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The Pool Envy Podcast is where real, licensed pool professionals speak up. In an industry overflowing with DIY chatter and surface-level advice, we dive deep into code, compliance, and craftsmanship that set licensed contractors apart. Our goal is to educate and elevate the industry — teaching safety, sharing knowledge, and helping those who build and service pools do it the right way.
You're listening to the Pool Envy podcast. Code, compliance, craftsmanship, hosted by Jason Davies. Let's dive in.
Jason D:This week had range to it. Let me tell you. I fixed a diesel leak on our plaster truck, fell down a website rabbit hole with SEO galore. I probably got forty, fifty, sixty, seventy hours into a new website. It's looking great though.
Jason D:Took some time to look up, and the economy's looking pretty crunchy. Let's put it that way. And then of course, we are diving into our biggest pressure blasting pool cleaning job of the year. Getting ready to hydro blast a swimming pool out this week. If your pool week is quiet in November, you're the lucky one.
Jason D:I promise you, this week, we are going to diagnose. We're gonna learn a little bit about communication and how to choose methods so projects run quiet and pass on the clean side.
Spyder:Let's dive in.
Jason D:Tired, wired, still can't find a good song on the radio. One of these days, we'll have to work on that. Alright. Let's start out with plaster truck day. This was gonna be a good week.
Jason D:We're gonna do our general maintenance, got the truck into the garage, wondering why I'm dripping fuel out the bottom of it. Never a good thing. That's what pretrips are for. So remember, drive those big trucks, pretrip them. But this is the kind of drip that ruins your shirt, not your morning.
Jason D:At least we thought. So what I noticed, huge pile of fuel spilling out of the bottom of my truck. Never a good thing, but it's 25 years old, so things like that are gonna happen. What was the root cause? Well, it was a couple o rings.
Jason D:Surprise, surprise. And probably some fittings that weren't the right angles. But we cleared all of that up. Actually, I I put a new fuel pressure regulator on the back of the truck, tightened it down good, got the fuel line in place this time. Everything is mint.
Jason D:No more leaks. So hopefully, that is the end of it. So the joke and takeaway this week, how many trips to the Caterpillar store counter? I'm gonna keep that classified. Leaks afterwards though, zero, and we'll call that profit.
Jason D:Alright. Learning how to save money, DIY diesel repair. When I bought a plaster truck, one of the things I did not plan on was becoming a diesel mechanic, and now I am. On the safe side of things, remember, fuel work is not DIY work. No matter how much you find on the Internet, remember to follow OEM procedures, contain spills, and dispose of stuff that's dangerous properly.
Jason D:And remember, don't smoke around the stuff because remember, if you get diesel ignited, it's gonna burn. That was a really poor joke, but I'm gonna leave that edited in this week. Lastly, thank you to the counter person because you guys know me by first name by now. Problem solved. So kudos to Kat.
Jason D:Thank you guys a bunch. Alright. I spent hours on our website and analytics, and I noticed us not trending very well, probably because a lot of what I do is really dull and somewhat boring. So I decided I was going to get rid of the templated website that we had and go back into what I like to call JSON style. It's not so much about owner ego, but when I come from a background of many decades of IT work, I figured a little fun in WordPress couldn't hurt.
Jason D:Let's fast forward about sixty five hours later, and the site has way more pages than I anticipated. What I really needed to do though was create some clarity on the website. We had a bunch of poor wording, and it was pretty hard for people to find what they needed to do. So we added our systems and evaluation, and they're good to go. And then a little bit of, I guess we say, methodical discipline.
Jason D:It's, helping people find what they're specifically looking for without having to dodge all over the site. So when the economy decides to cough, communication is like oxygen. You gotta draw a plan, site code, show photos. So that's what I did on this website, and I think it looks a lot better. You guys can go check it out, poolnvwi.com, and tell us what you think of it or don't.
