Hollow and delaminated render
Tile can stay firmly stuck to render that has let go of the shell. It comes off in sheets, with the mesh still on the back.
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Swimming pool tilers in Los Angeles
A tiled interior is only as strong as the surface beneath it. So the job starts with the concrete shell, not the tile catalogue.
Licensed, insured and family-owned
Why choose Pool Care LA
Pool tiling is nothing like house tiling
- Concrete pool renovation knowledge, not general tiling with a pool added.
- Detailed substrate preparation before a single tile is set.
- Crack and rust assessment while the shell is still open.
- Correct detailing and sealing around every fitting.
- Adhesives and grouts rated for permanent immersion.
- Three generations of Los Angeles pool renovation experience.
A bathroom wall does not hold thousands of gallons. A patio is not permanently submerged. A concrete pool sits under constant water pressure, chemically treated water, temperature swings, soil pressure and movement in its own shell — for decades, under the finish.
So the tiler has to understand concrete behavior, moisture pathways, substrate preparation, movement joints, waterproofing and every fitting that passes through the shell. Read our complete tiled swimming pool guide, or, for premium selections, explore deluxe swimming pool tiling.
The crew
The people on the Los Angeles route
Four of us. The same faces every week, not whoever was free that morning.
Daniel RamirezOwner 
Jake MitchellRoute technician 
Robert AndersonRepair technician 
Emily CarterOffice & scheduling
This week on the job
Straight from the truck
Short clips from real visits. Nothing staged, nothing bought from a stock library.
Inspect · diagnose · repair · prepare · tile · cure
What the demolition actually shows
Most of a tiling job is decided before the first tile, by what comes off and what is found underneath.
Rust and moisture at the bond beam
The beam carrying the coping and the waterline is where water gets in first. Damaged concrete comes out before anything is rebuilt.
Set-out, steps and fittings
Thousands of cuts planned around corners, benches, lights, returns and the lines people look down.
Curing, then the refill
The finished tiling system needs its curing period before the pool can be filled and put back into service.
Tile failure is the symptom
Why swimming pool tiles come off
The real cause is almost always underneath, and it has to be repaired there.
- Hollow or delaminated renderTile stays stuck to the render while the whole render layer lets go of the shell.
- Structural crackingAge, soil, temperature or movement in the shell — it carries on through a new finish.
- Rusting steel reinforcementCorroding steel expands inside the concrete and forces the material above it outwards.
- Moisture behind the tilesThrough cracks, weak render, damaged coatings and poorly sealed fittings.
- Paint and coating contaminationOld paint, epoxy and adhesive residue stop the new system bonding to the substrate.
- The wrong adhesive or groutProducts for a permanently submerged pool are not the products for a wet bathroom.
- Missing movement jointsPools expand and contract with temperature; joints in the right places manage the stress.
- Not enough surface preparationTiling over hollow render, paint or untreated damage builds a new interior on nothing.
Before the first tile
What we assess on an existing pool
Only after this does the tiling and renovation process get decided.
- Hollow render. We tap and sound the existing surface for render that has separated from the concrete shell.
- Cracks. Opened and examined, to tell a crack in the render from movement in the pool structure.
- Rust damage. Visible rust investigated, and the damaged concrete around corroding steel removed.
- The bond beam. The structural area carrying the coping, the waterline and the upper pool walls.
- Pool fittings. Lights, returns, skimmers and suction points checked for movement and leak pathways.
- Moisture pathways. Water travelling behind old coatings, render or tiles, where nobody can see it.
- Existing interiors. How paint, epoxy, pebble, loose render, old tile and adhesive residue have to come off.
Tiling jobs, start to finish
Pools we have tiled
Pool tiling
Rust repair and full tiling
Hollow render and rust cut out, then the whole shell tiled.
Glendale
Pool tiling
Painted pool to fully tiled
Out of repaints, so retiled, with sandstone paving around it.
Eagle Rock
Pool tiling
Fully tiled pool and spa
Grey tile across pool and spa, seen from the air.
La Cañada Flintridge
Tell us about your pool and we will price it
Tell us what the pool needs, how big it is and your ZIP — and a price the same day.
Rewards
Refer a friend, get up to $200
$100 for every friend you send us, up to two. No code, no form — they call and mention your name.
$100 credit
For every friend who calls and mentions your name
Up to two referrals, $200 in total. The name must come up on the first call. Spend it on any service.
20% off one-time work
For weekly maintenance members
Green-to-clean, acid wash, plaster start-up and repair labor, plus priority on the schedule.
Where we work
Family owned, based in Studio City
We prepare, render and fully tile concrete pools across Los Angeles.
Office · Studio City
Pool Care LA
CSLB #970493Mon–Fri 6am–9pm · Sat–Sun 8am–6pm
Call or text photographs of the pool for an initial assessment, and we will say what has to come off first.
4121 Radford Ave, Ste. #214, Studio City, CA 91604Los Angeles pool care insights
Written for Foothill and Valley homeowners.
Service
Do high-end pools need different care?
What changes when the equipment and the finish are not ordinary.
Construction
What to know before building a pool
The decisions that are expensive to change afterwards.
Finishes
What colour will your pool water be?
Water has no colour of its own — the interior gives it one.
Questions people ask about pool tiling
Why is pool tiling treated as a specialist job?
A concrete pool is a vessel holding thousands of gallons of chemically treated water while resisting moisture, pressure, temperature change and movement in the surrounding ground. Tiling one is a structural and waterproofing-sensitive renovation with a decorative finish on the end of it, not a decorative finish on its own.
Why does one loose tile mean checking the rest?
Because the tile is rarely the thing that failed. Tiles can stay firmly bonded to a render layer that has separated from the concrete behind it, so the sound area next to the loose one may be no better. Re-gluing the tile that fell leaves the cause exactly where it was.
What decides how long a tiled pool lasts?
The concrete, render, waterproofing and adhesive system underneath. Weak render, old paint, trapped moisture, untreated cracks and rust can all sit hidden beneath a surface that looks perfect on the day the pool is filled, and anything left unresolved eventually comes back through it.
Which pools can you tile?
Concrete pools and spas. We fully tile pool interiors, replace waterline tiles, retile ageing interiors and repair localized tile damage, on shells that were previously painted, plastered, pebbled or tiled. The preparation is what changes between them.
What is the difference between a pool tiler and a general tiler?
A general tiler can lay tile neatly and produce straight lines. The difference is knowing what has to be repaired underneath: telling a stable substrate from render that has already separated, reading a crack instead of covering it, finding rust before it forces the tile off, and choosing materials that stay reliable while permanently submerged.
All 30 pool services
Cleaning, recovery, repair and renovation across Los Angeles.
Weekly maintenancePool deep cleanGreen to cleanAcid washPlaster start-upEquipment repairPool pump repairPool heater repairFilter cleaningSalt system repairAutomation repairPool light repairLED pool lightsPool leak detectionLeak detection guideRust repairResurfacingPool paintingPool tilingFully tiled poolsLiner replacementPool remodelingPool copingDeck resurfacingPool shape changeNew constructionPool removalPainting projectsSpecialist tilersRenovation, step by step
Family owned, based in Studio City
Planning to tile or retile a concrete pool?
Call or text photographs of the pool and we will give you an initial assessment.