How to Apply Kool Deck Around a Pool
Tip
Before starting this project, determine how much Kool Deck you will need to cover the surface of your pool deck. The product, sold in units, covers 300 square feet per unit.
To speed the application process, ask a helper to take charge of mixing up the next coat of Kool Deck while you spread the first coat.
A dash brush is a large, somewhat floppy-bristled applicator that plasterers use for flinging plaster to walls in order to create a textured finish.
Kool Deck, manufactured by Mortex, provides a cool, textured surface that bonds with any concrete surface. It helps to keep concrete pool decks cool to the touch even on the hottest days. Available in a number of colors, the deck treatment complements any landscaping around the pool. Typically the finished Kool Deck coating is no more than 1/8-inch thick. If you have experience working with concrete, you can install this product as a do-it-yourself project. Kool Deck installation takes place as soon as you work the swimming pool’s new concrete deck into a broom-roughened finish.
Begin the Kool Deck installation when you can walk on the pool’s deck without leaving footprints. You should still be able to see water rise from the concrete.
Pour 10 gallons of size 20 mesh marble sand into a paddle-style cement mixer. Add 1 gallon of water and mix until you dampen the sand. Place one unit of Kool Deck into the mixer and stir for two minutes. Add 4 gallons of water at the same time you add one 94-lb. bag of white cement. Mix this for three minutes more. Add up to three more gallons of water to the mix to make the Kool Deck appear milky.
Empty several gallons of Kool Deck from the mixer into a 5-gallon bucket. Dip the dash brush all the way to the tops of the bristles. Shake the brush loaded with Kool Deck onto the pool’s deck. Continue splashing the product in all directions until you coat the entire pool deck. Add water to the product in the bucket to keep it a creamy texture. Allow this coat to dry until it loses its water glaze.
Apply a second coat of Kool Deck using the same technique. The second coat may be slightly heavier to give the deck more texture. Vary the second application pattern from the first.
Trowel the deck with a flat trowel as soon as the water glaze disappears from the second application. Don’t press too hard; just level the top of the Kool Deck. Make a second pass with the trowel as soon as you finish the first pass. Take care to smooth any sharp, pointed areas with the trowel. Make a third pass, if necessary, to have approximately 40 percent of the surface smooth and a 60-percent void area.
Keep off the deck until it finishes curing. Depending on temperatures and humidity, it may take as long as 21 days. Do not set any furniture on the deck until it finishes curing.
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Denise Brown is an education professional who wanted to try something different. Two years and more than 500 articles later, she's enjoying her freelance writing experience for online resources such as Work.com and other online information sites. Brown holds a master's degree in history education from Truman State University.
