How often do you resurface a pool? The honest answer is: when the surface says so, not when a calendar does. Two pools built the same year on the same street can age very differently, mostly because of how their water was kept. This guide is not a how-to. It is a way to decide whether what you see on your pool calls for a spot repair, a full resurface or simply better water care, and what to ask before you spend money on either.
Phoenix Pool Cleaning Pro does not repair or resurface pools, and it does not inspect them. It is a free phone line that connects you with an independent local pool company, which looks at the pool, gives you its own price and does the work. What follows will help you understand what that company tells you.
Start with two questions: how old, and what kind
The age of the current finish and what it is made of set your expectations. HomeGuide puts typical life at about 7 to 12 years for standard plaster, 10 to 15 years for quartz and 15 to 20 years or more for pebble. A finish near or past the end of its span that is showing wear across the pool is a strong candidate for resurfacing. A young finish with one bad spot usually is not.
If you bought the house and do not know the age, look for clues: paperwork from the previous owner, a permit history from your city, or the overall condition of the surface. For a closer look at each finish type and the resurfacing process itself, see our pool resurfacing page.
Age and condition questions worth answering
- How old is the surface, and has it ever been patched before? Many old patches suggest a surface near its end.
- Where is the damage? One step, one corner or one crack is a local problem. Floor, walls and steps together is a surface problem.
- Is it getting worse? Take dated photos of the same spots a month or two apart. A spreading problem points one way, a stable one the other.
- Is the pool losing water faster than evaporation explains? Then the first job is finding a leak, not choosing a finish.
- What else is due? If the waterline tile, coping or equipment is also near its end, combining work while the pool is empty can make sense.
- How long will you keep the house? A patch that buys a few good years can be the right call before a sale; a long stay favors a durable finish.
Repair or resurface: a decision table
Find what you see in the left column. The middle columns show which way it usually leans; the company that inspects the pool makes the real call.
| What you see | A spot repair is often enough when | It leans toward a full resurface when |
|---|---|---|
| A chip or small hollow patch | It is one area, the surrounding finish is sound and the cause is known, such as an impact | Tapping finds hollow sounds in many places, or patches keep failing around the old ones |
| Stains | They lift with cleaning or treatment and stay gone | They return across large areas, or sit in a surface that is also rough and etched |
| Rough texture | It is limited to a step or bench edge | Floor and walls feel like sandpaper and snag swimsuits |
| Etching (pitted, chalky surface) | It is mild, recent and the water problem behind it is fixed | It is widespread and deep, with the base coat or shell starting to show |
| Fine surface cracks | They are hairline, stable over time and the pool holds water | They cover large areas and the finish around them is loose |
| A crack that leaks, widens or is uneven | Neither yet. This is a structural and leak question first. Have it inspected and, if needed, repaired before any new finish goes on. | |
| Loose waterline tile or coping | A few pieces need resetting and the bond behind the rest is good | Long runs are loose, which is often worth fixing while the pool is drained for a resurface |
Patches may not match the color and texture of the surface around them perfectly, especially on an older or faded finish. If looks matter to you, ask to see how a patch will blend before you agree.
Cosmetic cracks versus structural cracks
"Can a cracked pool be repaired?" is one of the most common pool questions, and the answer starts with what kind of crack it is. The finish on a concrete pool is a thin layer over a thick shell. A crack can live only in that thin layer, or it can run through the shell beneath it.
Usually cosmetic
- Hairline cracks in the finish, sometimes in a web or map pattern
- Edges flush, with no step from one side to the other
- No change over weeks of dated photos
- The water level drops no faster than in nearby pools
These can often be watched, patched or left for the next resurface.
Could be structural
- The crack is wider than a hairline, or grows over time
- One side sits higher or lower than the other
- The pool loses water and the crack is in the wet area
- Cracks also show in the deck, coping or bond beam near the same spot
Have this inspected before you choose a finish. A new surface over a moving crack will crack again.
If you suspect a leak, our pool leak and crack repair page covers what a leak check involves and what to ask. Do not pour sealants or putties into a crack you have not had diagnosed; they can hide the evidence a technician needs.
