Preparing Old Gunite for Resurfacing: Chipping, Sandblasting, and Bond Coats

Most resurfacing jobs are won or lost long prior to the new finish goes on. They are determined in the dusty, noisy, unrecognized hours of preparation, when you are looking at an old swimming pool covering and determining precisely just how hostile to be with damaging, sandblasting, and bond coats.

I have actually walked right into greater than one backyard where a beautiful new Quartz aggregate surface or PebbleTec was flaking within a year, while the proprietors vowed the service provider had actually made use of "the excellent things." Normally the product was great. The trouble lived below, in a slick, poorly scarified substrate or a hurried bond coat.

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If you understand just how old gunite behaves, how to scarify it correctly, and how to match that surface area with the best bond system, you avoid those failings. You also save on your own from tearing back into a swimming pool that should have lasted 15 to 20 years.

This is a deep study that prep job: what you should assess, what to remove, and exactly how to create a surface that will really hold a modern-day finish.

Start with the covering, not the finish

Before you consider Hydrazzo, Ruby Brite, exposed stone finish, or any type of other surface area, you have to deal with the structure honestly. Old pneumatically applied concrete, whether gunite or shotcrete, can tell you a lot if you know where to look.

I normally start with three concerns:

Is the swimming pool shell structurally sound?

Are there energetic leakages or plumbing issues?

How much of the existing plaster system can legitimately stay?

If you do not address those first, you take the chance of dressing up an ill swimming pool with a pretty coat.

Structural peace of mind check

Walk the shell slowly. Tap the walls with a hammer, not just the floor. Pay unique focus to the pool bond beam of light, the initial number of feet listed below waterline tile, and any obvious repair work areas from past work.

Long, constant splits that mirror the beam of light, or that encounter the flooring and up the wall in a straight line, usually deserve much more examination. You are aiming to set apart between a regular shrinkage fracture in plaster and something that could be telegraming movement in the concrete.

If you suspect movement, you commonly need a concrete repair technique prior to resurfacing: stitching the crack, opening it up, loading with hydraulic concrete, or in major instances an architectural engineer's participation. Putting a costs coating like PebbleTec or glass mosaic floor tile over a moving covering is a dish for callbacks.

Plumbing and leakage assessment

Next step in any type of major gunite resurfacing is verifying containment. You do not want to fill a freshly plastered swimming pool and uncover a line failure or skimmer leak.

On specialist jobs, I always suggest a swimming pool pipes stress test, also if the house owners swear the pool has "never shed water." Old suction and return lines, maturing skimmer throats, and corroded light niches can shock you. When you are already removing plaster and revealing installations, it is one of the most economical time to take care of them.

If the examination exposes concerns, routine repairs prior to you concentrate on surfaces. Skimmer throat fixing, substitute of weak fittings around pool light particular niches, and addressing any kind of visible shell infiltrations with hydraulic cement and, where suitable, a localized waterproofing membrane, all occur in the prep phase.

Existing plaster: when to chip, when to feather

Most old concrete swimming pools have at the very least one prior resurface. Sometimes two or 3. Each layer transforms the strategy.

You usually satisfy one of these conditions:

• Original plaster just, used yet mostly intact
• One prior resurface, with some bond failures
• Multiple layers, apparent "white line plaster" at actions and floor tile line

That "white line plaster" is the thin intense line you see where old coping rocks or waterline tile were removed in the past and plaster was covered tight to them. It is frequently weak and badly keyed to the concrete below. Treat commercial pool electrical systems it with suspicion.

A straightforward regulation: if there is any type of indication of plaster delamination, hollow places, or multiple past layers, intend on a more hostile substratum scarification. Leaving doubtful plaster is just how you inherit someone else's pending failure.

The hammer examination and what it tells you

A 2 to 3 pound hammer is your ideal device. Touch the surface area and listen. Strong, well adhered plaster gives a high, crisp tone. Peeled locations sound plain, nearly like tapping cardboard over a void.

Business Name: Adams Pool Solutions
Address: 3675 Old Santa Rita Rd, Pleasanton, CA 94588, United States
Phone: (925)-828-3100

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On a typical 500 to 700 square foot pool, it is normal to locate scattered delamination. When it is isolated and tiny, you can sometimes chip those localized sections to seem material and cut clean changes. When large wall or floor areas audio hollow, you are better off devoting to a complete chip out.

