Tri-Roc pebble finish (from Triad Associates / Haverhill, MA)

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chinatti

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May 7, 2014
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Massachusetts
Hi-

I'm in the process of getting bids for a renovation project, and we'd like to go with a pebble finish for the interior resurfacing. The vendors we are talking to offer either Pebble-Tec or Wet-Edge pebble finishes, and I've found plenty of discussions about the differences/pros/cons and the history of these companies/products. One vendor, Triad Associates (out of Haverhill, MA), in addition to Wet-Edge also offers their own pebble-finish product called "Tri-Roc". It is obviously a bit cheaper than the other options (since there are no royalty fees / etc), but the obvious question is how it compares to the more well-known national brands. I searched the forum but couldn't find any mention of it... The sales guy is pitching it as an equivalent product.

Is anyone on the forum familiar with the product and be willing to share any info?

Thanks in advance...
 
Hi,
there are several small companies who are producing thier own verson of pebble tec and wet edge products.
I think it would be worth while discussing with those manufacturers about their warranty and if their products require "approved" applicators, and what is the quality of the aggragate used in the mix.

No matter what brand or make-up of a plaster product, if it isnt installed correctly, then its not going to be an appealing end product.
When it comes to plaster of any sort, chemistry of the mix and how its applied means everything.

This is why the upper a couple of the tier plaster makers, especially pebble tec, will not let plaster installers who do not meet their standard of quality, install their products.
 
Yeah, that makes sense. The argument from the sales guy was that in this case their company offers WetEdge as well as their own product (I have quotes from them on both), and the same crew would be applying either one. Seems reasonable. I have asked about the warranty already, and will compare that. It's not a dramatic cost difference, maybe 10-12% or so, but a few thousand here and a few thousand there and pretty soon it starts to add up! Hence the dilemma....

You mention PebbleTec specifically, but I believe WetEdge also requires specific, qualified installers for their product as well, right?

In general it's hard to get a straight story about all this ... every vendor points out how the other guy's "quality has slipped recently" and "doesn't do as good a job as they used to", etc., etc.....

If we go with the local product I also plan on asking to see some reference pool installs to see how it's held up over time.
 
This may go without saying but make sure to see even just a sample piece before deciding. We saw some "store brand pebbles", or whatever you want to call them, and to me it almost didn't even look like the same product. In particular one of them looked more like exposed flakes. It may have been a wonderful finish and it was quite smooth which was appealing but we were worried that it didn't even seem the same as the Wet Edge or the Pebble Tec finishes at all. On the contrary one company's "house brand" was a genuine Pebble Sheen finish.
 
i think wetedge limits their product to approved installers, but dont quote me on that. Im not 100% sure. And you're right, a few thou here and there adds up very quickly!

All of these people are trying to make a living, and there is just no telling what they will tell you in order to do that. Its almost a roll of the dice these days.

Sounds to me though like you are going about it the right way. I would definitely want to see a pool or 2 of the local prodcuct. Very good idea.

chinatti said:
Yeah, that makes sense. The argument from the sales guy was that in this case their company offers WetEdge as well as their own product (I have quotes from them on both), and the same crew would be applying either one. Seems reasonable. I have asked about the warranty already, and will compare that. It's not a dramatic cost difference, maybe 10-12% or so, but a few thousand here and a few thousand there and pretty soon it starts to add up! Hence the dilemma....

You mention PebbleTec specifically, but I believe WetEdge also requires specific, qualified installers for their product as well, right?

In general it's hard to get a straight story about all this ... every vendor points out how the other guy's "quality has slipped recently" and "doesn't do as good a job as they used to", etc., etc.....

If we go with the local product I also plan on asking to see some reference pool installs to see how it's held up over time.
Click to expand...
 
I know in Massachusetts Kadison is the only licensed installer for pebble tec. Triad has a good reputation and enough customers that you should be able to get some references and see some pools. My pool builder uses Kadison so that is who we will use.

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Yes, Kadison is one of the other options (as a sub from one of the other vendors I'm talking to). As far as I can tell, Pebble-Tec and Wet-Edge seem pretty darn comparable, and all the vendors I'm talking to seem to have good reputations .... but as mentioned above it seems like there's always a bit of luck involved in everything coming together. And there are no do-overs unfortunately!
 
I will say that we had WetEdge at our last pool and it was a little rough on the feet. I don't think this has been everyone's experience, though. We decided to do pebble sheen this time around because of it, but WetEdge has a comparable product.

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Superwy, which wetedge product did you have? There are a few options in their pebble matrix line - pearl, satin, prism - sorted by cost.

Satin matrix seems to match the pebble sheen. We were considering the satin matrix till we saw the beauty of all the glass stones in the prism matrix. Now I'm afraid I'll be coughing up more $$$ for the upgrade.
 

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Spool, we had the pearl product with the larger pebbles. I was a fanatic about brushing but we had some large sharp pebbles on the bottom that would cut our feet. I have been in some pools with the sheen and it is much smoother. I think this is true for whichever product you would use.

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