How water chemistry shortens surface life
Plaster, quartz and pebble finishes all contain cement. Cement is sensitive to the water touching it every hour of every day, and in a Phoenix backyard that water is hot, sun-blasted and topped up often with hard tap water. Angi's Phoenix resurfacing page names heat, sun, hard water and mineral buildup as local reasons pool interiors wear. Water can go wrong in two opposite directions:
Aggressive water
Water that is low in pH, total alkalinity or calcium hardness is "hungry" for calcium. The National Plasterers Council says low calcium hardness, low carbonate alkalinity or low pH makes water aggressive enough to etch a cement finish, leaving it pitted and rough. Soft fill water and acidic water are both named risks.
Scaling water
Water that is high in pH, alkalinity or calcium hardness, and warm, drops calcium carbonate out of the water instead. It leaves a rough white crust on the finish and at the waterline. Evaporation takes water out of a pool but leaves its minerals behind, and every top-up adds more, so in the Valley the white crust of scale is a familiar sight.
What the LSI number means
Pool professionals often sum up balance with the Langelier Saturation Index, or LSI. It combines pH, water temperature, calcium hardness (how much dissolved calcium is in the water), total alkalinity and total dissolved solids into one figure. A reading near zero means the water is roughly in balance with the cement in the finish. A negative reading means the water leans aggressive and may etch. A positive reading means it leans toward scale. Because temperature is part of the formula, the same water can drift from one side to the other between a January morning and an August afternoon.
You do not need to calculate it. Ask the company that services your pool whether it checks balance as well as chlorine, and what it does when the readings drift. Never try to correct balance by mixing pool chemicals together: keep products apart, follow the label and leave acid work to a professional.
Weighing the money without guessing
This guide does not give prices; real quotes vary with each pool. What it can give you is a way to compare. Ask the company for two written numbers: the cost of the repair you are considering now, and the cost of resurfacing the pool. Then ask how long the repair is expected to hold and whether more patches are likely soon. A cheap patch on a surface that is failing everywhere can turn into a string of patches. A single resurface on a pool whose surface is otherwise sound can be money spent too early.
Published resurfacing ranges for the Valley, with their sources, are on our pool resurfacing page, and broader service costs are in the pool service cost guide.
What to ask before you decide
- What exactly is wrong with the surface, and is it local or across the pool?
- Is any crack structural, and how did you reach that view?
- Is the pool losing water, and has that been checked?
- What caused the damage, and what changes in water care would slow it down?
- How long should a patch last here, and how well will it match?
- If you recommend resurfacing, which finish and why, and what would you do to the tile and coping while it is empty?
- What is your Arizona ROC license number and classification?
Check the license first. Arizona's Registrar of Contractors (ROC) licenses contractors, and its residential classifications include R-6, Swimming Pool Service and Repair. Repairs, equipment replacement and resurfacing generally call for a licensed contractor; whether a cleaning-only service needs a license is not spelled out, so ask the ROC if it matters to you. Ask the company for its ROC license number and look it up on the ROC contractor search (opens in a new tab) before work begins. The line does not check this for you.
That last question matters more for resurfacing than for most pool work. The ROC says its R-6 Swimming Pool Service and Repair license covers servicing and minor repair, and does not allow a complete replacement of plaster or pebble pool interiors. Our guide to choosing a pool company shows how to read the ROC search result.
Looking at a worn spot or a crack and not sure what it means? Call the line, describe it, and you will be put through to a local pool company that can look and give you its repair and resurfacing options in writing.
- Call the numberAn automated assistant answers (623) 240-0428 day or night, weekends included.
- Describe the poolSay what is going on: cloudy or green water, a pump that hums, a heater that will not fire, scale on the tile, and which part of the Valley you are in.
- Get put throughThe call is transferred to an independent, locally owned pool service company, which hears a short summary of the problem before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the pool, quotes, does the work and bills you. If it cannot answer, your name, number, area and problem are passed along so it can call you back.
About this line: Phoenix Pool Cleaning Pro is a free phone line, not a pool company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local pool service company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. You never pay the line. See how the line works.