Pool Tile

[NewPoolOwner]

I just purchased a home with a pool which needs to be replastered and re-tiled. This is my first pool. I would like a natural looking colored tile (no bright blues, greens...) but more importantly need a tile that is easy to clean and holds up to hard water; any suggestions please?

[cfrederick]

Pool User, we just went through the same issue and did a bunch of research. The first and most important thing I found was understanding what "type" of tile you should put in your pool I am in the Cincy area and the pool was build initially with non -frost tile, This was a term I was not familiar with. If you are north and have the potential for freeze/thaw you need to make sure you use a porcilin freeze proof tile. We ended up at a local tile distributor who stocked a couple versions of type of tile. They also could have special ordered a variety of tiles, we were good with what we found at their store. I was told special orders were 6/10 weeks. Also, if special order make sure to order 10-15% more for future repairs.

Here is what I found to be KEY! make sure the person doing the tile work has worked on pools. I had a number of tilesetters come out and quote and everyone one of them claimed to be able to do the work, not a one could give me a reference for work on pools, they all said its the same as indoor bathroom (shower) tiling. From my research, I found a bunch of posts from others who had to have jobs retiled from bad workmanship. I called 3 pool construction companies in the area and was given names of tilesetters they use with experience on pools. I also found that pricing was very much determined on how busy the tilesetters were. We have a pool/spa and all said approx 215 lineal ft of tiles. We paid $2500 + tile all said around $3300 to have the tiles completely replaced. Our quotes ranged up to $4000k + tile. I was told $15 -$20 lineal ft is pretty common for removing and resetting tile. When I was researching people were telling me $5-10 per lin/ft to tile, however I don't think it included removing the tile, which is where the hard work is.

Also, they do need to empty your pool, at least ours did to do the tile work, make sure they clean up grout, tile dust, tile piece, etc. They use a small jackhammer to remove old tile and it makes a real mess.

Regarding cleaning with hard water, I am a big fan of CLR or Mr Clean erasers for hard water deposits.

Hope this helps