this question regarding the finish, not the equipment. We are good there.

[polyvue]

My pool is pretty small. Kidney bean shaped with a raised hot tub. 32 ft. long and 16 ft. wide at the widest and it's a splash/play-type pool at 5.5 ft. deep.

I've got the Pentair Clean and Clear Plus, I believe. The reason for the excessive cleaning is due to the filtration system's high pressure reading on the gauge. I set the "start" mark (approx 17 psi) after every cleaning and it only takes a week or so for the pressure to rise above the "clean" mark (approx 30 psi) which is a higher pressure reading. After I clean the filters, the fountain and bubbler on the tanning ledge work like they should. The water is clear.

The pool isn't that small.... about 400 sq ft and 16,000 gallons if the floor is 5.5 ft deep throughout. You didn't mention the model number, but both the CCP420 or CCP520 should provide sufficient filtering. When you clean the cartridge filter what do you see? Are there pine needles or mud/silt or other debris that you wash out of the cartridges? Plaster dust? Is the pool vacuumed regularly... skimmer basket(s) and pump baskets cleaned out at least once a week? Lots of trees in your area? Just trying, as you are, to figure out what could be causing your filter to need cleaing so often.

The next thing I would look at is pool chemistry (pH, FC, CC, TC, TA, CH and CYA) and plumbing.

[AFiremanFirst]

polyvue consistently gives good advice!!! And I'm glad to see his postings!!! We both agree cracks are unusual, in the plaster (or pebble tech) is ofen a sign of poor sub-base, or gunite. We can't fix that now however... so if you can live with it, and your pool isn't leaking... leave it alone! I like to clean my cartridge filter, and I'm bitter that my acquired filter isn't de, someday it will be. However I clean it once a month with a pressure increase of roughly 3 psi. In your case I'd put a ten dollar bill on it that you are fighting algae and don't know it because it's pebble tech. If you brush and I recommend a combo brush (nylon and steel bristles) for your pool... when you slide the brush from the top to the bottom look for a cloud... There should be no cloud. could be plaster dust, or algae, if it's green its algae! Superchlorinate, 7lbs would probably due, 10 won't hurt! Brush, then chlorinate!!! If you are not brushing that finish, it will never clear. Algae builds a protective layer over itself that chlorine can not penetrate. Chlorinating with out brushing will only slow it's spread, not kill it!!! Also understand that chlorine is more effective at lower pH. We want to see 7.5, but we also need to know everything else as polyvue pointed out!!!

Don't panic, we'll help!