SWG Coping Ideas

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A

And5555

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Sep 19, 2015
144
Austin, TX
Hey everybody!

I'm new here, but I've been reading for a couple months. I have not seen too many ideas for coping on a SWG system.

I'm in the final stages of the design/bid phase part of the project and trying to solify details.

Looking at ~87 ft perimeter freeform in Austin, TX. I've been non-negotiable on wanting salt water but we love the look of stone. The only options I've seen are quartzite and sunstone/koolstone. I've heard quartzite is very expensive, but we love it. I'm worried that sunstone/koolstone will look very fake (note: this is like Sundeck but made to look like stone).

Are there any other ideas that look really good for SWG? Pics, materials, etc appreciated.

Thanks!

(Also, just FYI, I have it narrowed down to either being the GC myself or using a small pool builder in Austin who does most everything himself - friend who owns gunite company recommended him)
 
My pool was designed and built as a salt pool. No stone of any kind, no coping, nothing for salt to damage. The deck has a cantilevered edge and is concrete with a textured acrylic coating.
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Here's my advice - build the pool YOU want to build and don't get too wrapped up in the salt/stone debate. Our pool has 3" thick, unsealed Arizona flagstone (natural buckskin color) as the coping. It looks beautiful. It looks as beautiful now as the day it did when it was first put in (I have the original installation photos to prove it to myself). If I had gotten wrapped up in the salt/stone debate, I would have obsessed about a stone coping. Perhaps the stone may not last 20 years. Maybe I'll need to remodel the coping in 15 years (by then, I might want to do a remodel anyway). For now, I have a pool that looks great and I am seeing no signs of degradation in the coping.

So, if quartzite is what you want, then go for it (budgetary considerations apply). If you can find a different stone that you'd like for a coping, then get yourself a reputable stone mason and bring your salt water concerns to them. It is very likely, if they are well-experienced in their industry and trade, that they know a few tricks for keeping the stone looking beautiful.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Here's my advice - build the pool YOU want to build and don't get too wrapped up in the salt/stone debate. Our pool has 3" thick, unsealed Arizona flagstone (natural buckskin color) as the coping. It looks beautiful. It looks as beautiful now as the day it did when it was first put in (I have the original installation photos to prove it to myself). If I had gotten wrapped up in the salt/stone debate, I would have obsessed about a stone coping. Perhaps the stone may not last 20 years. Maybe I'll need to remodel the coping in 15 years (by then, I might want to do a remodel anyway). For now, I have a pool that looks great and I am seeing no signs of degradation in the coping.

So, if quartzite is what you want, then go for it (budgetary considerations apply). If you can find a different stone that you'd like for a coping, then get yourself a reputable stone mason and bring your salt water concerns to them. It is very likely, if they are well-experienced in their industry and trade, that they know a few tricks for keeping the stone looking beautiful.
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Couldn't agree more. I am in he middle of building now. I have a SWG and am using ivory 24x12 travertine coping. It's what I like
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I have decided to go with quartzite coping, unless I find that the cost is prohibitively expensive. If it is, then I'll go with Oklahoma sandstone, as I've heard it's pretty hard, and I'll use the best sealer on it to mitigate damage.
 
My brother lives in San Antonio and that that place is wicked humid so I thought maybe Austin would be the same. :D

I can understand the potential concern in maybe somewhere super arid and hot like AZ, but in TX I think you will be fine. I guess what I am trying to say is that I would not necessarily spend extra money on coping in your situation if it means a big trade off in other more high impact areas for a somewhat low-risk problem. The quartzite or sandstone will likely both work great so pick the one you like the best aesthetically.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Here's my advice - build the pool YOU want to build and don't get too wrapped up in the salt/stone debate. Our pool has 3" thick, unsealed Arizona flagstone (natural buckskin color) as the coping. It looks beautiful. It looks as beautiful now as the day it did when it was first put in (I have the original installation photos to prove it to myself). If I had gotten wrapped up in the salt/stone debate, I would have obsessed about a stone coping. Perhaps the stone may not last 20 years. Maybe I'll need to remodel the coping in 15 years (by then, I might want to do a remodel anyway). For now, I have a pool that looks great and I am seeing no signs of degradation in the coping.

So, if quartzite is what you want, then go for it (budgetary considerations apply). If you can find a different stone that you'd like for a coping, then get yourself a reputable stone mason and bring your salt water concerns to them. It is very likely, if they are well-experienced in their industry and trade, that they know a few tricks for keeping the stone looking beautiful.
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I almost got wrapped up in this debate as well. I am currently in the middle of my build and I went with Travertine coping and decking with a SWG pool. My contractor advised me that he has built many pools over the last 15 years and has had no issues with Salt and stone. I am however, going to seal all of my travertine with Dry-Treat. It is going to cost about $800 to seal but it is worth it.

I am doing an owner build and I visited several major pool builders and they would not install stone with travertine. I suspect its a warranty issue.
 
+1 to what Matt says. We are over 3 years in on unsealed OK flagstone with salt and no regrets. The flagstone is a lot hotter than the our rocksalt finished concrete deck though. Pics and further comments in my build thread. Any concrete product will resist damage from salt. Pavers, cast coping or Chief's nifty cantilever deck will all work great.
 

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Divin Dave said:
A lot of the swg vs stone debate also depends on the quality of the stone. As my dad used to say, not all apples are the same color of red.

There are almost always a work-around, so go with what suits you.
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This is quite true. A stone mason I spoke to about some flagstone work we were having done said to me that he prefers to work only with the buff (buckskin or yellow-brown) colored natural flagstone because the pinkish varieties are weaker, more easily weathered and more prone to mechanical failure. The coloration in flagstone typically comes from the chemical makeup of the binder material (silica, calcite and iron oxide) and so I was thinking the pink varieties probably have higher iron oxide content and are, perhaps, much weaker.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, 16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
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