Pool tiling
Rust repair and full tiling
Hollow render and rust cut out, then the whole shell tiled.
Glendale
Studio City · Los AngelesOpen 7 days · free quote and diagnosis · no minimum contractGuidesReviewsRefer a friend
Structural repair
Pool rust repair in Los Angeles
Cutting into a shell is specialist work. Reinforcement and plumbing both run inside the concrete and neither is visible. Cut a return line chasing a stain and a repair becomes a rebuild.
Licensed, insured and family-owned
Where the rust comes from
Usually steel sitting too close to the face
- A concrete pool is reinforcing steel inside sprayed concrete, tied with wire.
- There is other metal too: light-housing screws, ladder bolts, skimmer fixings.
- Steel that was never stainless — or the wrong grade — behaves like plain steel.
- More often it is the reinforcement, with too little concrete cover over it.
- Rust travels along the bar, so one patch becomes a run and a run becomes a wall.
- The fix is removing the corroded steel entirely, then rebuilding the section.
On the surface it reads as red or brown staining, and well advanced it goes green and black at the edges of the red — that is the wet chemistry around the corrosion, not a second problem. Underneath, the spot is always bigger than it looks, so covering it with a new interior during resurfacing only hides it for a season.
After the corroded metal is out there is often liquid rust still held in the concrete, so the area is flushed and treated before anything is rebuilt. Where the same cracking is also losing water, it is worth finding the leak first.
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.
What drives it
Eight things that corrode metal in a pool
Rust is an electrochemical reaction between metal, water, dissolved oxygen and pool chemicals. Fix the stain without fixing the driver and you do it again.
- ChlorineContinuous exposure to chlorinated water speeds metal oxidation up
- ChloraminesMade from chlorine and sweat, sunscreen and debris — far more corrosive
- Water balanceWrong pH, alkalinity or sanitiser level raises the corrosion rate
- Galvanic corrosionTwo metals in contact: the less noble one corrodes to protect the other
- Crevice corrosionStill water trapped in gaskets and joints makes its own aggressive chemistry
- Loose metalHairpins, coins, screws and tools rust where they lie and stain under them
- Exposed reinforcementCracks let water and chloride straight to the steel, and it bleeds back
- Poor ventilationIndoor pools: humid, chloramine-laden air corrodes fixtures and fittings
What rust actually does
To the pool, and to the people in it
Not acutely toxic, but a corrosive byproduct that causes health and structural problems if it is left.
- To people, in brief contact. Not dangerous, but it irritates skin, eyes and lungs once it is disturbed or airborne.
- To swimmers. Contaminated concrete leaching in shifts pH and raises metal content — irritation no chlorine explains.
- To the structure. Chemically aggressive in itself, so it corrodes the next section of steel and keeps undermining the shell.
- While it is being cut out. Gloves and a mask during removal, nobody in the pool area, and the waste taken away properly.
The same crews cut out and rebuild
Pools we have finished
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
Two more examples
Not enough cover, and the stain it leaves
Steel near the face of the concrete rusts far sooner, because nothing keeps water and chloride away from it.
What our customers say
Collected from customers on the routes we run every week.
Thomas W.Verified review
Local Guide · 27 reviews · 9 photos
10 February 2025
Bought a house in Beverly Hills with an older pool and honestly had no idea how to maintain it. The equipment was old and everything was confusing. They walked me through what needed to be done first and what could wait. No pressure. That was appreciated.Read in fullCollapse
Raymond K.Verified review
Local Guide · 52 reviews · 26 photos
20 November 2025
House is on Kenneth Road, built in 1978, pool original to the property. As far as I know the plaster had never been done since the house was built. By the time I called it was in rough shape. Worn through in several spots, rough patches on the steps you could feel underfoot, staining that nothing touched, and chemistry that my pool service could never stabilize no matter what they added. Pool Care LA came out and explained the chemistry issue immediately. A porous, degraded plaster surface affects water balance in ways that are almost impossible to compensate for with chemicals alone. That connection had never been explained to me by anyone. They checked the shell structurally before quoting anything. The shell was sound. Equipment was aging but functional. The plaster was the problem. Replastering took a few days. They handled prep, application and walked me through the startup protocol. Daily brushing for two weeks while the surface cures, chemistry will fluctuate during that period, some cloudiness early on is normal. Having that context upfront made the whole process much less stressful. They came back twice during curing without me having to ask. The finished pool looks like it belongs to a different house. Water is genuinely clean and clear. My pool service commented that the chemistry holds now in a way it never did before. Should have done it years ago.Read in fullCollapse
Karen V.Verified review
15 August 2026
Our pool is from 1993 and the plaster was completely original. We're off Reseda between Ventura and Oxnard and the pool gets a lot of use from the kids. By this past summer it was rough underfoot, stained no matter what we put in the water and just looked worn out. 😬 We asked about upgrading to pebble instead of replastering with white again. The tech walked us through the aggregate options without it feeling like a pitch. Colors, textures, what each feels like barefoot, how they hold up over time, what the maintenance differences are. We went with a dark gray pebble. 🪨 Work was done on the schedule they gave us. They explained the startup process step by step and came back during the first week to check on the curing. Pool looks genuinely great. 💙 We've used the backyard more in the last five months than the previous few years combined.Read in fullCollapse