Homeowners frequently intend to avoid the expense and mess of total elimination. The problem is, every pocket of weak material you leave is a location where the new coating can later on shear off. I have watched pristine Quartz aggregate coating peel off away in pizza-slice areas, perfectly complying with the impact of old, hollow plaster. Nobody mores than happy when that happens.

Substrate scarification: how hostile is hostile enough?

When specialists discuss "substate scarification" for gunite resurfacing, they indicate mechanically roughening the old surface enough that the brand-new system can bite into it. No quantity of chemical hoax beats great texture.

There are 3 primary techniques made use of on old gunite and shotcrete coverings: breaking, sandblasting, and grinding, commonly combined with acid etching.

Chipping: the heavy work

Chipping is not sophisticated, however it is necessary when plaster delamination or multiple layers are present.

On a complete chip out, the objective is to get rid of all existing plaster and subject solid, audio pneumatically used concrete everywhere. The resulting gunite surface area will certainly not be completely uniform. That is fine. What issues is that it is strong and rough.

On a partial chip, which is common when the existing plaster is typically audio however has localized failures, the breaking staff cuts tidy, square shoulders around bad locations. Do not feather these out to a razor side. You desire deepness and a mechanical secret, not a slim taper of old material.

There is a judgment telephone call right here. Some staffs leave a thin, highly bound "scratch" of old plaster in position, especially on vertical wall surfaces, and count on aggressive scarification and a quality bond layer to wed old to new. Others insist on taking every little thing to bare gunite. The best selection depends upon the age of the pool, previous chemistry misuse, and your tolerance for risk.

One detail that separates great prep from negative: careful work at fittings and penetrations. Around skimmer throats, pool light niches, main drains, and returns, you want ideal angles and clean concrete, not loose chips or undercuts. Often we will certainly go back with hydraulic cement to load around conduits and infiltrations, developing a limited pocket before any type of bond layer goes on.

Sandblasting: opening the pores

Sandblasting is not a replacement for damaging, however it is an effective enhance. After plaster elimination or hefty scarification, the surface area typically has laitance, old coverings, or slimed sensation range that have to be removed.

Good sandblasting does 2 points at the same time. It removes contaminants and it even more roughes up the surface area, especially in edges and tight locations where cracking hammers do a poorer work. On a lot of the longer enduring resurfacing jobs I have actually seen, sandblasting is the quiet hero. It infiltrates the shell where tools and grinding pads can not reach.

You need to take care of the mess and shield nearby Travertine coping, bullnose block, or cantilevered coping. Masking and short-lived shields take even more time than the blasting itself, however you can not just pepper rock and ceramic tile and hope nobody notices.

Blast until you see regular, fresh concrete or plaster account with no shiny spots. That sheen generally indicates staying laitance or range, and it is precisely what bond layers do not like.

Grinding and acid etching

Rotary mills with diamond mugs have their location. They are exceptional for high spots, feathering sides where old and brand-new plaster will meet, and tidying up the swimming pool bond beam just below the waterline floor tile band.

Acid etching, normally with watered down muriatic acid, is not a remedy all. Consider a muriatic acid laundry as a way to get rid of fine cement laitance, mineral scale, and oils, not as a main preparation step. It ought to not be the only point you do to get account. You want the acid to fizz and bite, then be counteracted and washed completely. Residual acid left in a porous shell can compromise a bond coat or begin corroding rebar where cover is thin.

A typical error is to acid wash a slick, unscarified covering, wash it, and call it all set. That is not substrate scarification. If you can run your hand over the surface and it feels like smooth porcelain, you are not prepared for a modern plaster, PebbleTec, or Quartz aggregate finish.

Managing the bond beam, coping, and waterline tile

The top 12 inches of a pool wall are hectic. You have the structural bond beam of light, dealing rocks or a cantilevered deck, the waterline tile and ceramic tile underlayment, mastic joints like Deck-O-Seal between deck and coping, and frequently evidence of previous repair services packed into that white line plaster zone.

How you handle this area determines whether your ceramic tile stays true, your grout lines remain tight, and your coping resembles it belongs.

Coping: reset or preserve

With Travertine coping, bullnose brick, or personalized coping stones, you commonly can not pay for to be negligent. Prying or hammering also strongly fractures stones and blocks that may be hard to match.

