In March we began work on the pool resurfacing/remodel project. We knew when we purchased the house that the plaster would soon need work, so late last summer I started getting quotes and interviewing potential contractors for the job. It came down to our regular pool equipment service company (which is awesome) or Adams Pools. Since the likelihood of such a large project going horribly wrong is very high here, I ended up selecting Adams, as pool builds and remodels are all they do.
The contracts were signed last December and work scheduled to begin in March. The start date was delayed due to all the rain, but at the end of March we drained the pool. We drained into the vegetation along the west side, and by doing a slow drain and moving the hose methodically over the course of a weekend, we got most of the water out.
Below is a shot of the pool steps while we were draining. You really get a sense of how bad the plaster was getting.
Then on the last Monday of March, a crew arrived and began stripping the plaster and removing the coping around the edge. It took three days, and each day they left with a trailer full of rubble.
More progress shots:
Since I was starting a smaller project involving our not-so-safe safety ladders ascending to the tall, flat roofs during this time, I took a couple of shots from said roofs to show the scope of things.
By midday Wednesday, the crew was done and they headed off to their next job. We learned then that, for every stage of the project, a new crew would do the work–while one crew did the stripping work, other crews came out to do the drain, coping, tile, mastic, etc. But more about that in the next post.