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Gel Coat Issues Barrier Reef Pools


Linda McGrath

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22 minutes ago, Toddo said:

I have my pool done my a local pool shop. They took a core sample out of my shell and passed the buck to the water balance even though I all my records from the pool company proving the levels 

So were your pool levels way out of the recommended figures ?

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13 minutes ago, Toddo said:

No all was good 

I don't get how they can just pass the buck if all your tests are okay, they must have some sort of reasoning to blame the water balance. 

Sounds like everyone's having similar problems of getting nowhere with them.

Dept. of Fair Trading first (toothless tiger) then to more serious ways.

 

 

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18 hours ago, Eagles said:

So please give me an example of high pH/calcium for a F/G pool.

I previously owned a new pool for 8 years, treated the same as my BR, no problems at all with white stains.

Just to be clear: I suspect that you have a case. I don't see any other threads on this subject with other manufacturers on any of the pool forums I am a contributor to. Nor does anyone jump in here saying they have this issue with other brands. I am just suggesting that you be certain it's NOT bad chemistry before proceeding with legal action. You likely have everything you need to check, and it won't take 15 minutes to find out. But you certainly don't have to take my advice if you don't want to.

I assume the ph question was rhetorical. If you really need that answer I recommend you google "pool saturation index" and get a good test kit. Or read the posts of @waterbearin the chemistry section for a thorough education on water maintenance.

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  • 1 month later...

I have the same issues as many of the posts.

white ring around the top and just under the waterline of the pool.

I also have been advised by BFP to use a light sand paper, the polish with a fibreglass polish.

Obviously, as others have said, it doesn’t work.

Am anticipating my next more.

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On 11/5/2021 at 12:42 AM, Eagles said:

they must have some sort of reasoning to blame the water balance. 

What you describe sounds EXACTLY like scale, that's why. White (off white) discoloration just above and below the waterline. This is where agitation and evaporation concentrate the calcium coming out of solution. In the pool industry we remove this with an acid wash (a VERY common job for a pool guy). I have a Dimension One spa I'm refurbishing that has heavy scale exactly as you describe in your pools. I use a 50/50 mix of muriatic acid and water with a plastic bristle scrub brush to remove it, but it's slow going. You are trying to dissolve limestone. This type of accumulation forms stalagtites in caves, to put it in perspective. 

Saturation index is a combination of ph, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and temperature. "Aggressive" water (negative SI) will deteriorate plaster/concrete surfaces, rubber o-rings/gaskets, metal parts (heater manifolds, stainless steel handrails, etc), and some plastics. A positive SI causes dissolved solids in the water (metals, calcium) to come out of solution on surfaces. We call that "scale". You will recognize it as "hard water deposits", and will use acid (CLR for example) to remove it from your bathtub. Evaporation also leaves these dissolved solids behind.

Just to be clear, I have been fixing spas, and pools to a lesser extent, for 26 years. I am self-employed and have no affiliation with ANY manufacturer, and have no reason to care if you sue one. I have no reason to BS anyone, and offer my advice freely and without compensation of any kind on several industry forums. I am not here to argue, or belittle anyones problems. I am giving you my opinion in an effort to help you resolve your issues. If you choose to disbelieve me or my motives, that is your choice, but if it is scale and you sue, or continue to slander a manufacturer on a public forum based on your assumptions, there may be some serious consequences. I recommend that you be certain before you continue. I know that, if I were this manufacturer and my reputation (and therefore business/sales) were damaged by this and you didn't bother to find out if it is in fact a maintenance issue, or worse yet were told by other industry professionals that it is but chose to not believe them, then I would DEFINITELY be looking into sueing YOU.

So again, and for the last time before I wash my hands of this thread, I recommend that you ALL be certain that this is in fact a manufacturer defect and not poor maintenance. Get an acid wash. Document it. Take pictures. Get the pool company to put it in writing that this is not scale. Otherwise you have no proof, and everyone who knows anything about pools will assume it is scale. 

Best of luck.

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2 hours ago, RDspaguy said:

What you describe sounds EXACTLY like scale, that's why. White (off white) discoloration just above and below the waterline. This is where agitation and evaporation concentrate the calcium coming out of solution. In the pool industry we remove this with an acid wash (a VERY common job for a pool guy). I have a Dimension One spa I'm refurbishing that has heavy scale exactly as you describe in your pools. I use a 50/50 mix of muriatic acid and water with a plastic bristle scrub brush to remove it, but it's slow going. You are trying to dissolve limestone. This type of accumulation forms stalagtites in caves, to put it in perspective. 

Saturation index is a combination of ph, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and temperature. "Aggressive" water (negative SI) will deteriorate plaster/concrete surfaces, rubber o-rings/gaskets, metal parts (heater manifolds, stainless steel handrails, etc), and some plastics. A positive SI causes dissolved solids in the water (metals, calcium) to come out of solution on surfaces. We call that "scale". You will recognize it as "hard water deposits", and will use acid (CLR for example) to remove it from your bathtub. Evaporation also leaves these dissolved solids behind.

Just to be clear, I have been fixing spas, and pools to a lesser extent, for 26 years. I am self-employed and have no affiliation with ANY manufacturer, and have no reason to care if you sue one. I have no reason to BS anyone, and offer my advice freely and without compensation of any kind on several industry forums. I am not here to argue, or belittle anyones problems. I am giving you my opinion in an effort to help you resolve your issues. If you choose to disbelieve me or my motives, that is your choice, but if it is scale and you sue, or continue to slander a manufacturer on a public forum based on your assumptions, there may be some serious consequences. I recommend that you be certain before you continue. I know that, if I were this manufacturer and my reputation (and therefore business/sales) were damaged by this and you didn't bother to find out if it is in fact a maintenance issue, or worse yet were told by other industry professionals that it is but chose to not believe them, then I would DEFINITELY be looking into sueing YOU.

