Waterline tile suggestions with Aqua Blue Pebble Sheen? LED lights worth it?

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T

TXSlater

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Mar 23, 2017
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Austin, Texas
Hi there! First post! We are currently building a pool in Austin, TX. It will be 14x32 with a 6' shelf. It will have whiteish concrete coping (we are going with a SWG). I think we will be going with aqua blue pebble sheen, but not 100% sure yet. Assuming we did, I'm wondering if we should try to match the pebble color for the waterline tile and if not, do you go lighter or darker? We can't really pull any colors from the decking, b/c that will be concrete, as well. Anyone have any pictures?

Also, we have 2 lights in the pool. That isn't one of the things I really thought about before signing and it wasn't brought up, but just noticed they will be the standard white lights. Are the color changing LED lights worth an extra $450 a pop? Easy to switch them out later on by myself?

Gunite next week, so hopefully we will be swimming soon!

Thanks!
 
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Welcome to TFP!!! :wave: Wow - gunite next week! It really begins to look like a pool once the gunite is in. When you can, post some pictures of the pool area and diagrams of the design. When you say standard white lights, do you mean LED white lights or the old pre-LED lights? You definitely want LED, and as for color lights, that's up to each pool owner. I would say if you have kids, definitely get the color lights. There are no kids at our house, but we went for the color lights anyway - I guess for the kids within us. So far I can't say we've used them a lot, but I've enjoyed them when we do. I would miss them if I hadn't put them in, and would definitely put them in again.

I agree with Kim. I think it would be very difficult to try to match the tile with the pool finish. And even if you can manage a match now, by the time you're ready for the plaster, you very well could change your mind - and the tile would already in installed. Some people seem to have managed, but I think a lot of luck went into the success. Glass tile is gorgeous, but it can be expensive. Kim's link is a great one for NPT glass tile; they have a good selection. NPT is not as expensive as some of the online sellers of glass pool tile. But I think many of theirs is just a beautiful. Several pools posted on TFP and built in the last couple of years have used NPT glass tile with great results. If it strikes your fancy, but the cost is too scary, then use it as accents. There are lots of ways to do that. If interested, many of us can give you options. I had my mind set on blue ceramic waterline tile, but the designer of our pool really discouraged it. Since we used travertine for the coping, I chose a beige tile for the waterline. I'm so glad I did - I love it. I don't know how that would work with your whiteish concrete (which sounds awesome, BTW). If you haven't already, get busy on Pinterest, etc and on TFP looking at the gallery. It helped me to see pictures of what I thought I would like. And if you have any pictures of what the coping will look like, be sure to add those. It will help us help you!

Keep the updates (and pictures) coming!!!
Take care,
Suz
 
Our color LED's are a fantastic addition for me. I would get them again in a second. 50% of my swimming is in the evening. And for parties it is absolutely something everyone enjoys. I think I commented once that they were the biggest positive surprise of the entire build.
 
bmoreswim said:
Our color LED's are a fantastic addition for me. I would get them again in a second. 50% of my swimming is in the evening. And for parties it is absolutely something everyone enjoys. I think I commented once that they were the biggest positive surprise of the entire build.
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Agree! Definitely do the colored LED lights! And make sure lights are pointed away from house and seating areas.
 
NPT Arctic glass tile, I prefer the minisubway 1x2 but they also have a retro 1x1. We used the Lagoon color with gray thinset which darkened it a bit. It is also great with the white thinset. Search arctic lagoon here to find pools with it.
 
Kpag said:
NPT Arctic glass tile, I prefer the minisubway 1x2 but they also have a retro 1x1. We used the Lagoon color with gray thinset which darkened it a bit. It is also great with the white thinset. Search arctic lagoon here to find pools with it.
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We used NPT arctic glass tile also - in "Ice" 1x1. Because the arctic tiles are iridescent, they match or complement a number of pool finish colors.

Regarding LED lights, we opted for color and were very happily surprised at how nice the effect is. I was not particularly enthusiastic about them before the build, but ultimately they turned out to be one of my favorite features and well worth the relatively small additional expense.
 
