www.frankbowman.com

Topics include:

·         Why Winter is the Best Time to Renovate

·         Signs Your Pool Needs Resurfacing

·         Finding the Right Pool Company

·         The Resurfacing Process

·         Warranties and Making Your Finish Last

- -  Please see below for a text version of this audio file. - -

Host:

Well, welcome to the Innovation Lab. Our guest this morning is Frank Bowman of Frank Bowman Design right here in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Frank, I want to welcome you to our call.

Frank Bowman:   
Great. Thanks for having me this morning.

Host:                    

Frank, you kind of have a really interesting background in terms of how you got started in the industry. Would you mind sharing that with our listeners?

Frank Bowman:   

Sure. I started out, you know, I grew up being a lifeguard my whole life. And then when I went off to college down here at NC State, instead of getting a summer job I was on the swim team there, so of course all my friends were lifeguards. And so in the summertime I started a management company where instead of going out and getting a six dollar an hour job we went out and, you know, I hired my friends and we provided the management services for local community pools, country clubs, places like that.

 And then in the off season we started doing larger renovations and rebuilding of the commercial pools, and I decided that I liked that facet of the industry better. And so I sold off the management side of the company and I just started designing and building swimming pools.

Host:                    

And how long have you been doing that, Frank?

Frank Bowman:   

I’ve been doing that since 1996.

Host:                    

Oh, excellent; excellent. Now here in North Carolina, obviously the winters being kind of cold, how do you spend the majority of your time? I know we’ve talked and you’ve mentioned that, you know, re-plastering pools during this particular time of the year is really a great time to do it. Can you tell me a little bit about that side of your business?

Frank Bowman:   

Sure. Yes, in North Carolina we’re real fortunate that you can generally work twelve months out of the year. Sometimes in the winter, you know, the bad weather like we’ve had here recently will slow us up for a little bit of time, but it’s generally warm enough and it’s a great time to renovate your pools or re-plaster them and do new tile and coping. Because you can get that done in the wintertime, generally, you know, at a little less cost to the end user, and as well your pool will be completely ready in the springtime. You know, you won’t have to wait on the list with everybody else during the mad rush to get your pool open in the spring. Your pool will be ready, full of water and kind of how we work it is once everything’s going you just call us a week or so before you’re ready to jump in your pool and we’ll go out there and, you know, do a final check with you of the chemicals and you’re ready to go.

Host:                    

Frank, what are some of the signs that homeowners should look for that would indicate that, you know, now is about the time for them to consider re-plastering their swimming pool?

Frank Bowman:   

There’s a couple of different signs. With the plaster you’ll probably start to notice – the first thing you’ll notice is as you and your friends and family are using the pool, the bottom’s starting to feel a little rough; more like sandpaper than the old, slick, you know, smooth interior finish. And you’ll notice some staining and discoloration. Or another sign may be that some delamination’s occurring where you’re getting spots that are actually popping off, you know, and you’re seeing the raw Gunite or shotcrete underneath of there. And then of course some people decide it’s just time for, you know, for a facelift; like to change the color and, you know, that’s another reason as well that people decide to resurface their pool.

Host:                    

And, Frank, for folks that are considering or believe to be ready to go and make the plunge right now to go and re-plaster, what advice would you give to those pool owners in terms of, you know, what they should look for to assure a quality experience?

Frank Bowman:   

Yes, a lot of what you need to look for to get – when you’re having your pool resurfaced is to get it done by a reputable company that’s done a lot of whatever products you decide to use. The main thing with doing a resurfacing project is it’s much like painting your house or painting another object. About 80% of the work is in the prep and then about 20% is in the application of the actual product. So you really would like to choose your company, maybe go out and have them show you a project that they’re doing, you know, underway, show them the processes that they take and of course the products that they use. There’s, you know, a variety of different products out there to choose from every which – everyone has their individual place and it’s really up to the homeowner as to, you know, what product they’d like to use.

Host:                    

Now you’ve previously, when we were speaking about this, mentioned just how important the prep work is. What specific things happen during the prepping process?

Frank Bowman:   

There’s basically two different ways to prep a pool for a new surface. The first way is to go in and basically chip off all the existing surface down to bare Gunite or shotcrete. So the contractor would go in and there’s a couple of different ways it can be done. It can be done through hydro-blasting or just basically with chipping hammers and little jackhammers. They’ll go around and remove all the existing surface so it’s basically down to where your pool was once it was installed before the initial application went on. That’s the most thorough way of doing it and it’s going to give your plaster or your new finish the best chance of adhering in the future.

The second way is a little bit less expensive, but what the contractor will do is go in and chip out around your fittings and underneath your tiles about two to five inches so the new plaster will come in and flow flush with those fittings and tiles. And then they’ll apply what’s called a bond coat over the existing plaster or finish, and that’ll give the new product a better surface to adhere to so it’ll stick to that existing surface. The one caution you need to take in your decision with that is that if the new plaster will, as long as it’s installed correctly it’s not going to fail. But if the layers underneath of that plaster were to fail, then what you can have is a failure where you’re getting a popping of the new plaster where it has the old plaster laminated to the new plaster and that wouldn’t be covered under warranty. So when you’re kind of deciding between the two, keep in mind that sometimes it’s better to spend a little bit of extra money up front and get that full chip out as opposed to just doing the bond coat application.

Host:                    

Is there a typical life expectancy on the concrete pools when it comes to, you know, needing to re-plaster?

Frank Bowman:   

Sure, with the concrete pools the plaster – most cement based plasters, whether it’s a Marcite, a plaster or a quartz based finish, they usually come with a one to three year warranty. And as long as you keep your water chemistry right, they can easily last eight to ten years. Now if you don’t use a product and keep your pH in balance, those pools can easily deteriorate, you know, right after that three to four year warranty period. With the concrete pools, as well, if you have a pebble type of finish, generally they come with a longer warranty and they’re going to last a lot longer. You’re going to pay a little more for them up front, but generally the pebble comes with either a ten or fifteen year warranty. And realistically, unless you want to change the color of your pebble finish, that’s going to stay with you, you know, a good 15 or 20 years.

Host:                    

Frank, you’re headquartered in North Carolina, but I understand that you also do business in the Mid-Atlantic States as well. Can you tell our listeners a little bit more about your company and what’s the best way to reach you?

Frank Bowman:   

My concrete pool company and design firm, Frank Bowman Designs, we’re headquartered here in Wake Forest, North Carolina. And we basically travel anywhere where a customer, you know, strives to have, you know, an exceptional product installed. And we design all over the country and in the Caribbean. You can contact me there at frank@frankbowman.com .

Host:                    

Well, Frank, I want to thank you for being with us this morning. You’ve delivered some great information for our listeners and it’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the Innovation Lab. Thank you so much for your time.

Frank Bowman:   

I appreciate it. You have a great day.