On remodels where coping continues to be, shield it throughout damaging and sandblasting, but likewise examine it for activity. Loose stones or a stopping working mortared beam of light can telegram splits into the ceramic tile line. Occasionally it is smarter to suck it up and reset a couple of direct feet of dealing so you can repair the swimming pool bond beam of light and create a strong edge.

For older cantilevered coping, which is truly the deck poured over the beam of light with foam developing the overhang, the major factor to consider is the expansion joint between deck and tile. If Deck-O-Seal or other mastic is hard, shrunken, or missing out on, the deck can bear on the tile and pop it. Plan for mastic joint replacement during or right after resurfacing so the new ceramic tile band is protected.

Waterline floor tile and underlayment

Stripping and resetting waterline tile is where careless prep is most noticeable. Under the tile, you ought to see a regular, flat ceramic tile underlayment of mortar or compressed render. In lots of older swimming pools that has actually been covered repetitively, frequently with whatever was on the truck that day.

Before brand-new waterline floor tile or glass mosaic floor tile enters, strip that area to sound material. Re-render it right and plumb, considering the intended density of the new interior coating. If you are switching over from a slim white plaster to a thicker exposed pebble coating, as an example, you may need to adjust the floor tile band elevation so the new surface terminates cleanly.

Waterproofing membrane layer can be helpful at the waterline in frost vulnerable environments or on especially porous coverings, however it requires to be suitable with the tile thinset and plaster system. Adding a random membrane that will certainly not bond to cementitious layers is even worse than doing nothing.

Grout shade matching is another subtle information. When you spot separated floor tiles or prolong a step strip with brand-new glass mosaic tile, you desire the grout to blend with the existing band. This is not simply visual. Extremely soft or polymer heavy grouts can behave in a different way in a continuously wet tile band, causing streaking or staining.

Bond coats: the bridge in between old shell and brand-new finish

Once the shell is structurally audio, scarified, cleaned, and any type of fixings around fittings are solid, you get to the heart of resurfacing: the bond coat.

A bond layer is not just "glue." It is a thoroughly proportioned layer that chemically and mechanically secrets the brand-new indoor finish to the prepared substratum. If you stint this component, you invite plaster delamination later, regardless of whether you are using basic marcite, Diamond Brite, a Quartz accumulation surface, or costs pebble.

There are three wide bond layer strategies you see in the field:

• Neat cement slurry over moistened substratum
• Proprietary polymer changed bond layers from plaster suppliers
• Two stage systems with a scrape coat and a setting layer

Neat cement slurries can work, yet they use little forgiveness. Blends that are as well rich in water, or that are applied to a messy, unscarified covering, will shear. I seldom see easy slurries used above end job anymore.

Polymer modified bond coats, especially those from makers that likewise produce the interior finish, custom commercial pool design have chemistry on their side. When you match a PebbleTec style coating to a compatible bond system, for instance, you are using an item made to chemically order both the shell and the covering. The key is following their exact water proportions, pot life, and cure time. Over thick application or duplicated retempering in the bucket can create weak layers.

Two phase systems, where a harsh scrape coat takes place initial and a slightly richer setting coat bonds the plaster, appear extra on very harsh or heavily repaired shells. The scrape works into all the pits and repairs, the 2nd coat makes a combined, keyed surface.

Regardless of system, surface area prep work right before the bond layer matters. The shell should be clean, structurally completely dry however surface wet, and free of puddled water. Any kind of dirt from eleventh hour grinding must be blown and rinsed away. You want the bond layer to damp right into the pores of the scarified covering, not float on a layer of slurry dust.

A practical series that in fact works

Here is an area tested series for old gunite resurfacing that integrates all of these components, from initial handshake to all set for plaster:

Document and test

Picture existing problems. Perform a pool pipes stress examination. Mark splits, hollow areas, and trouble areas around skimmers and light particular niches. Concur with the owner on which things are totally aesthetic and which are non negotiable repairs.

Strip, chip, and scarify

Eliminate existing interior coating by damaging down to seem product, which might mean complete plaster removal in older or over used swimming pools. Address white line plaster and previous repair service bands without mercy. Sandblast to open the pores and clean staying surface areas, after that grind local highs and transitions.

