Resurfacing your swimming pool is necessary from time to time. There are several swimming pool surfaces one can choose from:
Pool Surface Options:
- Tiling
- Fibreglass Lining
- Marble Plaster
- Bead Crete
These are the more popular finishes for swimming pools.
There have been other options come and go, such as paint, epoxy paint, vinyl lining. (Vinyl lining is making a comeback around the world, but it hasn’t yet taken off in South Africa as it did 25 years ago.)
Painting a pool, although it is the cheapest option, is certainly not the best in terms of longevity. Numerous paint and epoxy paint products have been around, but are not usually sold by swimming pool professionals.
They can be bought from most hardware stores. The difficulty, we have found with painting a pool surface, is that it blisters and peels after a while. You cannot paint over an existing layer of paint. Nor can you plaster over paint or fibreglass over it. So you pretty much have to grind every square inch of paint off the surface of the pool before resurfacing your swimming pool.
The most popular pool surfaces in South Africa are Marble Plaster and Fibreglass Lining. Tiling a pool surface is also a favourite, but the costs of tiling a pool make it prohibitive to the average pool owner. With fibreglass lining being a good 25% to 50% more expensive option than marble, it is a lower maintenance surface, making black algae impossible to get its claws into.
It can also withstand a harsher, acidic water balance and damage to the fibreglass is minimal. This makes it a preferred option for homeowners who rent their property to tenants. Tenants, as a generalisation, don’t usually care much for keeping the pool water balanced.
Marble plaster pool finishes are usually preferred by those who:
- Don’t like synthetic finishes
- Enjoy a more cementitious and authentic feel
- Who have been burnt by a cheap fibreglassing contractor, to find that the contractor no longer answers his phone when the fibreglass starts to peel off the wall.
Marble plaster requires a good water balance for it to last. Maintaining good swimming pool water balance is important in any event. Not only to protect the surface of the pool but also to make the water comfortable for swimmers. Also geting the most efficiency from the pool chemicals and get longevity out of other pool equipment.
Reputable swimming pool companies.
Remember; always use a reputable swimming pool contractor when resurfacing your swimming pool. Ensure they are members of the National Spa and Pool Institute of South Africa and the South African Pool and Spa Association. A list of members can be obtained from www.nspi.co.za.
If you neglect to do this, the products used may not be to the correct specification, and you may not have any recourse should the product or workmanship fail before the warranty period is up.
