Pool deck resurfacing in Los Angeles

Sometimes, but not automatically. Brick type, joints and condition vary considerably. Rendering is often required first so the coating has a more suitable and consistent surface to sit on.

It can greatly improve color and overall presentation, but it follows the shape of the existing surface. Repairs and undulations may remain visible, particularly when the original coping is uneven.

In many suitable situations, yes. It is commonly chosen as a budget-conscious alternative to a complete stone coping replacement, especially where the existing substrate can be retained and prepared.

The product is a water-based, rubberised, non-slip coating system for suitable poolside surfaces. Correct preparation, application and ongoing care all remain important to how it performs.

No digital color sample can be exact. The final appearance varies with screen settings, lighting, surrounding materials, texture and the condition of the surface being coated. Narrow it down on screen, then look at real samples on site.

The coating route — an acrylic or elastomeric cool-deck finish over concrete that is still sound, which is what this page is about — is quoted around the city at $6 to $12 a square foot installed, over two or three days on site. A stamped concrete overlay is the next step up at roughly $10 to $18 a square foot, because it is a new layer with a pattern pressed into it rather than a coating. Those are the published Los Angeles ranges, not our quote: ours comes after someone has walked the deck, because preparation is what separates two decks of the same size. The visit and the quote cost nothing inside the service area.

A coating over a slab that is still sound — the bottom of that range, and exactly what this product is for. Cheaper again, if color is the only complaint: a proper clean and a sealer, which buys a season or two for a fraction of the money. The false economy is coating a deck that is moving, delaminating or lifting at its joints. The coating follows the slab, the crack comes back through it inside a year, and the deck gets paid for twice.

No, and this is the thing to be clear about before spending anything. A rubberised coating is measured in thousandths of an inch: it evens out color and hides hairlines, but a slab that has settled, lifted at a joint or cracked because roots and soil movement are still pushing on it will do the same through the new surface. Those decks need lifting, or the failed section cut out and replaced, and then coating is worth doing. We will say which one yours is rather than roll color over the top of it.

That is the inside of the pool rather than the deck, and it is a different order of money: ours starts at $7,500, with most projects between $10,000 and $20,000 depending on size, the old surface and the repairs found under it. The two jobs are often quoted together, because the pool is down for the interior anyway and the deck crew is already on site. The numbers and what moves them are on the pool resurfacing page.

Neither — they are two words for one job, and replastering is a kind of resurfacing. The choice that carries real consequences is what goes back on the shell: white plaster, colored plaster, quartz or pebble, which differ in service life, in how they feel underfoot and in the color the water ends up. None of it touches the deck, which is a separate surface with separate options. The comparison is on the pool resurfacing page.