With summer swimming season just around the corner, the Weekend Warrior in you may be eyeing your aging swimming pool and contemplating a do-it-yourself pool renovation. Before the wheels start turning too fast, consider whether a DIY pool renovation is a project too big to tackle.
Pool Renovation Is More Work Than You Think
Think a pool renovation is a few simple steps? Think again. Here’s just a glimpse at what’s involved:
- Removing old tile and coping
- Removing old plaster
- Removing old tile nosing around the edges
- Acid-washing the old plaster surface to remove algae and stains
- Researching, ordering and hauling project materials to your home
- Constructing scaffolds to hold concrete and marble slabs installed on vertical walls
- Cutting and setting concrete and marble slabs
- Grouting the gaps between slabs and tiles
- Installing scaffolds to hold new tile in place while it sets
- Mixing, transporting, troweling, finishing, and polishing pool plaster
- Measuring, cutting, setting and beveling tiles
- And on, and on, and on…
That’s just the beginning. There are dozens of other tasks involved in a pool renovation – too many to list here. Kinda makes a DIY pool renovation sound like a ton of work, doesn’t it?
Do You Have Pool Renovation Tools?
Unless you’re moonlighting as a pool contractor, you probably don’t have the tools you’ll need for a pool renovation. A typical renovation might require a concrete mixer, diamond tile saw, industrial-strength air compressor, pool trowels, pneumatic chisel, pneumatic angle grinder, diamond polishing disks and more.
Sure, you could rent some of these tools at Home Depot or Lowe’s, but that’ll get costly quick. Plus, you’ll be hauling heavy equipment back and forth – that takes time, gas, and a big truck. And you may not even find all the pool renovation equipment you’ll need.
Are You Prepared for a DIY Pool Renovation Mistake?
Even a “professional” pool contractor can make mistakes when renovating a pool. Inexperienced, sloppy, or low-cost pool contractors can botch a pool renovation by cutting corners, adhering to poor quality standards, or just plain screwing up.
So imagine the perils that await a newbie DIYer. You could apply the plaster too thin, measure pool tile incorrectly, or fail to let grout set. You could buy the wrong size pool liner, incorrectly wire the electrical hook-up, or fail to create proper drainage. The risk of potential DIY pool renovation disasters is endless.
Save Time, Save Money, Save the Hassle…Hire a Professional
If you’re trying to save a few thousand dollars by doing a pool renovation yourself, you’ll probably cost yourself more money in the long run. It’s that simple.
Don’t put your pool – and your budget – at risk; hire a professional pool contractor. Hohne Pools is a Maryland pool renovation company and provides free estimates — call us before you embark on a project too big to handle!
