Quartz Pool Finishes in League City, TX

Quartz against marble plaster

Unlike the marble in standard plaster, quartz aggregate is completely insoluble even in highly corrosive acid, SGM says, and polymer-modifying the cement adds hardness, improves bonding and cuts water penetration. SGM brought out Diamond Brite in the early 1990s, after a late-1980s run of spot etching and other plaster failures it describes as epidemic nationwide. The National Plasterers Council's caution is that aggregate finishes are pricier than standard plaster and aren't immune to surface problems when water chemistry goes to extremes.

Quartz product lines

SGM blends quartz aggregate, its insoluble coated Diamond Quartz and polymer-modified cement in Diamond Brite, made in Pompano Beach and Plant City, Florida, and in Dallas, and checks every batch of about 60 to 80 bags before it ships. NPT says natural quartz is ten times harder than marble, which suits its QuartzScapes to commercial and residential pools, in 18 colors, and sells ColorScapes, a blend of colored quartz, white marble, white cement and its Lobo modifier, as the more affordable choice. Wet Edge Technologies calls its Luna Quartz an entry-level finish that may show trowel marks and color shading, and Pebble Technology International makes a silica-based PebbleQuartz.

Between plaster and pebble

In the Council's surface ratings quartz sits between white plaster at 5 to 8 years and pebble pool finishes at 12 to 18. SGM, comparing its own quartz with a pebble finish, says pebble's texture hides minor staining better, while smoother, lighter quartz shows mineral staining and mottling sooner. The guide pool finishes compared sets plaster, quartz, pebble and glass tile side by side, and League City Pool Resurfacing gives free estimates on each.

Preparing the old surface

Over an existing finish, SGM's warranty terms require its Bond Kote bonding system and won't cover its finishes over any other bonding material; where the old finish is sandblasted or chipped off first, Bond Kote may not be needed. The same choice between a bond coat and a chip-out comes up in pool replastering, and League City Pool Resurfacing will talk through which route your pool needs.

Mixing and troweling

SGM's coverage figure is about 22 to 25 square feet per 80 lb. bag of Diamond Brite at a 3/8-inch minimum, and it tells installers to order 5 to 10 percent more bags, because areas plastered later from another delivery can't be matched. It is mixed for at least 5 and no more than 10 minutes: too short a mix sets unevenly and varies in shade, too long a mix weakens the plaster. SGM favors slick troweling, which brings the cement paste up and takes it off, and has the spike holes from the finishers' shoes filled with aggregate so they don't show.

Exposing the quartz

SGM's manual calls for one worker for every 300 square feet and gives an exposure window of about an hour. When standard Diamond Brite has lost its sheen, finishers wearing white cotton socks or foam shoes wash the paste away with soft brushes and water; the Diamond Brite Quartz Series is exposed by acid washing instead. CL Industries applies its Krystalkrete above 40°F and, once it has hardened, usually after several hours, takes the cement film off with a dilute muriatic acid solution and scrubbing, laying sodium bicarbonate around the bowl to keep that area from over-exposing.

Working in Gulf Coast heat

SGM's temperature window runs from above 50°F to below 100°F, for materials and work areas alike, starting 24 hours ahead of placement and lasting until 72 hours afterward. Set time shifts with temperature and humidity, its manual adds, so the plaster is watched constantly while it sets and the walls are troweled from the shady side toward the sunny side. League City's NOAA station logs 75.8 days a year at 90°F or more on average, though only 1.0 at 100°F or more.

• 10–15 year surface (NPC)
• 22–25 sq ft per 80 lb bag at 3/8 in. (SGM)
• One finisher per 300 sq ft (SGM)
• 50–100°F, 24 h before to 72 h after (SGM)