Pool Deck Resurfacing in Universal City, Texas

A city at Randolph's gate

Universal City grew because of the airfield across the tracks. Three San Antonio doctors bought farmland here in late 1929, betting the future base would bring homes and businesses. Developer Aubrey Milner named the tract Universal City in 1931, and Randolph Field opened on October 25 that year. Pat Booker Road, State Highway 218, was built in 1935 and became the main street.

The boom followed the move of Headquarters, Air Training Command to Randolph in 1957. Johnnie Chuoke began Rose Garden, the first profitable housing development, late that year, and the population reached 7,613 by 1970. Voters approved incorporation in March 1960. The 2020 Census counted 19,720 residents, and the Census Bureau estimated 20,399 for July 1, 2025.

Homes from the 1960s to the 1980s

The city's median home dates from 1984 in the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey. Of the city's homes, 23.2 percent date from the 1970s, 18.7 percent from the 1980s and 14.1 percent from the 1960s. Those are the houses' ages; a deck may have been poured with the house or added later.

Olympia Hills and the Cibolo Creek trails

The city runs Olympia Hills, a municipal golf course and conference center that opened in March 2000 and now goes by Olympia Hills Golf and Event Center. Its parks include the Universal City Cibolo Creek Nature Trails, and each year brings Snowfest in February and a Veterans' Day parade in November.

Deck permits and fees

Universal City has adopted the 2021 International Residential Code, with amendments, and the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. Its permit list covers pools above and in ground, spas, decks, retaining walls, fences and concrete flatwork, meaning free-standing slabs, patios, curbs, sidewalks and driveways. The city's questions-and-answers page says nearly all construction needs a permit; the only work that doesn't is painting and interior cosmetic work such as cabinets, wallpaper and carpet.

The fee schedule in effect from October 1, 2026, under Ordinance 361-AJ-2026, sets permits by class:

• flatwork: $185;
• a deck, patio or cover, or an above-ground pool: $320;
• an in-ground pool, including its fence: $550;
• a residential addition or remodel: $700.

No city page names deck resurfacing on its own. Ask the city's Development Services office whether a recoat needs a permit, and which class applies.

Edges and gaps under the pool code

The 2021 pool code the city uses caps the open gap between a pool deck and an adjoining deck or walkway at 3/4 inch, joint material included. The step up or down to an adjoining sidewalk can be no more than 1/4 inch, and deck edges must be rounded or tapered so there are no sharp corners.

Community and apartment pools

Public pools and spas in the city need an annual Pool and Spa license and are inspected routinely against the same 2021 code. The fee list carries an annual commercial health pool permit for each pool.

Hard water on deck surfaces

The city runs its own water system and draws the vast majority of its water from the Edwards Aquifer. Its 2025 report gives total hardness of 254 mg/L, the highest level detected that year. State samples from April 2, 2025 read 258, 242 and 241 mg/L at three entry points.

That water lands on the deck as splash and spill. Mortex, the maker of Kool Deck, says evaporating water leaves gray mineral deposits that build up on steps and busy areas. For lighter buildup, it recommends that experienced contractors use a surface cleaner on a pressure washer of 3,000 pounds per square inch or more. Buffing the deck once a year is its other suggestion. Deck owners shouldn't attempt muriatic acid washes, it says, and routine cleaning doesn't need them.

The pool deck resurfacing page puts spray-texture, cool deck and overlay coatings side by side, along with the repairs that come before them.