Tile cut so the joints carry through
The white button is a three-way sprinkler on the old hose line. Notching an L around it would leave a visible patch where every eye goes.
Studio City · Los AngelesOpen 7 days · free quote and diagnosis · no minimum contractGuides & articlesReviewsRefer a friend
One renovation, start to finish
Between the drain and the fill
A thirty-year-old pool taken back to its shell. Every surface replaced, the structure kept. This goes behind the finished photographs.
Licensed, insured and family-owned
Design and planning
Where a renovation is decided
- Tile, deck, coping and waterproofing all replaced
- The shell kept, because the shape was fine
- Materials chosen for hard water and full sun
- Tile colour, coping profile and deck layout fixed before work restarted
- Where the cut pieces would land, planned in advance
- Fencing and plumbing by our subcontractors
With the old surfaces off and the structure exposed, the work moved to planning — which is where a renovation is decided, not at the tile shop.
Most renovations are like this one: the shell has aged well and the finishes have not. The brief was to bring a dated pool up to date without changing its shape.
Materials were chosen for how they hold up in hard water and full sun, not only for how they photograph dry. The coping profile has its own page: Pool Coping.
We love details
The parts nobody photographs
The work is judged on the set-out, the substrate and the joints.
Joints that line up in the corners
Vertical and horizontal joints carrying straight across a round corner. Curves are where tiling is either understood or improvised.
Swimming pool renovation timelapse
About the film itself
Once you have watched it, the write-up above covers the same project in detail.
- The timelapse, start to finish. The archive page carries the player but not the address of the film, so there is nothing to embed here yet.
- A complete concrete pool renovation in Los Angeles. The stages where the decisions were made and the money went, rather than the finished photographs.
- Fencing and plumbing were subcontracted. Normal on a job this size, and worth saying rather than implying we do everything ourselves.
- Stone is cut here, not shipped. No cardboard template sent overseas and no three-month wait. Round cuts, bullnose edges and the curve of the pool are done on site, while it is open.
- A round corner does not always come out this way. For the lines to meet exactly, the radius where wall meets floor has to be consistent — and on an old shell it often is not. That is why the render stage matters.
The crew
The crew that rebuilds pools
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
What people said after a renovation
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.
What do you want changed?
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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
What a pool area can become when the shell is sound and only the surfaces have aged.
Office · Studio City
Pool Care LA
CSLB #970493Mon–Fri 6am–9pm · Sat–Sun 8am–6pm
If you are on this page, you have most likely had a quote from us with a link to it. Ask about anything in it.
4121 Radford Ave, Ste. #214, Studio City, CA 91604More on a renovation
Written for Foothill and Valley homeowners.
Pool resurfacing
Pebble Tec vs plaster: which finish
How long each finish lasts, what it asks of your care, and what the gap costs.
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.
From the truck
Short clips from real visits
Nothing staged, nothing bought from a stock library — the same work, filmed while it happened.
Questions people ask about a pool renovation
How long does a full pool renovation take?
Three to five weeks on a normal job, and the calendar is set by curing rather than by labour. Demolition and chip-out is two or three days, repairs and preparation a week, tile and coping a week, the interior finish one day — and then twenty-eight days of start-up chemistry while the plaster cures under water. Rain adds days, because nothing goes on a wet shell.
What order does the work happen in, and why?
Down to the shell first, then outward. Old interior off, cracks and rust cut back to sound concrete, plumbing and fittings replaced while the walls are open, tile and coping set, and the interior finish last because everything above it drops debris. Doing it in any other order means grinding new plaster to fit old tile. The twenty-eight days afterwards are their own job — see plaster start-up.
What does a pool renovation cost?
It follows what comes off and what goes back on: the size of the interior, whether tile and coping are in scope, and what the chip-out reveals underneath. We quote in writing after seeing the pool. Where a Los Angeles job starts, and what pushes it either way, is set out on the resurfacing cost page.
Can we use the pool while the work is on?
No, and not for a month after it refills either — the first twenty-eight days are brushing and testing on a surface that is still hardening. Plan a renovation for the months you are not swimming. Booked in autumn it is finished before anyone wants the water; booked in June it takes the summer.
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This is what the work looks like from the inside, on the stages that decide how it lasts.