Should we wait? Advice on painting/draining

15 years ago

We just finished putting new solar panels on our 26,000 gallon pool. Our pool turned green over the winter (first time since we have owned the house) and so far no chemicals seem to be touching it. We have our pool expert coming out to look at things today. He said our water may have immunities (this happens after so many years of chemicals?)and it may be time to drain and start over.

We plan on resurfacing/tiling the pool in about three years, but can not afford to do it right now (frankly, I have some other priorties before that happens). However, since it will be drained I am assuming we will do any patching that needs to be done, scrub it out really well (can you use a power washer on a pool?) etc. My thoughts are this would be a good weekend project. Now, I got to thinking maybe while we are at it we could paint the inside of the pool. How long would that take? What would an approximate cost be and would it be worth doing knowing in three years we will resurface? Time line, etc.

I thank you in advance...I like to ask here because I get lots of perspective and sometimes pool people in our area are hard up for work so they get pushy.

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Comments (5)

koroush
15 years ago
I have the same question... can someone offer some advice on how to repair damaged quartz plaster and painting.
thanks.
tresw
15 years ago
Quote: "He said our water may have immunities (this happens after so many years of chemicals?)and it may be time to drain and start over. "

Water doesn't develop "immunities", but if your CYA (stabilizer) level gets too high then chlorine becomes much less effective. CYA should not be over 100, if it is you'll need to do a partial drain and refill. How much you need to drain is dependent on how high your CYA is. If you've been using trichlor pucks for chlorination it is very likely your CYA level is through the roof. But if your CYA is normal then you don't need to drain, you just need to shock the crud out of your pool. Once you have an algae bloom going it'll eat up the free chlorine almost as soon as you add it, so you have to keep adding more and more until it quits using it up. For more info on proper shocking check out the TroubleFreePool forums linked below, they have helped many people clear up some really nasty green pools. Get a full set of tests done (free chlorine, combined chloramine, total alkalinity, CYA, PH at a minimum) and post the results over there for direction on what to do.

Don't paint your pool, it'll just cost you more when you get it resurfaced because they'll have to strip ALL the paint before they can prep the old plaster to receive the new plaster.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.troublefreepool.com/
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tommyw
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I totally disagree on the notion that pool painting cost more in the long run. You can 1) powerwash the old plaster 2) acidwash the plaster surface 3) make any necessary plaster repairs 4)smooth any rough areas (diamond pad) 5) paint the pool following the directions. It should last 3+ years. If you eventually replaster, you can rent (or borrow) a sandblaster and remove the old paint in no time at all. Many I know repaint every 3-4 years since locally here it is only 20% the cost of a replaster job.
cooked
15 years ago
If your CYA is really high, it's probably due to using granular tri-chlor from Wal-Mart or someplace like that. Good quality sticks or pucks will not mess with the balance.

If you want to waste vast quantities of water, time, and $ painting every three years, then that's the way to go. Let's not forget the pretty muriatic acid clouds during the prep phase. Or the chalking to which even the best epoxy paints are prone.

A decent plaster job lasts 20+ years with properly maintained water chemistry.

That's easy math. Painting is an expensive short-term patch.
homersgarden
Original Author
15 years ago
We went ahead and drained the pool. Since we purchased the home three years ago we aren't sure of the last time it was done. We have taken our water in to have it tested at a pool store (since we are newbies to this) and have used their chemicals (no cheapy chemicals for sure). Anyway, we had a few people give us estimates and an idea of when we have to resurface and we should have another three years (which is what I wanted to hear). We cleaned it, scrubbed, etc. and refilled it. It looks fantastic and we are happy with the results. We plan to resurface in three years and do a pool "remodel" at that time.

Should we wait? Advice on painting/draining

Comments (5)

koroush

tresw

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Should we wait? Advice on painting/draining

Comments (5)

koroush

tresw

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tommyw

cooked

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