Signs
5 signs a pool remodel has stalled
A stall rarely announces itself. It arrives as small patterns that add up.
- The person who quoted the work has stopped returning calls and texts.
- A scheduled day passes with no one on site and no note about why.
- The person running the job has not walked the yard since the first payment cleared.
- Work stops between stages and no next date is given.
- Each call reaches a message box and days pass with no reply.
One quiet day is normal. Two weeks of silence in the middle of an active job is not.
3 steps
What happens when you tell us
Tell us where the job stands and which stage it reached before the quiet.
We call you back and go over what a normal timeline looks like from where you are.
We go over the next step with you, in writing, so you can check it against the stage the job is in.
Good to know
What to have ready for the call
A few things in one place makes the call shorter and the next step clearer.
- The written quote or contract and the payment schedule.
- The finish, tile and deck choices that were put in writing.
- The date the pool was drained and the date the surface went on, if it did.
- Any change order or added line item you have been handed.
- Photos of the shell, the tile line and the deck from the most recent visit.
Remodeling
The order of a pool remodel, stage by stage
A remodel moves in a set order. The surface work itself usually runs 5 to 7 days once the shell is drained, and knowing that order lets you check any claim against where the job actually is.
The water goes out first. Phoenix pool water may not go to a storm drain, so it is sent to a sanitary sewer cleanout at no more than 12 gallons per minute (opens in a new tab). Then the old surface is removed, either a full chip out down to the shell or a thinner coat left in place for the new finish to hold onto. Fittings get opened, the tile line goes in, and the new finish is applied.
Fill and startup come last, and this is where a remodel most often falls silent. The first 28 days are when the finish does most of its curing: the surface gets brushed 2 times a day, the heater stays off until the plaster dust is gone, no wheeled cleaner goes in, no chlorine goes in for the first 48 hours, and roughly 86% of the cement cures in that window. That is why the finish is at its most exposed to stains and discoloration right then.
A stall tends to land at 1 of 3 points: right after the deposit, just before the drain, or between fill and startup. A stall after the surface is on matters most, because the finish is the most exposed it will ever be.
Good to know
What is a real pause and what is a stall
Some stops are real. A monsoon week halts outdoor work, a tile order can be backordered, and a cure window needs the job to sit still. None of those are stalls as long as the next date arrives in writing. A stall is silence with no next date and no explanation.
Arizona water and sun
What the Arizona heat does while a job sits
An empty pool in a Phoenix summer is not just an eyesore. An exposed shell bakes in direct sun, and a finish that has already been applied needs the water back on it fast, which is why fill and startup are the stages where a delay hurts the most. A job that stops between chip out and fill, and then goes quiet, is a job where the shell is sitting unprotected while the clock runs.
Monsoon adds a second layer. A hard storm into an open shell, or a drain that was started and never finished, can set a job back further than the lost days alone. That is why a pause is only a pause when the next date is in writing. Unwritten downtime in the summer months turns into surface problems later, not just a late finish.
5 questions
Questions people ask
Still have a question? Call (747) 243-2089 and say what your pool is doing.
Why did the company stop answering once the work started?
Usually the schedule slipped and nobody wanted to say so, or the job hit an add that had not been priced yet. Neither is a reason to go quiet. A job with a real problem still owes you a written note and a next date. Silence with no next date is the signal to stop waiting and start asking.
How long should a pool resurface take from start to fill?
The surface work itself usually runs 5 to 7 days, then startup adds the first 28 days of brushing and waiting before the heater can come on. Weather and tile backorders can stretch the front end, but the window should be stated up front and updated in writing.
What should be said before anyone shows up to the job?
The start date, the order of stages, who to call when the schedule moves, and what the surface needs from you during the first 28 days. If those 4 things are not clear before day 1, they will not get clearer once the shell is open.
What do I do when the project manager never comes on site?
A job can be run without a walkthrough, but not without a point of contact. If no one has seen the yard since the deposit cleared and no one answers, write down every unanswered call and date, then get a second read on where the job stands.
Is it normal for the schedule to keep sliding?
A slide of a day or 2 for weather is normal. A slide that resets every week with no end date is not, and it deserves a written answer about why. The difference is whether each slip comes with a written next date or with more silence.
