How do we plan an HOA pool resurfacing or replaster project?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 24, 2026

How an HOA board plans a pool resurfacing or replaster: condition check, finish choice, health department rules, scope, drain covers, timeline and owner notice.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Start about a year ahead and do the work in the off-season. The job itself is easy to describe. The contractor drains the pool, prepares or removes the old finish, applies the new one, refills, and cures it. The expensive mistakes happen around the edges. The board skips the health department, lets each contractor bid a different finish, drains the pool during a wet month, or refills it the week before opening with nobody assigned to brush the new plaster. A sound project has five parts: a confirmed need, one written scope, the regulator's sign-off where one applies, money approved before the contract is signed, and owner notice at least a month before the gate closes. Pool rules differ by state, county and city, and your governing documents decide who can approve the spending, so use this as a planning guide and not as legal advice.

Confirm the finish is really worn out

The reserve study gives the pool finish a replacement year, and that year is an estimate. Before you budget, have the pool service company or a resurfacing contractor walk the pool with your pool lead, ideally with the water lowered, and write down what they find. A full resurface is justified by rough patches that scrape feet, areas that sound hollow when tapped or are flaking off, bare or exposed spots, cracks in the shell, and stains that an acid wash no longer removes. Loose waterline tile and cracked coping usually show up at the same time, and fixing them while the pool is already empty costs less than a second drain later. Ask for photos and a one-page written report. If the finish has two good seasons left, spot repairs and a note to the reserve study provider may be the right answer this year. Put the decision and the reason in the minutes either way, so the next board knows why you acted or waited.

Call your regulator before you bid

Texas. The state pool rules in 25 TAC chapter 265, subchapter L, cover a property owners association pool as a Class C pool. Section 265.183(b) lets a minor alteration, renovation or repair follow the construction standard in place when the pool was built, so a like-for-like resurface does not force a rebuild to current code. Two details still matter. A replaced depth marker goes in the top 4-1/2 inches of the wall, just under the coping, where a swimmer can read it (265.190(b)). A Class C pool deeper than 5 feet needs a contrasting line at least 4 inches wide where the floor breaks from shallow to deep (265.190(a)(3)), and new plaster covers the old line unless the scope puts it back. Many Texas cities also require a building permit. Florida. If your pool holds a Department of Health operating permit, section 514.03 requires anyone modifying a public pool to apply to the department before filing for a building permit, and the department's guidance treats resurfacing to the original specifications as a repair or alteration. Its Notice of Resurfacing form, which county health offices ask contractors to file about two weeks before work starts, asks for the contractor's certified pool contractor number and runs a checklist: gutter lip level within 1/4 inch, tile step markings, depth and NO DIVING markers, ladders 3 to 6 inches from the wall, and no step riser over 12 inches. The form also repeats the Florida Building Code color rule. Floors and walls must be white or light pastel. That rules out the dark finishes some owners will ask for. Colorado. The state regulation, 5 CCR 1003-5, calls a pool used only by residents and their guests a private pool and exempts it. Your county health department and city building department may still have rules, so call both and write down who you spoke to.

Write one scope that every bidder prices

Choose the finish before you bid, or ask every bidder for alternate prices on the same bid form. Standard white plaster costs the least up front. Quartz and pebble aggregate finishes cost more and are sold on longer life. Tile costs the most. Get the manufacturer's warranty and the installer's workmanship warranty in writing, and compare cost per year of expected life rather than the first number on the page. Then list everything else. Say how the old finish is prepared or removed and that hollow areas get chipped out, not coated over. Say how cracks are repaired and who decides which ones need it. Price waterline tile and coping per linear foot, since nobody knows the full count until the pool is empty. Include new depth markers and the depth transition line, and resetting or replacing return fittings and lights. Name who drains the pool and where the water goes, because some cities restrict sending pool water into the storm drain. Ask about the hydrostatic relief valve and the water table, since an in-ground shell drained over high groundwater can lift or crack. End with startup. New plaster is usually brushed daily and balanced with care for its first weeks. The contract should attach the manufacturer's startup procedure and name who follows it, for how many days. Our guide on how to write an HOA request for proposal covers the bid form and site walk.

Drain covers and safety items while the pool is empty

An empty pool is the cheapest time to fix the things that can hold a swimmer underwater. Every drain cover has an expiration date printed on it, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends replacing any cover past that date even if it is otherwise compliant. Under the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, a public pool with a single blockable main drain, or drains less than 3 feet apart, also needs a second anti-entrapment system, such as a safety vacuum release. Confirm yours is installed and tested before refill. In Florida, replaced drain covers or sumps call for the department's separate DH 4157 form under section 514.0315. In Texas, 265.185 bars running the pump at all when a drain cover is missing, broken or loose. While the gate is closed for work, Texas also requires that users be kept out of the pool yard and that a closed sign be posted on the gates (265.194(j)). Lock it. Tape across an open gate will not keep children out.

A sample timeline for a spring reopening

Twelve months out, get the condition report and compare it with the reserve balance for the pool finish. Nine months out, write the scope, choose the finish or the alternates, and make the regulator calls. Six months out, send the request for proposal, hold one site walk for all bidders, and give them 30 days. Five months out, put the bid sheet in the board packet and vote on the contract and the funding. Four months out, send the owner notice. The contractor pulls permits and, in Florida, files the resurfacing notice. During the work window, the contractor drains, preps, sets tile, applies the finish and refills. Get the number of days the pool will be empty in the contract, with weather as the only excuse. In Colorado, ask the contractor for their minimum application temperature and finish before hard freezes or wait for spring. Allow for the startup period in the manufacturer's procedure before a final walk-through, a punch list, and any required inspection. Pay the last draw only after all three are done. Then send the reserve study provider the date and cost so the component resets.

Approve the money and tell owners

Decide at a properly noticed board meeting unless your documents allow another method. If the reserve line for the pool finish covers the contract plus a contingency the board picks for unknowns, often about 10 percent, the motion can be short: 'Moved to approve the contract with [contractor] to resurface the community pool in [finish] for $[amount] under the bid dated [date], plus a contingency of up to $[amount] for tile, crack and fitting repairs at the unit prices in that bid, paid from the pool finish reserve, with [director] authorized to approve change orders within the contingency and required to report each one at the next board meeting.' If reserves fall short, check your declaration and state law before choosing a special assessment or loan. Our guide on how to plan a major HOA project covers those funding choices. Send owners a notice four months out, again two weeks before closing, and post it at the gate: 'The pool will close on [date] for resurfacing and is scheduled to reopen on [date]. The work includes a new [finish], waterline tile repairs and new drain covers. The cost of $[amount] comes from the reserve fund set aside for this work, so there is no special assessment. The pool yard will be locked during the project. Please keep children out of the work area. Updates will be posted at the gate and emailed every two weeks.'

Mistakes that cost a second season

Coating over hollow spots instead of chipping them out, which brings the flaking back within a year or two. Accepting a vague line like 'startup included' and then learning the crew will brush the plaster twice. Picking a dark finish for a Florida permitted pool and failing the next inspection. Leaving expired drain covers in place because the contract did not mention them. Scheduling the finish work for the month before the pool is supposed to open, so one rainy week costs the Fourth of July. Paying the full contract before the punch list is done. Forgetting to update the reserve study, which leaves next year's budget funding a pool finish you already bought. When the pool reopens, our guide on how to open an HOA pool for the season covers the permit, logs and signs.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

More on home & property

Or browse all home projects & property rules guides.