DIY

Pool/ Spa Renovation

Our twenty year old pool needed a face lift and we were tight on time- so with some new tiles, plaster patching and epoxy pool paint – voile!

An old pool is a lot of work, especially with aging plaster which makes an easy home for algae.  So when my daughter was graduating high school and we were expecting a lot of guests at the house, we decided to tackle a portion of our pool remodel.  Our spa was the worst area of the pool because the tiles were actually falling off the front where the water flowed from spa to pool.  We did our research and decided to remove/replace the tiles, patch the plaster, and refinish the surface with pool resurfacing epoxy.  This is actually part one (spa only) of a two step process because we are waiting to do the main pool during the winter months when we aren’t using the pool.  This meant choosing tiles that would not completely clash with the existing peach tiles in the pool area.

Here’s the before pic:

Using medium small size chisels and hammers, we removed the tiles on the front of the spa and inside the spa.  

 

We tried to keep the mess to a minimum and out of the actual pool because we were not draining it.  It worked OK, but we did end up replacing our pool cleaner bag because a few dropped tiles went through it.   That it was far cheaper to do that than emptying and refilling the entire pool.

 

Once we had removed all of the tiles, we had to prepare the surface for new tiles and clean up the areas that would be patched with the new plaster.  An electric grinder worked well for this and made the cracks and edges much easier to clean up. 

 

It’s important to have your surfaces very smooth and grind off any remaining mortar from the original installation.  Even a small uneven surface will affect how the new tiles lay, so don’t rush this step!

 

 

My husband and I have done many tile projects, but this one in particuliar was very very important to get level and centered for the front of the spa.  It’s the focal point of the pool/spa and really the entire yard.  So, use a level and mark a line for the tiles (use color chalk).  Also, make sure to use tile spacers and a level to ensure the tiles are positioned correctly.  We chose a tile edge in darker blue to complete the look.  This added a little cost to the project but I think it is well worth it.  After grouting, it really ties the two tiles together.  If you are using glass tiles like ours, you must be careful not to scratch them with metal tools.  We will also be using a plastic brush to clean, not a metal one.

 

 

After the tiling was complete, I patched any rough areas that had worn off over time on the inside surface of the hot tub.  I waited until dry and then sanded until the surface was smooth.  The top coat acts as a sealing agent for the new surface.  The last step was to apply an epoxy pool paint over the patched and sanded surface of the hot tub.  The product we chose was Woolsey Premium Epoxy Pool Paint and we purchased it from Amazon.

 

 

 

Here is the finished spa and we love it!  Combined with my blue toned porcelain pots filled with tropical plants and flowers, it really is a lovely place to relax!

Overall we spent around $500 on supplies, and will spend another $1000 when we go to do the rest of the pool but we are very happy with our DIY version.  After some research, the cost to hire a professional to do a similiar renovation would have been well over $20,000 +.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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