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Hydro Demo Replaster

This pool has been replastered 2 times with our Hydro Demo Replaster process in less than 3 years. When you own the company you can change your mind once or twice. Especially when you own the best prep process on the market.

The latest finish in the pool is Arctic Coast, from Universal Cement, and it is a keeper. It was drained in January during freezing temps to polish the surface after 3 seasons of use. Doing this gives it the look of a brand new finish with Arctic Coast.
The telling part of this story is the polishing of this surface with the pool empty during freezing temps for 2 days. The gentlemen in the picture are well traveled experts in plaster finishes from Universal Cement. They came to Carrollton, TX to help me with this process. Kelly, with Universal Cement, told me not a single inch of my plaster was hollow. In reality I knew that, but I love to hear that from someone with whom I hold so much respect for. 

This would be a major gamble to try with any other replaster prep process(bond coat or chip out).  Considering the pool had been replastered 2 times and  was drained and left empty during freezing overnight temperatures. 

We guarantee our prep process to not be hollow. Our Hydro Demo Replaster process is unmatched in the pool industry. G&B is now going to start offering our Hydro Demo Replaster process for hire to other contractors for their prep jobs.

 

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Homebrew Bond Coat

Are you planning to invest in a pool replaster?  If so, the best decision would be to choose a plaster finish that will last longer than the current plaster has lasted in your pool. Choosing white plaster is not a good investment for a pool replaster. White plaster will not last more than 5 years. By that we mean when it is 5 years old, it will look double its age and be nearly worn out in visual appearance.  The companies that offer white plaster in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area will be the same companies guaranteed to be using a homebrew bond coat to improperly secure your investment to the substrate.

The most important part of a pool replaster is the surface preparation. How will the new plaster be bonded to the substrate? Most companies think this is the least important part of a replaster. Most, if not all of them, use homebrew bond coats.  The primary component of homebrew bond coats is glue.  Cheap glue. Companies use homebrew bond coats to be able to save the most money possible on their replaster jobs. They use the cheapest glue they can get. They use glue that is not designed to be submerged in water.

Pool plaster is not waterproof. It is water tight. Pool plaster is semi-permeable, water will get to the back of the plaster. Once water gets through the plaster, it goes to work on the worthless homebrew bond coat. If by chance the plaster was bonded to the homebrew bond coat, the water will re-emulsify it. That means your plaster is no longer secured to the pool shell.  A hollow spot will develop. Water will continue to separate the plaster bond and discolor the new pool replaster investment. Overtime unexplained water loss, stains, and black algae will develop.

Homebrew bond coats must be removed from our industry. They simply do not work. The companies that use them do so to save money for themselves, not for the pool owner. If you get a quote for pool replaster, demand that they give you a 5 year warranty. Otherwise what is the point of spending your money with them?

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Gunite Company

The last straw has officially broke! On a major structural repair to a pool, a local gunite company thought it made sense to finish the gunite with a slick steel trowel finish. Plaster will lose its bond to smooth substrates in short order.  This speaks to the lack of knowledge that exists on with this particular crew in this local gunite company which employs several gunite crews. The issue with the gunite was reported immediately. It has been 2 weeks and they have yet to come and look at the pool and correct the issue to the pool. This speaks to their apathetic approach of taking responsibility for poor quality workmanship. They will never be involved in another G&B project. In fact there are several local gunite companies that are not welcome on my projects due to the lack of knowledge and constant bad short cuts they try to take. We will have to Hydro Demo the pool again to correct the blunder made by this gunite company.

As the only plaster applicator in DFW that guarantees the adhesion of the plaster to the substrate, G&B demands newly placed substrates to be finished in accordance with standard quality practices. I cannot get that from the gunite companies G&B has used.  The only way G&B can get quality work over the last 10 years is when we’ve stood on the beam of the pool the entire time the gunite company is working on the pool and managing their process.  We have to stay there until the gunite crew is finished and packed up.