Ha! I went to the tile store yesterday before seeing your post and got a sample of the NPT Arctic in Lagoon b/c it is so beautiful. I noticed in the thread in your signature you were considering the Artistry in Mosaics in turquoise. That is another one I had my eye on, but he didn't have a sample. He is ordering one and I hope it comes in similar to the Arctic b/c it is about $10/ft cheaper :). Did you finish your remodel and if so, do you have photos you can share?
 
Kpag said:
NPT Arctic glass tile, I prefer the minisubway 1x2 but they also have a retro 1x1. We used the Lagoon color with gray thinset which darkened it a bit. It is also great with the white thinset. Search arctic lagoon here to find pools with it.
Click to expand...
Ha! I went to the tile store yesterday before seeing your post and got a sample of the NPT Arctic in Lagoon b/c it is so beautiful. I noticed in the thread in your signature you were considering the Artistry in Mosaics in turquoise. That is another one I had my eye on, but he didn't have a sample. He is ordering one and I hope it comes in similar to the Arctic b/c it is about $10/ft cheaper
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. Did you finish your remodel and if so, do you have photos you can share?

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yankeelawyer said:
We used NPT arctic glass tile also - in "Ice" 1x1. Because the arctic tiles are iridescent, they match or complement a number of pool finish colors.

Regarding LED lights, we opted for color and were very happily surprised at how nice the effect is. I was not particularly enthusiastic about them before the build, but ultimately they turned out to be one of my favorite features and well worth the relatively small additional expense.
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Do you have pictures of the Arctic in Ice in your pool that you could share? I have been considering going light/whitish/irridescent, but can't find any picture of pools. Sounds gorgeous!
 

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Here are some photos of the arctic ice 1x1. Note that they are installed over pale grey thinset and have pale grey grout (as opposed to white).

The overall effect gives a silvery sheen. Also, the tiles seem to take on the colors that surround them so they blend well with the water color whether it appears bright blue or greenish teal as it does at different times of day. At night, they reflect the moonlight and the step markers are quite bright (like lights).

If you want more color contrast, arctic lagoon would be a good choice. I wanted the tiles to blend in and am happy with the effect of the ice tiles.
 

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yankeelawyer said:
Here are some photos of the arctic ice 1x1. Note that they are installed over pale grey thinset and have pale grey grout (as opposed to white).

The overall effect gives a silvery sheen. Also, the tiles seem to take on the colors that surround them so they blend well with the water color whether it appears bright blue or greenish teal as it does at different times of day. At night, they reflect the moonlight and the step markers are quite bright (like lights).

If you want more color contrast, arctic lagoon would be a good choice. I wanted the tiles to blend in and am happy with the effect of the ice tiles.
Click to expand...

Wow, the tile (and your entire pool) are gorgeous! I love the tile! Thank you for the photos - it really helps!
 
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I think I ended up with all the "sparkly iridescent turquoise" glass samples I could find from lots of different places. We only wanted 1x2 so that ruled out a lot of tiles. I went to the showrooms at Noble Tile, NPT (National Pool Tile), DalTile and Master Tile. I also ordered tile samples from ClassicPoolTile.com, MineralTiles.com and TileStoreOnline.com. The iridescent 1x2 turquoise tile all looked very similar when in the pool. I posted a lot more current photos in this thread: Remodeling 1988 Freeform Pool in DFW - Two Years Later
 
Kpag said:
I think I ended up with all the "sparkly iridescent turquoise" glass samples I could find from lots of different places. We only wanted 1x2 so that ruled out a lot of tiles. I went to the showrooms at Noble Tile, NPT (National Pool Tile), DalTile and Master Tile. I also ordered tile samples from ClassicPoolTile.com, MineralTiles.com and TileStoreOnline.com. The iridescent 1x2 turquoise tile all looked very similar when in the pool. I posted a lot more current photos in this thread: Remodeling 1988 Freeform Pool in DFW - Two Years Later
Click to expand...

I love the arctic lagoon with the grey thinset. That is really pretty!!
 

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