Pool decks
Can a pool deck be coated?
Yes, and on a pool deck almost the whole decision is texture, because the surface gets walked on wet and barefoot in full sun all summer.
The short version
- Texture grade matters more on a pool deck than on any other floor, because the surface is used wet and barefoot.
- Sun sets the topcoat. A pool deck sits in it from morning until evening.
- Pool water lands on the deck every time somebody climbs out, and it dries there over and over.
- A dark color gets hot underfoot in the sun, so color is a comfort decision here and not only a looks decision.
- The coping, the surrounding slab and the drains are part of the same job, so the deck gets looked at whole.
How much texture goes in
On a garage floor the texture is a preference. On a pool deck it is the point. The surface gets crossed with wet feet all summer, so the finish carries grain in it, and how coarse that grain is gets chosen on purpose rather than left to whatever the system happens to come with.
More texture gives more grip, and it also holds more dirt, scrubs harder and is rougher on knees and on a swimsuit. Less texture cleans easily and gives less back. There is no single right setting, which is why it is worth standing on a sample with a wet foot before anybody picks one for you.
Sun, heat and pool water
A pool deck is in the sun for the whole of the time it gets used, so the top coat has to be one made for sunlight and the color has to be picked for heat as well as for looks. A dark deck in July is a deck people cross quickly. Lighter colors stay cooler underfoot, which is why most pool decks end up on the light side.
Then the water itself. Chlorinated water, salt water and whatever comes out of the pool on somebody sit on the deck and dry there, again and again, all season. So does sunscreen, which marks more surfaces than people expect. That is a chemical load a garage floor never sees, and it is part of what the system gets chosen against.
The rest of the deck
The coping at the pool edge, the joint where the deck meets it, and the drains around it all belong to the same job, and the coating has to stop somewhere at each one. Where the deck drains to, and whether it drains away from the pool or back toward it, decides how long the surface stays wet after everybody gets out.
If the deck belongs to a rental, a club or anything the public walks onto, what the surface has to be is set locally, so ask your city and ask your insurer rather than taking a floor coater's word for it. On a backyard deck the choice is yours, and it is worth making it with somebody standing on the slab next to you.