Well we finally decided to drain the spa and began checking things... SURE ENOUGH, big hole around one of the jet/return fittings. The PB put some putty on that and the plaster guys will be back Monday to permanently fix it. So far, so good... Oh and I checked the bottom where I thought it felt mushy and it felt fine. So I think it was just the way it felt with the water and all the bouyancy and what not.. I guess time will tell if there is another leak still to be found..

Thank you both. I am in NY suburb, so I am sure it will be at the higher end of the price range. I am very surprised that they would charge by the perimeter foot. I am planning on a deep diving area and a deep shallow area. So, if my pool was average of 7' deep, that would be 1640 square ft. At $30/LF x 120' cost = $3600 or $2.20 sq. ft. A shallow pool at say average of 4' deep but with the same perimeter of 120' would be only 1280 sq. ft. For the same price of $3600, it would be $2.81 sq. ft. I would be getting an extra 360 sq feet plastered for the same price. Seems hard to believe. They must cover a lot of area very fast. Do you know how long (man hours) it takes to plaster this size of a pool? Also, I am assuming the prices you mentioned include labor and materials. Roughly how much is the material cost? Thanks a lot.

The spa has been done for about 1 year now. We are very happy with the outcome. Here are the final pictures. Most things worked out great, a few things we would have done differently. 1. The polished granite plaster finish is great however it had to be installed twice. The first time the hose clogged and by the time the installers gave up on the hose and carried it in some had set up so it had a lot of cracks. 2. We had to have the plaster polished a few times as the first few installers did not have much experience. Be sure to check on the plaster installers experience with the finish and visit a reference if possible. 3. The salt / ozone / nature 2 system works great. We keep the clorine level at 1 and have not had any problems. 4. The Jandy remote is great but has some quirks. See my post on the Jandy variable speed pump. If you have a range issue, pick a different channel. It controls the pump, waterfall, yard lights, blower, chlorine and ozone. 5. A bit concerned as to the life of the Jandy heater. We had a sensor on the heater fail at the 12 month mark. The 400,000 BTU unit was the way to go. About 30 minutes to temperature in the summer and 2 hours in the winter. 6. The installer, Carlonia Pool King, has been very good about post intallation service and fixing any defects. 7. The variable speed pump is super. Most of the time we run it at 750rpm and you can't even tell it is on. It only runs at 2750 rpm for two hours in the morning so the chlorine generator works. It has to have a minimum amount of flow to produce chlorine. At full speed the 2HP motor can run the waterfall and 8 jets with no problem. 8. The gunite guys knocked the jet pipes around a little and the angle and heights are not quite as designed. Double check the heights after the rebar goes in and be sure to have a clear drawing handy so the seats go in correctly. 9. The LED lights are the only way to go. Love the color choices. 10. I like the different waterway jets we selected but a couple of them pop out fairly easily if you twist them to control the volume. Not sure why. 11. The waterfall is really nice. The dog like to lie down in the hot water. 12. Very happy we put in yard lights at the same time and connected to the remote. 13. Shocked at how expensive it is to repair sprinklers. We basically had to re-install the entire back yard.

Was the pool filled with a garden hose or was water trucked in? We truck water in on every job. Filling the pool quickly is the best way. Was any sequestering agent added during the fill? Was the water chemistry checked and balanced daily for 2 weeks after fill? The first 72 hours after filling is paramount regarding properly balancing the water. The pool must be brushed twice a day for two weeks. More brushing is even better. The plaster takes 28 days to fully cure. No salt can be added for at least that time. It's recommended to even wait a season prior to firing up a salt system. No auto cleaners or wheeled vac heads for the same time period or longer if you can. Acid should always be diluted with the pool water and poured in the deeper section uniformly. Straight acid is heavier than water and can go directly to the surface and cause damage. For now, have your water professionally tested. Keep your chlorine at zero if you can. If you really need to add chlorine, add liquid and keep a low residual. pH and Total Alkalinity should be 7.2-7.6 and 100 PPM respectively. Any higher on either can cause scale. Calcium Hardness max 400 PPM. Also, any higher will create scale. Using a scale remover/controller either Jack's Magic products or Easy Care Beautec. The plaster is not fully cured so some of the color variations may disappear over time and become uniform. Your not the only one with this issue. Most of the time it's caused by improper start up procedures and mismanagement of chemistry. Sometimes plaster crews add too much calcium in their mix and it causes discoloration. The French Gray and other colors that are dark or darker, tend to have color variations.