LESLIE: Dan in Texas is calling to rub it in that he’s got a pool. What can we do for you? (Tom laughs)
DAN: Yeah. I’ve got a pool that’s like 20 years old and back when it was built I guess it was fashionable to put AstroTurf around it.
TOM: I see. (laughs)
LESLIE: OK.
DAN: And now there are patches of AstroTurf which look like it was laid in concrete that I just can’t get up.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Oh, man. Wow. So the AstroTurf is what, like embedded into the concrete?
DAN: Yeah, it looks like they just – they put down a thin layer of some kind of crete or plaster or something and then laid the AstroTurf on it.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Wow, hmm.
LESLIE: How 1970s.
TOM: Yeah, I’m thinking a jackhammer is in your future, dude. (Tom and Dan chuckle)
DAN: Well, it may be and I thought about just replacing the whole pool deck but I didn’t know if there was something out there that could get this stuff up. It’s not a conventional adhesive. I’ve tried adhesive dissolvers on it and it doesn’t do any good.
TOM: Well, let me ask you a question. Is it just like more of the glue that’s there or is there actual sort of like fabric from the old …?
DAN: There’s still some AstroTurf there; I mean, what – the remnants of AstroTurf, anyway.
TOM: Hmm. Because if it was smooth and it was just a glue, I was thinking that you may be able to coat the whole thing with an epoxy patching compound like an epoxy trowel surface.
LESLIE: Like to level it?
TOM: Yeah, to level it out and cover it over.
LESLIE: Is there any way to build a – not a deck where you’re thinking of something high around it but wood up around it to create sort of like a wood or a composite decking.
DAN: It’s an inground pool and the coping stone is level with the concrete decking around it so …
LESLIE: Hmm.
TOM: I know what you’re thinking, Leslie. If you use like Fiberon or something like that on the flat?
LESLIE: Yeah, you can use that on the flat and – I mean I’m assuming it’s an inground pool, which is – I’m glad for you; I’m jealous. (Tom chuckles)
DAN: (overlapping voices) Yeah.
LESLIE: (chuckling) Not that I have pool envy. OK, I do. But yeah, I’ve seen where you can put wood, you know, right up onto maybe a brick edger that’s coved so it sort of creates a new stepper into the pool, so it goes brick up to this wood decking; which actually looks really pretty and you can put it on the diamond, you can do an interesting herringbone pattern with this and it creates a new surface and that could be something that could go right on top of that mish-mosh.
TOM: Except that …
LESLIE: And of course you don’t have to worry about weeds growing up through it.
TOM: Except that I wouldn’t use wood; I would use composite.
LESLIE: Yeah, composite, definitely.
DAN: Yeah. That spot …
TOM: Yeah, it’ll stand up really nicely.
DAN: Alright.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Well, that’s an option. A jackhammer is the option and if you can get rid of the AstroTurf itself, you could coat the whole thing with an epoxy coating.
DAN: Yeah, and that’s just what I really wanted to do if I could get rid of the AstroTurf.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: You know what? If you want some inspiration for the decking idea, go to FiberonDecking.com. I think there are a couple of photos of an instance where they’ve done just that.
DAN: OK. FiberonDecking.com. OK, I’ll check it out.
TOM: Dan, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Leave a Reply