With that in mind, G&B is starting our own Shotcrete operation. We will do our own projects and stop offering them out to any other gunite companies. By doing the Shotcrete in-house, G&B can guarantee the quality the same way we do in our 5 Year Replaster Warranty. G&B will master the Shotcrete process and begin offering our services to other quality conscious contractors in 2015. G&B is a member of the American Shotcrete Association (ASA).

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Pool Cracks

As I have previously mentioned, there are many reasons why a pool cracks and what may have caused the cracks to develop. One of the major reasons points to the original construction of the pool. If the soil where the pool was built was not sufficient to support the weight of the pool, the pool will move and crack.  Soil in North Texas is known to move.  If it is too wet it swells. If it is too dry, it shrinks.  If you are a homeowner, undoubtedly have been told to put soaker hoses around your foundation. Do you know why you were told that?  If you also have a pool, why has no one told you to do that around the pool as well?  Soaker hoses around your home foundation are meant to keep the soil around the foundation moisture consistent. The problem arises when the soil dries out and compacts or shrinks away from the foundation. When this happens there is nothing supporting the concrete. The foundation then shifts or moves and cracks. Why do you think there are so many foundation companies in North Texas?  The same problem exists in swimming pools. Which is compounded if a leak develops from the pool cracks.

How do you repair pool cracks? To do so with success you must understand the cracks are a symptom of a larger problem. If you do not address the problem, the cracks will return. There two options for pool stabilization that G&B has utilized with success. We have placed piers in pools to stabilize the shell against future movement. We have also stabilized the soil under the pool to prevent future movement. There becomes a point in crack repair that the soil must be addressed if you expect the pool to become one you can enjoy rather that put up with.

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Crack Repair

Pool Patch Manufactures

 

 

Pools crack for several reasons… but how do you repair them? To understand who you should hire to perform crack repair in your pool you must understand these simple issues.  First of all, there is no such thing as “just a plaster crack”. All pool cracks are structure cracks. Second all pool cracks leak. It may not be a fast leak, like a tub drain, but it definitely is a leak. It should be dealt with sooner rather than later. The pool gunite or substrate is not watertight. If the plaster has a crack, it means the pool has a leak.  Once the plaster is cracked the pools’ ability to be watertight is compromised. There is an exception, homebrew bond coats allow the pool water to separate the outer plaster from the under plaster layer. When that happens a debonded hollow spot in the outer plaster layer can crack due to pressure from the water between the plaster layers. These cracks generally look like spider webs or crow foot pattern cracks. Homebrew bond coats do not work.

 Pool crack repair cannot be done with much success without understanding these issues. Most repair techs offer epoxy as the repair option, these same companies also use homebrew bond coats.  To understand how to successfully repair pool cracks you must realize that the crack is always a symptom of a larger problem. If you simply repair the crack with just epoxy you most likely will not be addressing the issue that caused the crack at all. There is a very good chance that epoxy alone will not repair a crack at all. Pool water has Total Dissolved Solids. A crack that is leaking will have that same TDS inside the crack. The epoxy works well, only if it bonds to clean concrete. The likelihood that a pool crack in 5 year old pool will not be contaminated is slim and none. It definitely won’t be clean concrete. That is why most techs include a coat of polyurethane over the crack repair in case the epoxy fails. This is also why crack repair with epoxy should not be done without also incorporating quality staples.  G&B uses our own propriety pool staples for crack repair.  They are the only staples on the market that properly address the goal of including staples in crack repair.