Jason D:It's your choice. We landed an interesting project this year. We are going to do hydro blasting. Well, we have a swimming pool with a plaster surface that needs to get redone, and I'm not a 100% confident in the original plaster installers work. Mostly because I've picked up a lot of this pool through the pump basket the last few years.
Jason D:It just tells me that I'm gonna run into trouble if I try to plaster something on top of it. What is hydroblasting? I'm glad you asked. Hydroblasting is high pressure water used to remove plaster, scale, and coatings, and expose a controlled uniform substrate. You can also think of it as a 40,000 PSI pressure blaster that will do a lot of harm to concrete.
Jason D:Why did I choose it for this job? Well, the shell is sound. We want controlled removal to a constant profile, and I'll get it with that. The site supports the access for safe routing, hose containment, waste capture. Because it's out in the country, we can bring in big trucks.
Jason D:We can get the job done, and it's gonna look fantabulous along with giving the owner longevity. So this timeline favors a cleaner prep so our crews aren't fighting shards and micro cracks because when you take the chipping hammer out to things, it can really wreck what you have going on. How does this differ again from scarifying and chipping? Well, we're gonna have a lower risk of micro fractures, better uniformity, less incidental damage, and issues with the tile and coping, mostly because that's coming off as well. And we're gonna redo that, waterproof behind it, and really ensure for this customer that this pool is going to last the long haul.
Jason D:Some of the cons though with hydro blasting, of course, water management. We're creating water for every minute we're blasting. We're making a mess, but that's alright. We have a cool vac truck. We're gonna suck all that out, dispose of it properly.
Jason D:Also, you do need trained operators. So, thankfully, I work with some brilliant subs who are OSHA certified. Now you might be asking, hey. You're in Wisconsin. Right?
Jason D:Absolutely. It's cold in November. Right? Well, sort of. We've had some really neat weather this year, and that allows us some freedom of movement with getting things done, which is absolutely awesome if you're a pool guy who likes to work this time of year.
Jason D:So our seasonal strategy is this. It's a slower window for some of my subs, so we can book the top operators and get things aligned pretty much really easily. I prefer being on-site so I can watch the process at every pass and kind of inspect along the way, so it's perfect a time of year for that. Again, Wisconsin has a really short pool season. So the work we're doing now to demo for our drains, get the plaster off the pool, get the tile stuff done, that saves us weeks or even months during the summertime because the demo guys are gonna be busy come spring.
Jason D:Let's get it done now. Coordination and compliance. Well, it's pretty easy to coordinate noise, work hours, water handling, and storm water regulations. We're out in the country, but we still need to dispose of things properly. Thankfully, the garbage dump is just down the road.
Jason D:If you were blasting your own pools, though, remember this stuff does not go down the storm drains. We're gonna do this on a day when it's not going to freeze and also a day when it's not gonna freeze at night so that everything runs pristine and perfect. That's how it goes. And remember, high pressure blasting. I believe you can rent these units as well.
Jason D:I would recommend that you hire a certified operator, someone who's trained in doing this and has experience as opposed to just taking one of these things out. And by gosh, by golly, they're very expensive to rent. Alright. One of the reasons we're doing this now is so that we are ready in spring. We're gonna need to make sure that we're using proper waterproofing come springtime, and it gives us ample time to get those products cured properly.
Jason D:ANSI a one one eight dot 15 improved, modified for submerged application type thinset. And for the grout, we wanna make sure it is compliant to ANSI one one eight dot seven, or for those of us who really like pain and suffering, epoxy grout a one one eight dot three. This is where chemistry and service demands are not going to be pushed aside because epoxy grout is going to hold up to it all. We're gonna install proper movement joints, place and size per TCNA e j one seventy one, respecting changes of plane and perimeters. And for our installation practice, we follow ANSI a one zero eight series and the TCA handbook for pool fountain details.