Repair and detail work

Open structural or suspicious splits, pack with hydraulic cement, and connect any type of shotcrete repair service where material loss is severe. Clean and fixing skimmer throats, return installations, pool light specific niches, and primary drains pipes. Take into consideration local waterproofing membrane layer around persistent leakage areas, complying with maker guidelines.

Prep the beam, coping, and tile band

Support or reset loose coping rocks, resolving the pool bond beam of light as required. Get rid of old waterline floor tile and ceramic tile underlayment to an uniform deepness, then re-render the band to the planned coating density. Plan for mastic joint replacement with products like Deck-O-Seal after coatings cure.

Clean, etch, and bond

Perform a regulated muriatic acid wash if defined, neutralize completely, and wash to clear water. Permit the covering to drain however maintain it from bone dry conditions before bonding. Apply the bond coat according to its specification, maintaining constant thickness and preventing puddling or starvation.

Follow this, and you stack the chances strongly in your support. Shortcut any one of those steps, specifically scarification or bond application, and your probabilities swing back towards very early failure.

Choosing and matching the new indoor finish

Once the shell is straightforward, your option of finish ends up being a mix of appearances, really feel underfoot, and expected solution life.

Traditional smooth white plaster continues to be the budget plan requirement. It is forgiving to apply, gives an intense blue water shade, yet is more at risk to aggressive water chemistry and etching. When proprietors demand white, I push them to commit to tight chemistry control and periodic maintenance like mild acid etching, not extreme drain and blast cycles that chew through the surface.

Quartz aggregate coating and revealed pebble surface systems, from companies like Ruby Brite and PebbleTec, include firmness and texture. They commonly manage small chemical misuse much better and hold shade longer. They also need a slightly even more robust substratum account and bond system, due to the fact that their mechanical interlock relies on a sound underlayer.

Hydrazzo and various other polished aggregate surfaces rest somewhere in between, with a smoother final polish that still has the toughness of accumulation yet an extra polished feeling. These are much less forgiving of bad preparation, especially slim bond coats or irregular substratum account. Any variation beneath telegraphs with a polished surface.

Whatever you pick, match the bond coat and preparation technique to the coating producer's guidance. If the specification requires a certain substratum scarification depth, a certain polymer changed bond, or a no acid engrave strategy, think they have seen sufficient failings to warrant it.

Details that separate solid job from expensive mistakes

By the moment a homeowner is appreciating fresh Glass mosaic floor tile at the waterline, a crisp cement shade matching the coping, and a shimmering brand-new interior finish, they rarely think of what is concealed under the surface area. Experts do.

A few less evident factors that come from experience:

Pool light niches and skimmer throats are persistent failure areas. Old steel particular niches can corrode at the flange, while skimmer mouths commonly fracture where plastic fulfills concrete. Repairing these with hydraulic cement, sometimes incorporated with a compatible waterproofing membrane, bores yet avoids leaks that strike the bond in between shell and new plaster.

Shotcrete fixing and patching need to be handled with respect for remedy times. If you splice in brand-new pneumatically applied concrete to repair architectural loss, that patch needs time to cure prior to it sees a bond layer and brand-new indoor coating. Plastering fresh, damp shotcrete can lead to differential contraction and stress at the joint.

Mastic joint substitute is not an aesthetic afterthought. When the joint between coping or deck and ceramic tile is fired, decks relocate with heat and cold, then hammer versus the rigid ceramic tile band. Freshly established waterline tile or glass mosaic tile will not endure that misuse. Appropriately applied Deck-O-Seal or comparable items recover that buffer.

Finally, chemistry and filling up treatments after resurfacing are part of the preparation story. You can do textbook substratum scarification and bond job, after that wreck it by allowing out of balance fill water, high chlorine shocks, or strong acid additions struck a fresh surface in the very first couple of days. Education and learning and created startup guidelines matter.

Gunite resurfacing is unpleasant, loud, and occasionally seems like demolition for its own purpose. Yet every piece of old plaster cracked off, every square foot very carefully sandblasted, and every correctly combined bond layer is insurance on your finish.

Prep is where you turn an old, worn out shell right into a strong base that is entitled to high end materials. If you respect that work, the waterline tile remains tight, the Travertine coping looks deliberate, the PebbleTec or Quartz accumulation finish stays bound, and you do not get the telephone call two winters months from currently about "white lines" and hollow sounds. Rather, the pool just looks right, year after year.