Most pool problems are repairs, not resurfacing jobs, and the difference is thousands of dollars. We will tell you which one you have.
A contractor who quotes a full resurface for a worn spot at the steps is selling you the bigger job. If what you actually need is a pool resurfacing, we will say so and show you why. If you need a repair, that is what you get quoted.
What we repair
Cracks in the shell
Not every crack is a problem. Fine surface crazing is cosmetic and normal in plaster: it is the finish shrinking as it cured, it does not move and it does not leak. A structural crack is a different object. It runs through the shell rather than across the surface, it changes over time, and it loses water.
So the first question is never how to fill it, it is which kind you have. A crack that is losing water gets diagnosed before anyone quotes you a finish. Resurfacing over a moving crack buys you a beautiful pool that leaks, and the crack comes back through the new material.
Plaster chips and patches
Chips at the steps, the light niche and the main drain are the usual ones, and they are genuinely repairs rather than a reason to redo the pool.
What we will not tell you is that the patch will be invisible. Plaster patches almost never colour match, and anyone promising otherwise on a fifteen year old pool is overselling. New material next to fifteen years of weathered plaster reads as new material. So the decision is about where the damage is: an out of the way chip is worth patching, and a visible wall at the shallow end is a case for pool replastering instead.
Repair or resurface
Here is the rule we use, and it is the same one we would use on our own pool. Count the problem areas. One or two in one place is a repair. Several across the pool, with a surface that feels rough everywhere, is a finish at the end of its life, and repairs on it are money spent twice.
If that is where you have landed, the work is a pool resurfacing, or a pool replastering if you are staying with the same material. Either way you get told which one before you get a number.
Where we work
Los Angeles and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley and east San Fernando Valley: Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Arcadia and La Cañada. If you are nearby and not on that list, call and ask.
Tell us what the pool is doing
Send photos of the problem area and the waterline and we will tell you whether it is a repair or a resurface, before anyone comes out. Request a quote or call (714) 584-7424.
Tell us about your pool
Photos of the surface and the waterline are enough to start. We will tell you what you are looking at before anyone comes out.