FIFA is Coming…Are you Ready?
We know, we know. The World Cup is years away. Why are we taking about it now? But plans are already being made by city administrators across the continent to make sure each city is fully prepared to welcome thousands of FIFA fans and players in 2026. So, how does this relate to pools? In more ways than you think! First of all, if you are in the hotel business or plan to make some extra cash by renting out your home during the event, it might not be a bad idea to start looking at your pool and figuring out if any work needs to be done between now and then. Which brings me to the real name of the game: Planning Ahead. These FIFA and city officials know what they are doing when they start preparing years in advance. Think of your pool as a mini FIFA World Cup. You want to have a sparkling newly renovated pool in the next few years? As crazy as it may sound, you have to start planning right away. As always, lead times are extremely high for everyone in the pool industry and many companies are already booked out anywhere from 6-18 months.
Swimming Pool Renovation
Any large project takes extensive planning and even when you think the Force is with you, there may still be a Death Star (or two) out there ready to throw you a curve ball. In the pool business, these curve balls usually come in the form of weather – specifically rain. Unfortunately, pool work can’t happen in the rain and in 2022, Kansas City alone saw 88 days of rain. On top of that, the majority of people want to get all of their pool work done before Memorial Day or after Labor Day to be able to enjoy all 98 optimal pool days of the year. So, if there are 312 work days per year Monday-Saturday, and you subtract those 98 pool days as well as the 60 days of rain outside of those pool days, you get 144 optimal possible days to work on a pool. That is not very many and it makes sense why spots on a pool work schedule are coveted! What’s even more, is how long it takes to get a pool renovated from start to finish. See below for average times of each phase of a pool renovation.
Above is the amount of time it typically takes to complete each stage of work on a pool. Depending on a project, some of these phases can be done on the same day. However, for a full renovation of interior resurfacing and tile and coping replacement it takes an estimated 15 project days.
Some factors may cause a pool to take longer than the above estimates. For example, if a pool is painted, has a lot of debris, or is larger in size, it may take extra days to complete all phases of work. The whole process can be lengthy, we admit. But the good news is that a lot of this work can be done all year round, including winter!
If a pool can fit under one of our tents (up to 30×50 in size, see above) it can be resurfaced with INTER-GLASS® during the winter. All tile, coping and prep work can be done during the traditional off-season. Then once it warms up, we can come back out and finish the job in 2-5 days! Plaster is the only phase that cannot be done over the winter. A newly plastered pool needs to be running with chemicals for 30 days and is best done in warmer weather. For everything else, these tents allow us to work during all seasons. See below for an example of a few days working under these bad boys.
Tell Me More About That Pool’s Surface…
We thought you’d never ask! Winter is the perfect time to put a spotlight on our propriety resurfacing product, INTER-GLASS®. It can not only can be applied start to finish in the winter months, but also holds up exceptionally well in lower temperatures. As it is a proprietary product, you can only get it from us at Mid-America Pool Renovation. It is a series of hand-applied resins and fabrics that bond to the pool’s shell. The result is a smooth, seamless pool surface that is water tight and resistant to damage from chemicals and algae. This type of surface can be applied to many kinds of pre-existing surfaces such as plaster, metal, fiberglass and panel-wall pools. It is also used on badly aging and cracked surfaces to bring a crumbling pool back to life. We are so confident in this product that it comes with a 25-year warranty. See below for more information on the INTER-GLASS® process.
