Newbie Renovation Panic
Hi TFPers - This is a great site. I can't tell you how many hours over the last 2 months I have spent searching and reading posts here.
First time owning a house with a pool. First time to figure out all the ins and outs of renovation. Turns out I have a 38 year old one coated with Fibre Tech (about 12 years ago). Pools is swimmable, but the gel coat is thin and shedding fibers, so I'm going to tear it off and get back to a gunite/plaster surface. Pool needs coping replacing (in my view-looks original-has held up pretty well, I think). Tile is not bad, needs re-grouting, but I guess it will be collateral damage in the reno process, so might as well replace it to match the coping....
My CYA is very high (~130-150), so I need to drain anyway. Somehow the current pool company has managed to keep the algae under control.
After interviewing several, I think I've found the tile & plaster people I want to use (G&B out of Lewisville). I've got 97 linear feet of coping. Mostly I have been quoted Oklahoma flagstone as a replacement. Also Lueders limestone (off-white) and travertine for about 25-30% more. OK flagstone seems to be the least expensive here. Also a real no-no if you are considering adding a salt system, which I am. Actually all the natural stone on offer seems to be a bad choice with a SWG, at least without sealing, which I don't really want to do both for aesthetic and cost reasons.
Here's my question(s): Is a SWG really worth it? Seems like there is a real trade-off between natural stone (without paying the shipping for something hard from far away) and SWG (even with sealant).
Should I just forget the SWG and get a local, natural stone that everyone is quoting? I'm not sure I want to be hosing off my deck after every swim.
If i go SWG, what other coping materials should I be looking at besides natural stone? Manmade pavers like
www.artisticpavers.com seem like the best choice with a SWG. I have asked for a quote on this and don't know how high it runs. What are the least expensive manmade pavers?
I think I've got some pictures here somewhere. Thanks in advance for your comments!