Jewelscapes pool finish

[CCisotope]

We are getting very close to our design and looking at pool finishes. We've looked at diamond brite, pebble tec, wet edge and jewelscapes.

I've been looking for reviews in the jewelscape classic line and did not find much. Does anyone about the durability if this product when compared to pebble tech or wet edge? We are thinking of using this product in our spa instead of a wet edge finish and wondering if it would hold up the heat or temperature changes since they are glass stones. Also will the jewelscape finish be to hot to sit on if we use it in the spa? And if use it in the pool instead of wetedge will it be too slippery under the feet?

We are also looking at the wet edge prism matrix finish as a possibility- this has some glass aggregate but not all glass.

 

[HudsonViews]

From what I have read pebbletec/sheen will hold up longest due to the aggregate mix. Wet edge supposedly started up from pebbletec founder so should be comparable. Not sure about glass products. I have seen beadcrete and was not impressed. Seems like the premium for glass could be spent on waterline tile upgrade etc. for more bang for the buck.

 

[Patrick_B]

Wet edge will last every bit as long as PT if not longer. You may likely pay a little more for PT, but when you get to this level of quality, the skill and attention to proper installation practices is what really counts. Glass finish is super pricy, often approaching the cost of all tile finishes. Glass will hold up fine in high spa temps, and won't be hot to sit on. You could compromise and go with a mixture of bead and pebble for a lot less cost. Personally, I think Wet Edge has a much better selection of color in bead, or bead/pebble mix than BC or PT. Your opinion may vary on this as it is purely subjective.

If there were a Wet Edge installer here, I would choose it over every other product without question. I like the company, and I love the vast selection of colors they offer in every line. National Pool Tile also has extremely high quality finishes of all types too. One of Texas's premier pool builders told me, that all these brands are so close in quality, you can't the difference if they are installed properly.

 

[HudsonViews]

The drawback I have read is that is is a lot easier to qualify as a wetedge installer than pebbletec.

 

[Patrick_B]

The drawback I have read is that is is a lot easier to qualify as a wetedge installer than pebbletec.

I would enjoy reading that if you can link me to it. I have doubts about how true that is, but I would really like to know. It is really expensive for a builder to go out and train his with either of these companies, and that's why many aren't doing it. No one around here does either that I know of, they just bring in Subs from Austin or DFW to apply these finishes. A couple here use one of the best plaster companies from Austin.

 

[HudsonViews]

I dont recall offhand I read while deciding myself as to what plaster types to beost durable. Looks like only contenders are pebbletec then 2 nd wet edge. Seems both can last up to 20 yrs as opposed to traditional plaster or even diamondbrite. Who does your builder recommend?

 

[Patrick_B]

Not exactly...National (NPT) has some wild glass bead finishes too. Honestly there are some stunningly gorgeous colors in their four series of selections. If I could afford one, I just might get go with NPT on the glass option. So many options!

I like windsurfer in the Classic series from NPT. http://www.nptpool.com/pool-finishes/je ... es/classic

 

[CCisotope]

Brushpup your NPT link shows the exact finish we've been looking at for the spa. So is Jewelscape part of the Wetedge line or is it a completely different product that NPT offers? This is where I am a bit confused. Also how long has the Jewelscape line been around?

I think Hubby and I will probably go with wetedge. From my research it seems to be as durable as PT but wet edge just has more color selections and the prism matrix line with glass aggregate is very nice too. So depending on the cost of the Jewelscape we might just go with the wet edge prism matrix for a little bit of "sparkle" in the spa.

Hudson, depending on the PB that we talk too diff ones push either PT or WE. The majority push PT but these tend to be the "premium" builders in our area. Also from my research you pay a premium for the PT name but the underlying technology for the PT and WE finishes are very similar and equally durable. No one has offered jewelscapes, I happen to come across it in a tile showroom and thought it would be nice for our modern design. We realize there is a cost associated with the glass but wanted to see pricing for just the spa.

 

[CCisotope]

Also brushpup the pics of jewelscape online isn't as comparable to seeing it in person..."sparkle" "sparkle" "sparkle" . A different sparkle than an all glass tile finish.

 

[Patrick_B]

Jewelscapes is the NPT product. The colors in it are incredible and I can only imagine how good it will look in person. I have no idea how long it's been around, but the NPT finishes are superb products from everything I have been able to dig up. I agree on the PT pricing. It's a fine product, but you are paying a lot for the name. IMO, there is no quality difference in WetEdge or PT.

 

[RobbieH]

Once my finish was done, the plaster installer said I chose correctly by going with Wet Edge. Take that as two cents worth of info.

One thing to keep in mind is that the installer or Wet Edge can mix finishes too. So let's say you are in my boat where we were having trouble deciding between Sky Blue and Caribbean Coast. Sky Blue was pretty much all blue, Caribbean Coast has the colors, but in the last sample we didn't like how much black was in it. The installer offered to mix the two in whatever ratio we wanted so that we could have the blue of the Sky Blue, with the colors in Caribbean Coast. He was saying 70% Sky Blue and 30% Caribbean Coast would do the trick. I don't know if this is what he did (yet), but we got exactly the colors we wanted. He will be by later today to collect the remaining half of the money and to do the first day of start up, I'll ask him at that time if he did a mix of colors.

 

[Patrick_B]

Once my finish was done, the plaster installer said I chose correctly by going with Wet Edge. Take that as two cents worth of info.

One thing to keep in mind is that the installer or Wet Edge can mix finishes too. So let's say you are in my boat where we were having trouble deciding between Sky Blue and Caribbean Coast. Sky Blue was pretty much all blue, Caribbean Coast has the colors, but in the last sample we didn't like how much black was in it. The installer offered to mix the two in whatever ratio we wanted so that we could have the blue of the Sky Blue, with the colors in Caribbean Coast. He was saying 70% Sky Blue and 30% Caribbean Coast would do the trick. I don't know if this is what he did (yet), but we got exactly the colors we wanted. He will be by later today to collect the remaining half of the money and to do the first day of start up, I'll ask him at that time if he did a mix of colors.

I'm hoping I helped push you on that too. :lol:

I recently found out from my builder that mixing finishes is something they all do a lot when people want something custom. We are considering it right now as I want something a little different. Still in tha air, so we will see.

 

[Angnjam]

Not exactly...National (NPT) has some wild glass bead finishes too. Honestly there are some stunningly gorgeous colors in their four series of selections. If I could afford one, I just might get go with NPT on the glass option. So many options!

I like windsurfer in the Classic series from NPT. http://www.nptpool.com/pool-finishes/je ... es/classic

Brushup, did you end up using glass in your pebble finish? How do you like it and how does it look. I'm installing mine tomorrow and want to make sure I'm not making a mistake by adding some of the glass blends to the mini Stonescapes pebble.