Pool Resurfacing Questions and Answers for Killeen, Texas

Replastering is one kind of resurfacing. It puts a new cement plaster finish on a concrete or gunite pool: white plaster, often called marcite, combines white cement, white marble aggregate and water and is hand-troweled over the shell, and colored plaster adds pigment. Resurfacing covers every new interior surface. The National Plasterers Council's resurfacing guidance also rates quartz, polished and pebble finishes; fiberglass pools are refinished with a coating rather than plaster, and any unpainted masonry pool can be painted, Ramuc says. More on pool replastering.

No single finish wins on every count. The National Plasterers Council says any of the finishes can give years of reliable performance in a well-made, well-maintained pool, and the key is knowing each one's strengths and weaknesses. Pebble, in its view, is the most durable surface available, since river pebble is chemically inert; the trade-off is a more textured surface and a higher price. CL Industries says plain plaster is the cheapest finish and has the shortest lifespan, and SGM notes that pebble texture hides minor staining better, while smoother, lighter quartz shows staining and mottling sooner.

It's a finish whose stones, quartz or glass show at the surface. The National Plasterers Council explains that the cement binder is removed to leave raised sand or rock, so these finishes are judged by texture, not smoothness. Pebble Technology International sprays its stone blend on, hand-trowels it and then sprays or wipes it with water to expose the pebbles; some of its blends add abalone or mother-of-pearl shell or glass beads for sparkle. More on pebble pool finishes.

Sources differ. SGM, which makes Diamond Brite, cites industry averages of 8 to 12 years for Diamond Brite against 10 to 20 for exposed pebble; quartz finishes in general get a 10 to 15 year rating from the National Plasterers Council; and one national cost report from 2026 says 15 to 20 years is common for quartz aggregate with normal care. SGM adds that Diamond Brite can be acid washed several times over its life without permanent damage.

Some unevenness is normal. The National Plasterers Council says mottling, a uniform shaded or cloudy look from differences in moisture and hydration, is not a defect, needs no remedy and typically lessens or disappears over time. Colored plaster shows it more, along with streaks and uneven color, which the Council doesn't count as a product deficiency. It advises judging a finish with the pool full of clean, balanced water in the morning, the afternoon or on a cloudy day, not with the sun overhead, on a windy day or at night under pool lights.

Often, but the type of crack decides how. The American Shotcrete Association says small holes and certain shrinkage cracks can simply be plugged or patched, while structural movement cracks need an in-depth investigation of cause and remedy. For cracks that will keep moving or sit under water, it advises a filler that tolerates movement, such as many injectable polyurethane grouts, rather than a brittle product, and an engineer or injection specialist experienced in shotcrete should evaluate the cracking first. Where spider-web cracking puts a pool's strength in question, it recommends a local engineering firm take and test cores.

Sometimes. A crack with water coming through can be sealed under pressure: Prime Resins describes injecting a hydrophilic polyurethane that reacts with water, expands into a watertight foam and stays flexible as the concrete moves, and QUIKRETE makes a hydraulic water-stop cement to block running water and plug leaks in concrete, swimming pools included. A national cost report from 2026 adds that a small plaster crack may need the pool drained only below the damage, or may take an underwater epoxy patch. Plumbing leaks are a separate job; the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code tests circulation piping with water at 25 psi for at least 15 minutes, never with compressed air.

The EPA's pool guide lists the liner, the pump seal, the pool piping, the pool-to-pipe connection, the pool edges and pipe joints, and national figures reported in 2025 say leaks most often occur in underground plumbing, the shell, skimmers, drains or equipment fittings. By the EPA's rule of thumb, a leak is likely once a pool loses more than 2 inches of water a week, or more than 3 inches in hot, dry areas. Anderson Manufacturing, a maker of leak-detection equipment, adds other signs: cracks or tile movement, soggy spots in the yard, high water bills and an autofill that runs constantly. More on pool leak detection.

LATICRETE, a maker of tile-setting materials, lists six reasons cement grout fails in pools: poor water chemistry, filling the pool too soon, no allowance for movement, the wrong grout, poor surface preparation and poor installation. Water that runs high in pH leaves mineral deposits that can form behind the tile and push it loose, and water that runs low etches the grout until the mortar under the tile starts to fail. Filling or draining too fast does harm too, so LATICRETE sets about 2 feet per 24 hours. Without a working flexible joint between deck and coping, the deck's seasonal movement can also knock coping and tile loose.

They do different jobs. A chlorine wash kills algae, mold and mildew; SGM calls for one on the shell before new plaster, because leftover algae causes discoloration and bond failure. An acid wash, in the National Plasterers Council's definition, dissolves surface material to remove efflorescence, dirt or stains, and a diluted acid can lift certain stains with little of the surface lost. National figures for 2026 put a professional acid wash at $300 to $700 on most pools, plus draining and the refill. The Texas Comptroller lists acid washing as pool maintenance, a taxable service.

Only a few. Each wash takes off a layer: a national cost report from 2026 puts it at about 1/16 inch per treatment and says plaster needs to stay above about 3/8 inch, so most pools can take only three to four acid washes before replastering becomes unavoidable. The National Plasterers Council's minimum average for a cement finish is 3/8 inch. SGM says acid washing traditional limestone-based plaster brought only temporary relief and sped up its erosion, while its quartz-based Diamond Brite can be acid washed several times without permanent damage.

Not as pool contractors. None of the programs the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation licenses covers pools, pool contractors, pool plastering or remodeling. Licences apply to parts of the work: electrical work falls to a licensed electrician working through a licensed electrical contractor, with pool equipment named in the Electrical Act; plumbers are licensed by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, though whether a pool-piping job needs one is up to the local code official. Inside Killeen, anyone doing permitted construction must first hold a City construction registration, which has a swimming pool contractor type; that is a City registration, not a state licence.

For apartment and HOA pools, state law sets the rule: the pool yard must be enclosed at least 48 inches high, with self-closing, self-latching gates that open outward. A single-family backyard pool falls under the city's code instead. Inside Killeen, the City's pool handout requires every pool and spa to be enclosed by a fence or barrier at least 4 feet high and no more than 2 inches off the ground, with openings that won't pass a 4-inch sphere and self-closing, self-latching gates, and damage to a pool fence must be repaired immediately. Outside its cities, Bell County has no building code at all.

No. A Killeen mailing address doesn't always mean the property is inside city limits: on December 18, 2024 the City posted notice that the Turnbo Ranch subdivision lies outside the city. Killeen's registration and permit rules are written for work inside city limits. Beyond the cities there is no Bell County building permit, building code or zoning, but the Bell County Public Health District's septic rules and the County Engineer's flood plain rules do still apply, so check with Bell County when the address is outside the city.

No, the editions differ. The 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code took effect in Harker Heights on January 1, 2025, was adopted by Killeen on December 2, 2025, and was adopted by Holland, by ordinance, on July 27, 2026. Jarrell uses the 2018 edition, adopted on March 22, 2022, and Belton the 2015 edition, which covers alteration and repair as well as new pools. Nolanville's list of current building codes doesn't name the pool code separately. Ask the town's building office before work starts.

Check the association's declaration. The City of Killeen treats HOA deed restrictions as a private matter for the association and says it can't enforce them, so City approval doesn't stand in for HOA approval. A declaration can reach any exterior change: The Willows' 1991 declaration, for example, requires written approval from an architectural committee before any exterior addition, change or alteration. In a Texas association with more than 40 lots, an owner can appeal a denial to the board, which must hold the hearing within 30 days of the request.