The Repair and Update of our Pool- January 2020.

This has been a labour of love, but well worth the cost and the work required.

The pool was one of the only items not renovated and updated when we reconstructed the house some 4-5 years ago. There were several reasons, not the least cost of major change, but also we had been advised that there had been significant repairs completed in 2014.

We assumed those repairs, what ever they related to would have a relevant time-frame.

That proved to be an incorrect assumption, We found the loss of water to be a significant cost and issue during the summer of 2018-2019 and took the view that despite assurances from several people, we were losing significant water at the rate of 1 1/2 inches of water over a week. This means that we were topping the pool up with water of that amount of 1 1/2 or 2 inches of water each week, which was also impacting the water bill and the increasing cost of water.

But that also led to us analysing the effectiveness of the filtration system. It resulted in us needing to replace the filter system. We did that and used a company named “Flowtech” to analyse and find the leak source and recommend repair options. After several visits Flowtech advised that there was a large crack in the filter box that had been repaired but under pressure it opened slightly. From their use of the Camera through the filter box and skimmer box, they clearly identified this as a problem, but they also found a large crack in a pipe within the concrete base.

These each required different work and replacement. They provided us with 3 companies who they would recommend to replace the skimmer box, replace and repair the piping behind the skimmer by excavating the reinforced concrete surrounds and then redoing the concrete and then re-joining new piping. They also recommended a different size piping. All expensive but if we don’t we can expect even greater costs associated with deeper piping issues.

Apple Pools our Chosen Contractors - Repair of the Skimmer Box and Pipes.

We had been through an exhaustive process with several firms and pool renovation companies, but the sandstone removal and replacement was an issue for all except Apple Pools of Camberwell / Canterbury. We discussed our experience with Flow-tech .and our local Pool company. Eventually, we committed to Apple Pools with likely work schedule of May/ June 2019. However, the early winter weather was unusually very wet in Melbourne and our smaller job, kept getting delayed. We returned from overseas holiday in late October, expecting a commencement and completion of the work within a week. It didn’t happen.

Suffice to say we were in the dark.

Just before Christmas we had them out, a deep discussion occurred and then I received a call from Paul advising that he would commence the work just before Christmas 2019 and finish the work on return to work in early January 2020. We were disappointed as we would have the pool out of action over the Christmas period, but we had no choice, wanted it started and finished.

He arrived in late December, managed to lift all of the Sandstone tiles, without damage. Spent a whole day jack-hammering and working around the old skimmer box, eventually got the old out and then trimmed the concrete to allow for the new skimmer box.. Not surprisingly, he found further issues with pipes cracked and worn , replaced these and meticulously repaired the concrete and the Sandstone surrounds. A very good result.

Resurfacing of the Pool and Re-tiling of the top and redoing the Sandstone Capping.

The next task was to re-surface the whole pool area. Unbeknown to us the pool had been painted some years ago with a lead paint and some of that was flaking. No choice but to resurface the whole pool.

So in early January 2020, we started by emptying the pool, even mindful that fibreglass pools can “pop out.” They jocked with me that should that occur it is my problem.

Fortunately, nothing untoward occurred, the pool was emptied, they put one bracket across the pool, Then a painstaking task of using various tools and grinders to grind the existing surface totally clean and then polishing it with another sander and grinder.

followed by the application of a new surface using an American technique and product, applying 2 coats of a resin type material then the last coat was a coloured dark blue speck material which was then heated and cured into the previous resin. This was done with a tool like a blow torch.

Then after allowing it to set for about 90 minutes they again reheated the surface to ensure all of the blue specks were bonded and the surface smooth. Following this was an additional layer of the blue specks on the stairs to ensure they had some grip.

It looked terrific.

Then to fill the pool with 40,000 gallons of water, then balance and reset all of the equipment.

It has been a tiring 4 days of work to resurface the pool at considerable expense.

The end Result - A beautiful updated pool- working perfectly.

We have been back swimming in the reworked pool since early January and as I write this in April 2020, we can say we are delighted with the results the service from Apple Pools and a terrific outcome. There has been little or any loss of water and it demonstrates how much water we were losing through the leak, in addition to normal evaporation. We like the new darker blue colour, we updated the pool light.

A side benefit is that our Dolphin Robot pool cleaner, which had previously never worked well , is now working effectively.

Whilst a difficult and expensive maintenance and repair, it now meas that everything in the home has been replaced and updated. all works well.

The following photos and gallery depict the work undertaken from commencement to the final photos reflecting the result anf then lastly us applying the pool blanket for the cooler months.

These photos reflect the excellent work of Apple Pools to replace the skimmer box and then reseal and update the pool.

It is a difficult and painstaking task involving hours and hours of manual work. We were delighted with the work and quality of the refurbished pool and the colour and finish.