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Introduction to Repair of Pool Cracks

 

 

Pool cracks develop for several reasons, such as:

  • Inadequate bearing of the soils or soil related issues. Pools are built all of the time without anyone even considering the soil in which the pool is built on.  Consider the weight of a diving pool.  A diving pool can hold +/- 30,000 gallons of water, with the water alone weighing +/- 240,000 lbs.  When you consider all of the construction material and the water, a diving pool can weigh in excess of 450,000 lbs.  The reactive soils in North TX assure most pools will be built on soil that is not suitable for the pools weight unless the soil is properly prepared or construction efforts are in place to deal with the soil issues.
  • Inadequate tensile strength, and/or lack of, or improper placement of reinforcing steel. The rebar installed in older pools varies on its placement. I have seen rebar installed in larger than 10”x10” on center grid patterns which is bad. 8”x8” on center grid pattern is standard in today’s pools.
  • Inadequate compressive values of the gunite. Gunite application can be great and perfect for pool construction, as long as all rebound and trimmings are thrown out of the pool during construction. The reality of that is that the total cost would increase if that were done. So most companies do not throw any of that dead material out. It winds up in the pool floor, steps, and benches of the pool and spa. There is no compressive strength to rebound and trimmings. The areas of the pool that have rebound in them have no compressive strength and the pool structure is weak in that same area.

Add water loss or improper drainage to the equation and the above issues are compounded. Pool cracks consistently develop under skimmers and it is always due to a leak in the grout where the tile meets the actual skimmer. If you are losing water in your pool, it must be considered a major problem. You must be in control of the water in your pool. When you have a leak, it will soon be in control of you.

G&B does not use the same repair methods that every other company offers. We understand and respect the power of water.

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Chlorine tablets create high CYA

 

 Chlorine tables increase CYA 

The use of chlorine tablets are a problem for swimming pools. They work well as a sanitizing system if your pool water is perfectly balanced. However the use of those tablets ensures your pool will soon be out of balance. This is due to the CYA and other chemicals that are built into the tablets along with the chlorine. 

If your pool water is out of balance, the chlorine tablet is not as effective. You think using more and more chlorine will solve the constant algae issue your pool has, but is doesn’t get any better. You will eventually figure out that the CYA is too high which limits the chlorine effectiveness.  You are forced to drain your pool and dilute the CYA that accumulates by adding fresh water. It is necessary to do this to protect your plaster, but it is not an environmentally friendly action.

Commercial swimming pools are required by the health department to keep the CYA in the pool below 100 ppm. If it gets over that level the health department will force the closure of the swimming pool until that is corrected and re-inspected. The only solution for high CYA levels is to drain the pool and replace the water with fresh water. This has been the norm for several years, but environmentally it is not a good idea to continue this practice.

 Every time a chlorine tablet dissolves CYA is added to your pool water.  Several other chemicals that allow the chlorine to have a longer shell life are built into that tablet and are also added to your pool water. The lack of those chemicals in your pool water when you use a salt system are actually the reason the pool water in those pools feel much better than pools on chlorine tablets. It is not because of the salt in the water

CYA, commonly sold as a stabilizer or conditioner will damage your pool plaster investment if left unchecked. Pools with colored finishes cannot maintain their intended color in high CYA level pool waters. Every time a chlorine tablet dissolves and every time the pool is shocked with granular chlorine the CYA value will increase.  Your plaster investment must be protected against high CYA values.

Chlorine tablets cause cya damage to groutChlorine tablet cause cya damage

Stay tuned for a solution to wasting water and high CYA values in your pool.  G&B will be releasing this must have information on Wednesday the 12th. 

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Pebble finishes perform the best!

 pebble acid test

 Pebble finishes are armed to stand up to water chemistry imbalances as well as or better than any finish in the pool industry. It is especially better than standard plaster or 50% quartz finishes.  If that pebble is combined with a high performance patented cement it will be the best. In an acid test where the pebble is submerged in acid, the pebble is completely unaffected. There is no reaction. The acid test is meant to simulate aggressive water in your pool. From that test you can see that a pebble finish is going to perform very well in a pool environment.

Pools with pebble derive their great looks from the differently colored combinations of rounded rock colors and pigments. Abalone and quartz accents can be added to give the finish and even more dramatic look. These finishes are generally the best looking finishes.

Tigers Eye Sandstone Pebble

Pebble finishes do not have surface deterioration issues that standard plaster pools do. They are very durable finishes. When we pass over a pebble finish with our 40,000 psi hydro demo process we do not see the same amount of material wilting under the test we put on it compared to all other finishes.