So again, and for the last time before I wash my hands of this thread, I recommend that you ALL be certain that this is in fact a manufacturer defect and not poor maintenance. Get an acid wash. Document it. Take pictures. Get the pool company to put it in writing that this is not scale. Otherwise you have no proof, and everyone who knows anything about pools will assume it is scale. 

Best of luck.

We have had a professional pool fiberglass resurfacer look at our pool and has also advised it is faulty gel coat that has not been cured properly or applied evenly!!! Barrier reef are the worse company once they have your money and their warranty is not even worth the piece of paper it’s written on!!!  I’m also happy for you to come look at our pool and tell us there is an easy fix to the rubbish shell we have received. 

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23 hours ago, ZMN said:

We have had a professional pool fiberglass resurfacer look at our pool and has also advised it is faulty gel coat that has not been cured properly or applied evenly!!!

And that is exactly what you need if you plan to pursue legal action. Did you get that in writing? Will he give you a notarized statement? 

I would be happy to look at your pools, and provide my professional opinion in writing. Anyone in southern Missouri?

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On 12/9/2021 at 8:10 PM, Jan W said:

I have the same issues as many of the posts.

white ring around the top and just under the waterline of the pool.

I also have been advised by BFP to use a light sand paper, the polish with a fibreglass polish.

Obviously, as others have said, it doesn’t work.

Am anticipating my next more.

At least they advised you to try something to get rid of the white staining, all I was told is it's out of the 12 month warranty period but if I wish to I could have a core sample taken and tested at a university in Qld. at my expense about $2.5K, if proven gelcoat issue they'll pay for the testing and repair of pool, if water balance problem obviously my cost to rectify.

Still trying to decide if this could be money well spent.

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If you've got that in writing, that they will cover it even though it's out of warranty, your chances of a settlement are greatly improved I would think. Assuming it is in fact their fault. But if it was verbal I'd say they're bluffing, trying to raise you out of the game, and will fall back on the 12 month warranty once the test is done.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/17/2021 at 6:09 AM, RDspaguy said:

If you've got that in writing, that they will cover it even though it's out of warranty, your chances of a settlement are greatly improved I would think. Assuming it is in fact their fault. But if it was verbal I'd say they're bluffing, trying to raise you out of the game, and will fall back on the 12 month warranty once the test is done.

I'm waiting for them to confirm they'll cover the cost of repair of the pool, pool water and chemicals and the cost of testing the core sample at the Uni. of Qld.

They're only just back from Xmas break.

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  • 2 months later...

Our pool was installed 2016 and gel coating has also deteriorated terribly... 

Can anyone confirm if there pool is slippery.... ever since we had the pool installed it has been extremely slippery. There is no grip or roughness on the stairs or bottom of the pool.. we have had so many people fall when trying to enter the pool and hurt themselves..

After getting into one of our friends pool (which is also a Barrier reef pool) we noticed how grippy it was and am now wondering if there was an issue with our lining from the beginning..

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I had my barrier reef pool installed in 2010. It had gel coat cracks in the first six months. They sent a guy to fix the pool, he repaired the spots of concern then painted them in a colour 10 shades darker than original. This I was told was the norm. I had more cracks appear about four years later so they came back to do the same. I arranged my own painter to come while the repairer was there to colour match the paint. They sent two pots to use and one had gone off in the can and was solid. The other we used and now it’s coming away from the repair and has gone white in colour So my $60k pool has looked like rubbish ever since. I would never buy a Barrier Reef Pool again. If you’re going to sell pools that have gel coat issues at least supply the paint that’s the right colour so the repair isn’t noticed. I literally walk out every day and hate my pool which is sad after spending that money 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,  we are in NZ but have a Barrier Reef pool shell.  Had total nightmare with it - it had absolutely no non-slip surface so we have had numerous accidents, and the shell has also turned white (as per others description on here).  Barrier Reef have been terrible at communicating, basically ignoring us, and accused us of slander when I posted an actual picture of our pool.  The franchise here that installed our pool has not gone into receivership and we are left with a faulty pool and Barrier Reef are having nothing to do with it.  

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Hello Everyone,

I don't know whether I feel sadder as a result of reading all these issues or relieved to see that I am not the only one in this situation.

The damage on our pool is really bad. It is nearly totally white.

I have been trying to do something about this for nearly the whole time we have had the pool with no one listening to me.

I have certainly had not luck.

I am wondering if Linda McGrath could please give us an update on how she went at the Tribunal. 

I think that is the next step that I am going to take.

I certainly have not contributed to making this damage - we are very conscientious people and we will not be held responsible for the state it is in at the moment.

If anyone has any further feedback or advice I would be very grateful.

Kirrilee Westblade

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Where are you located ?

 

my pool started getting white spots about about 12 months. BRP informed me it was due to excess compound leftover from the manufacturing process. They came to clean it all off but made it worse by leaving white foot prints throughout the pool. They are also saying it’s our fault due to water imbalance. Our pool is tested monthly by a service company and we test the water weekly and adjust as necessary

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  • 1 month later...

Our pool is ~5 years old and all areas below the waterline showed faded color after the 1st season and then worsened in the 2nd & 3rd sessions.  BR said the chlorine was too high but the weekly pool maintenance company records show 2-4ppm.  It does not appear to be a scale formation like some posts suggested since it’s uniform throughout all surfaces (not a line) below the waterline.
Like many of the posts, BR has been in responsive, has anyone had luck with the legal process?

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