Diane F.Verified review
6 reviews · 2 photos
6 January 2025
We bought the property four years ago. Pool was put in around 2001 by whoever owned it before us, pebble finish that had probably never been touched since. We're up off Bellagio. The surface had faded heavily and the mineral staining made the water look murky even when the chemistry was dialed in. A company we used early on looked at it and said we needed a full renovation, quoted us accordingly. Pool Care LA came out and did an actual assessment. They checked the shell condition, the existing surface, the tile, the equipment, the deck. Their read was that the shell was structurally solid and the equipment was aging but still serviceable. What was needed was a surface replacement and some targeted tile work. Not a tear-down. That distinction saved us a meaningful amount of money. They removed the old pebble finish and inspected the substrate underneath, which came back in good condition. We went with a quartz aggregate finish that works with the stone on the house. During removal they found a section of waterline tile where the adhesive behind the tiles had failed. That got handled as part of the same project. The startup phase after a new surface requires real attention and they managed it carefully. Daily brushing for the first two weeks, chemistry monitoring as the surface cured, several check-in visits. They responded quickly when I had questions. The finished pool is something we actually use every day now. The quartz finish gives the water a clarity the old faded pebble never had. If you've been told you need a full renovation on an older pool, get a second opinion before committing. The real scope of work might be considerably smaller than you've been quoted.Read in fullCollapse
Mark H.Verified review
Local Guide · 42 reviews · 18 photos
3 September 2025
Came home from a two-week vacation and our pool was basically green. The previous company told us we needed to drain it, which sounded crazy. Pool Care LA came out, tested everything, explained what was happening and started the cleanup. Took a little time but now the water looks better than it has in years.Read in fullCollapse
Linda R.Verified review
4 reviews
25 May 2026
We had another pool company for almost five years and slowly the service got worse. They would say they came but the pool was always dirty. Jake from Pool Care LA has been completely different. He actually checks the equipment and lets us know if something needs attention.Read in fullCollapse
Kevin B.Verified review
15 December 2025
Our pump stopped working on a Friday afternoon and we were worried because we had family coming over that weekend. Robert came out, found the problem and got everything running again. Honest guy, and he explained everything before doing the repair.Read in fullCollapse
Jason T.Verified review
25 February 2026
Great company. Always on time, pool looks amazing and communication is easy. Highly recommend.
Tell us about your pool and we will price it
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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
Crews leave from Studio City every morning, across the Foothills and the neighborhoods next to them.
Office · Studio City
Pool Care LA
CSLB #970493Mon–Fri 6am–9pm · Sat–Sun 8am–6pm
Send a close photo of the stain and one of the whole wall. How far it has spread decides whether this is a patch or a run.
4121 Radford Ave, Ste. #214, Studio City, CA 91604More from Pool Care LA
Where this page leads next.
Choosing a service
Signs your pool service is failing you
Missed weeks, a full basket, a filter nobody has opened.
Questions about rust in a pool shell
What causes rust in a swimming pool?
An electrochemical reaction between metal, water, dissolved oxygen and pool chemicals. The product is iron oxide, and when it is reinforcement corroding, the expansion cracks the concrete from the inside. That cracking is the real damage — the stain is only how you find out.
Is pool rust dangerous?
Not in brief contact. It irritates skin, eyes and lungs once it is disturbed or airborne, which is why removal is done with gloves and a mask and with people kept away from the pool. Where contaminated concrete leaches into the water it shifts pH and raises metal content, and swimmers get irritation that no amount of chlorine explains.
Can the stain just be cleaned off?
Cleaning takes the colour off the surface and leaves the cause underneath. Rust spots are always bigger below the finish than above it, and rust in reinforcement travels along the bar. Left alone the repair grows from one patch to a run, and from a run to a wall.
How is the repair actually done?
The concrete is opened up, the corroded metal is followed until there is no oxidation left, and all of it comes out. There is often liquid rust still held in the surrounding concrete afterwards, so the area is flushed and treated before the section is rebuilt.
Why does the steel rust in the first place?
Usually because it sits too close to the face of the concrete. In one example the bar was about three quarters of an inch from the surface, roughly a third of the cover it should have had. Sometimes it is simpler than that: somebody used steel that was not stainless, or stainless of the wrong grade, which in chlorinated water behaves like plain steel.
Should the rust be repaired before resurfacing?
Yes. A new interior over corroding steel is undermined from behind, so the shell work comes first and resurfacing after it. The same rule applies where the cracking is also losing water.
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Deal with it while it is one spot
Send a photo of the stain
How far it has spread across the wall decides whether this is a patch, a run or a section rebuilt.