G&B offers several different types of pebble finishes. We feature what we believe is the best pebble finish on the market. The Micro Fusion combines micro pebbles with a high performance cement for a finish that is among the most durable available. It is the smoothest pebble finish on the market. It has the durability of a pebble without the texture concern some have with pebble finishes.

G&B offers finishes that deserve to be put in our customer’s pools that haven chose us because of our hydro demo prep process. We will only install good quality finishes so that they have nothing but enjoyment with their pool.

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100% Quartz Finish Good Investment

100% quartz, Sparkle Quartz,

100% Quartz Finishes Are Good Investments. Quartz aggregate finishes are armed to stand up to water chemistry imbalances far better than standard plaster or 50% quartz finishes. Especially if the aggregate is 100% quartz. In an acid test where the quartz is submerged in acid, the quartz is completely unaffected. There is no reaction. The acid test is meant to simulate aggressive water in your pool. From that test you can see that a 100% quartz finish is going to perform very well in a pool environment.

100% Quartz, Sparkle Quartz,

G&B has proven the best finishes in the pool industry are either a 100% quartz aggregate or a pebble finish. We have proven that with the use of our 40,000 PSI Water Jetting machine. This is not your typical scientific test. Over the last 5 years we have replastered over 1500 pools with our Hydro Demo Replaster process. We pass over every square inch of the pool surface with up to 40,000 psi. The pool finishes that wilted/gave up the most under our 40,000 PSI test were standard plaster and finishes that did not have 100% Quartz or pebble as the aggregate. Pools that had more than 50% quartz or pebble did much better in our 40,000 psi test.

G&B chooses to offer the best bang for your buck finish on the market for our 100% quartz finish option. Sparkle Quartz is our quartz aggregate finish of choice. We are able to pump and trowel the Sparkle Quartz without adding any additives. That is not the case with the other options on the market for quartz aggregates. A finish that can be pumped through a hose, regardless of the hose length, and troweled without adding additives will outperform those that cannot.

We have been offering Sparkle Quartz since 2008 and have had nothing but satisfied customers who have chosen it. In addition to having 100% quartz it also features a high performance patented cement.  G&B prefers to install the best finishes on top of our hydro demo replaster prep for our customers and Sparkle Quartz meets that requirement easily.

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What Are Pozzolans?

 

 Pozzolans make plaster better

What Are Pozzolans?

Pozzolans are siliceous or siliceous and aluminous materials found in geologic deposits and are an effective method used to improve the quality of cement.

Pozzolans additions to the cement in plaster finishes were tested at the National Pool Industry Research Center (NPIRC). The testing was done to see if the addition of pozzolans improved the performance of the finish, if at all.   Pozzolans were also evaluated to determine if they improved the performance of standard plaster.

The Pozzolan additions to plaster were shown to reduce surface deterioration by up to 30% when compared to standard plaster without pozzalons.  This is very important information as the cement in a plaster mix is generally the weakest link as measured by the Mohs Scale of hardness.

Cement manufactures were charged with making their manufacturing process of cement “greener” to the environment. This created a challenge in the pool plaster industry. Manufactures were allowed to use “filler” material in the production of cement to achieve this goal. This does not have much effect on the cement used for sidewalks and driveways, but pool plaster is all together a different animal.  Pool plaster has to stand up to the most powerful element in the world, water. Chemically treated water to boot.

Adding pozzolans to these “greener” cements many not give you the results those tests proved at Cal Poly, but your plaster investment will benefit from using them.

Most plaster companies utilize the least expensive cement to reduce their expenses. They do not utilize the valuable information the NPIRC produced during the extensive testing done at Cal Poly. The testing done at Cal Poly is invaluable to a plaster company that intends to improve their services they provide to their customer base.

G&B uses the best cement on the market for pool plaster. It is a high performance patented pozzolans enhanced cement. Our standard finish is not standard at all. We offer the Finest Finish Series as our standard plaster.