project files
Silhouette window and door shadings by Hunter Douglas
Once neglected, the pool and entertaining area is now a popular hangout for the home's family of six.
W
e first spoke with homeowner [and Charleston Home + Design magazine team member] Paige Stevenson at the Fall 2009 Custom Home + Remodel Show at the Gaillard Auditorium. She said her pool was in rough shape and wanted us to take care of it. From the getgo, I was excited about doing the repair and renovation work on Paige's pool. I love the challenge of renovating existing swimming pools, because pool renovations generally start with a pool looking its worst. It's gratifying getting it back to looking better and functioning properly. The first step at Paige's was a site inspection. It was in the usual condition: liner coming out of its track, water behind the liner, debris in the pool, and the usual assortment of wildlife living in the water. The 48 • Charleston Home + Design • Spring 2010
next step was to de-water the ground prior to draining the water out. This is extremely important; if this isn't done, the bottom of the pool could be damaged. I found the de-watering pipe stubbed up by the filter equipment and hooked our de-watering system to it. The pool was then drained; all debris was removed as well as the old liner. Once the old liner was out, I could examine things that couldn't be done during the site inspection. The general condition of the pool structure was good. The bottom, however, was extremely rough and had left pinholes in the old liner. The solution was to skim coat the entire bottom with the appropriate pool base (a mixture of Portland cement and vermiculite). This will protect the new liner and make it last a lot longer. The plumbing lines were then pressure tested to make sure they were in
good condition (they were) and all gaskets were removed and replaced. Some touch up paint was applied to the aluminum coping to dress it up. Next, the concrete deck around the pool was acid washed and pressure washed to prep it for the application of the Kool Deck texture. Once the texture had dried, the new liner was installed. The liner was snapped in its track and then "Vac-U-Fitted" into place using a liner vacuum. The focus was then turned to the surrounding area of the pool. Paige wanted to add a 12-foot by 20-foot poured concrete seating area to her existing deck, as well as add a pergola to that area. The sod needed to be removed, posts for the pergola were set, and then concrete was poured. Once the concrete had sufficient time to cure, texture was ap-