At Blue Ridge Coatings and Supply in Roanoke, Virginia, we’ve tackled more than our fair share of unusual projects over the years. Eventually, folks started asking us to apply epoxy coatings around indoor pool, and that took us places we never expected. Commercial builders called on us not just for good looks, but because epoxy pool decks offer considerable performance. And while we’ve now installed these coatings across all kinds of venues, one job early on shaped the way we approach pool decks today. Let’s dive into a story from one of our early endeavors.
Testing the Waters
As we were first getting our feet wet in this new domain, we landed a contract for an indoor facility with three pools housed in the same massive room. Above it sat a four-story structure with condos, and below it, locker rooms, restrooms, a lobby, and plenty of area to cover. The developer wanted something durable, safe, and attractive, so we went with an open-color quartz epoxy, broadcasting it over the entire 5,000-square-foot deck.
We kicked things off by grinding and pressure-washing the concrete, prepping every inch with care. A pool deck’s traction needs to be durable as it is prone to erosion from foot traffic and splashes around the pool. With water still hanging around the pool edges, we worked cautiously to avoid contamination. Epoxy needs time to cure properly, made all the trickier around pools. But we pushed through and got everything laid down beautifully. At the end of the day, we had achieved a textured, clean, and sharp appearance.
As far as we were concerned, things went swimmingly (pun intended ) and everything looked as an epoxy pool deck should! That was, until the event we’ll call “The Great Flood”.
The Great Flood
When we arrived at the site the next morning, we opened the doors to find two inches of standing water everywhere. One of the pools had been left running overnight and its auto shutoff failed. The epoxy hadn’t finished curing yet, so the flooding effectively unraveled all our hard work. As devastating of a blow as this was, we didn’t wait around. We cleaned up, re-prepped the surface, and reinstalled all 5,000 square feet.
The next obstacle came during detailing. We had to finish around the white marble coping stone that lined each pool. We then cut a keyway into the deck side to allow the epoxy to roll in neatly and meet the stone without spilling over. We were successful, or so we thought. What we failed to foresee is that the marble itself would absorb the epoxy. An amber-colored band formed in the stone, and that wasn’t something we could polish away.
We tried everything, ranging from scrubbing, cleaning solutions, even resurfacing methods. Nothing seemed to touch it. But our President, Dave Trail, hatched an idea: coat the entire stone in armor-top polyurethane. This turned out to be the answer as it shifted the coping stone into an off-white, restoring the stone to being the same color in its entirety. We’re thankful for his smarts and ingenuity!
Epoxy Pool Decks’ Perfection Takes Professionals
This goes to show the many issues that could arise throughout the epoxy pool decks’ application process. We tell these stories not to appear clumsy or inexperienced, but to display our knowledge of what works and what doesn’t, and the cumulative experience we bring to every job that helps us to prevent mistakes and achieve the right look the first time!
The appearance and finish delivered by epoxy flooring for pool decks simply cannot be replicated by anything else. Combined with the functional benefits of epoxy, this makes it a solid choice for an area that will see all sorts of drips and splashes!
Trust us, proper application of epoxy pool decks is not easy and should be left to the professionals. For a successful job, it takes unmatched precision by a team of epoxy flooring specialists in Southwest Virginia like Blue Ridge Coatings. There’s a reason prestigious names call on us time and time again!