Jason D:So a little recap here. Tile waterproofing is going to go down. Then we're going to do a mortar. Then we're going to do our grouting on our tile, and we're gonna make sure we follow TCNA standards. And once we're done with that, we'll recheck the pool under NEC six eighty twenty six for bonding continuity on our main drains, handrails, and any metallic penetrations before the new plaster goes down.
Jason D:Some safety and compliance notes when you're renovating a pool as well, PPE and lockouttagout. I don't know how many times it needs to be said, but lockouttagout is important because you don't want surprises. And remember, electrical safety around water. Those things apply. For dust, hydroblasting sharply reduces silica dust as well.
Jason D:So it's one of the other reasons I like to do that versus dry chipping. But you still have to manage that aerosolized material. And so when you're on the job site supervising, make sure your mask is with you. Hydroblasting is like pressure washer that did CrossFit for like six or seven years, and then it learned manners. How's that one for you?
Jason D:If you're a listener, here's how to keep this efficient and calm. No DIY, just good questions. Here's five things you can ask and you probably should get in writing. Why hydro blasting here instead of chipping media blasting? What finished profiles are you targeting?
Jason D:Number two, how are tile lines, copings, adjacent services protected? Where do hoses and cords get run? Number three, where does the water slurry go? How do you prevent discharge to storm drains? Or how are you going to?
Jason D:Number four, when does the new finish go on, and what's the fill, cure protocol and who supervises the startup? Number five, the photo log. I like this one. Will I get photos of substrate, crack, repairs, patches, and bonding, grounding verification before the finish goes in? The answer should always be yes.
Jason D:And if you don't, you should pause. If you can't point to the plan, you'll eventually point fingers. Get the plan. Remember, photos are amazing. They save you a lot of headaches, especially when things go wrong or words get forgotten.
Jason D:Alright. I kinda feel like Frasier Crane in this moment, but mailbag lightning round. Email people, I'm listening. Alright. Here's what we got.
Jason D:And I'm I'm serious. This this was actually a question. It shows that people are listening to the podcast, so that's awesome. Question was, my pool tickles sometimes. Is that normal?
Jason D:And we we know the answer to this from a few weeks back, but no. That is a voltage gradient issue. You need a licensed professional who understands NEC six eighty twenty six, equipotential bonding. This is a safety issue, not a seasoning issue. Second question I got, and this is before I did the episode.
Jason D:It's the reason why though. Is hydroblasting overkill? Well, not when the goal is a uniform substrate and dust control. Wrong on the wrong job. Perfect on the right one.
Jason D:That's how we go at it. And why start with a paid evaluation? Well, why not? Guessing is expensive. That's why.
Jason D:A lot of people like the phone call I received just today. I have a spa that needs to get done. Neat. Let's get a consultation done so we can find out if we can help you out or not because it's very expensive to throw numbers at people and then have to backtrack later and say, oh, it's gonna be quite a bit extra. Alright.
Jason D:Three things I'm gonna take into next week that are gonna help me out. Right part, right geometry, beats muscle every time. Paper beats opinions, scope, photos, and code citations, and most debates. Method first, tool second. Pick the process that fits the shell and the site.
Jason D:And remember, schedule your hydro blasting crew when they're slow, and you'll get a lot better re That's the week. Fix the truck, secure the work, choose the right method, and communicate so nobody has to guess. That's the pool NV Way. Quiet precision, licensed code compliant, and no drama. Licenses, Florida, CPC 1460695.
Jason D:Wisconsin electrical and HVAC, 1543940. Texas, T I CL1350. Rail, 635643. This episode is for education and coordination. All fuel, electrical, and hydro blasting work must be performed by licensed professionals under the authority having jurisdiction and per OEM manufacturer instructions.
Jason D:Remember, that book is there for a reason. Open it, read it, follow along, and we'll see you next week. Stay safe, everybody.
Spyder:Thanks for listening to the Pool Envy podcast, where licensed pool professionals speak up. Hosted by Jason Davies, licensed across Wisconsin, Florida, and Texas. For more insights, subscribe and join us next time.