Community Swimming Pool Resurfacing: What Your Board Needs to Know
Your pool is a source of fun for all of your community’s residents. Yet when it comes time to resurface it, it can quickly become a source of headaches.
Knowing the facts about your pool resurfacing options can help minimize the hassle – and ensure your community enjoys a quality pool experience for years to come. To get the facts on all your options, we turned to the professionals at American Pool Enterprises, the largest swimming pool management company in the United States. This is what we found out.
When you see your pool start to crack, your resurfacing options boil down to two choices: paint and plaster. It’s far from a simple decision – the route you take will depend on your climate, how old your pool is, where your pool is located, how much you want to spend, and what your pool is currently surfaced with.
The best decision is an informed decision. An excellent community association management company will be experienced in this area and can weigh in with some really good insight – and make a recommendation for a reliable pool specialist, too. But before you get to that point, you can start with these pros and cons.
The Pros & Cons of Paint
Pros
- Options. You can go with different paint bases such as acrylic, water, epoxy or rubber.
- Appearance. The finish is usually smooth and seamless.
- Choices. Select from a wide variety of colors.
- Longevity. Choose epoxy-based paint and expect a 10-year lifespan.
Cons
- Durability. Acrylic-based paints don’t last as long as epoxies.
- Limitations. If you choose epoxy-based paints, they’ll require catalysts and hardeners that should be mixed precisely. Epoxy-based paints aren’t even an option unless your surface is unfinished or made up of a similar epoxy.
- Peeling. If contaminants get in the paint (due to wind, for instance), then it will peel later on.
- Time. Your surface must be dry for five days before painting, after which it takes another three days for the new coat to dry.
- Potential pitfalls. Without a perfect application process, or if the alkalinity of your water is off, then you can expect blistering, peeling or chalking.
The Pros & Cons of Plaster
Pros
• Appearance. The surface is very attractive with options such as colored aggregate, exposed aggregate and polished.
• Ease. Simpler prep time because the surface need not be dry.
• Durability. Plaster lasts longer than paint.
• Flexibility. Pebbles, quartz and glass beads can be added for a stylish look (these additions also extend the lifespan to 10-12 years).
Cons
• Routine maintenance. Since plaster is semi-permeable, water will slowly sleep through. This requires maintenance every 7–10 years.
• Difficulty. The application process takes several steps, including water-blasting and putting on a special bonding coat.
• Potential unsightliness. If your water chemistry isn’t exact, the plaster will develop a mottled or whitened look.
So what’s your best decision? Put simply, an informed one. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, so it pays to talk to a community manager who can put you in touch with a trustworthy pool professional. That way you can be assured your investment will take into account factors such as location, water quality, the current pool surface and, of course, your budget.
There’s a lot that goes into managing a community pool. To learn more about the benefits of working with a property management team, contact FirstService Residential.