Remodel 1980s A&S Pool Northern Virginia

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kcindc

kcindc

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Sep 2, 2011
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Fairfax, VA
This is the official start of my pool remodel thread. I'll upload some photos later tonight for the "before" pics.

My pool is an original 1980s Anthony & Sylvan lazy L with an attached spa. Everything is original including the painted plaster... well, what remains of the paint and plaster.

I'm keeping the original coping and pool deck because I might be selling the house later this year. I'm replacing the pool tile and getting plain regular plaster.

I initially selected their "stock" tile and finally received an email with their samples. I'm not impressed. Let me know your thoughts.


pool tile.jpg
 
Current photo from my phone. The pool really belongs to Scooby my lab/otter mix.... I just maintain it for him and he lets me get to use it occasionally.

90cc8bc52365e4c03e57d8877bb7dee1.jpg
 
So what is wrong with Scobby's current tile? What I can see of it looks good.

Hummmmmmmmm how is this for an idea?

-the bottom left tile for most of it BUT with POPS of the middle one or the top left one....say every 5th or 6th one being the pop.

I will also call in my "design team". This will be fun!

I do not like the upper right as it is too bright.

I do not like the middle left as it is too light.

So what do you think?

Kim:kim:
 
Gee! Will Scooby get a pool in the new place? I think it's kind of sad to pick out tile and plaster and not get to enjoy it. But you must do what you must do! Who knows what the new buyers would like, so I'm going to say go a bit moderate, but not so blah they wouldn't find it interesting.

My picks would be ME33 and ME21. To be sure, if numbering from top-down and left-right, that would be numbers 5 and 8, or center tiles going down, the middle and one under the middle. That should cover it, right?!! They aren't too bold, and their pattern makes a nice reflection at the waterline. If you're getting plain white plaster, I'm not sure which of those two would be better. Each time I type a winner, I change my mind.

Give Scooby and big hug for me! Lab/otter! That's a new breed - I'll have to remember that one!! Lol!!!

Good luck!
Suz
 
Hi there Scooby and Kcindc...so you may be selling Scooby's play pool and from what I can see Scooby looks concerned. My personal thoughts are if you are going to sell why change anything unless it is in need of repair? The good folks here at TFP can have your pool spick and span in no time. Then you could offer a cash discount towards pool upgrade if thats what new buyer wants (your going to spend the money anyway). The current tile is classic and goes with the pool and that is a good point. One thing for sure is that pools are personal and your choice of new tile may not go well with the new owners. With that said if you are going to stay lest start designing...
 
The current tiles are falling off. I have one section that is in bad shape and will need extensive repairs.

I'm just doing the minimum, plain plaster, tile and replacing the almost nonexistent expansion joint.

Scooby will get a new pool when we move to Florida. I need to be closer to family for health reasons.

The rest of the house is in rough shape. I bought it as a foreclosure 6 years ago. I've spent a fortune in system repairs, system replacements and tree removal (25k in tree removal alone).
 
Oh, I'm sorry this has come up for you. None of that is easy, and it's made even more difficult considering what you've already spent.

For me as a potential home buyer, I would want the credit to be able to make my own material selections, so I think Cliff's idea has strong merit. But over the years, from experience and talking to real estate agents, it seems people are put off by things not in good condition even with the allowance or credit to pay for it. I say they have no vision! It also probably depends on the area you live in and what buyers expect.
 
I have to say I agree with Suz. I see it with houses and vintage/antique furniture. Anything that has a whiff of being a potential "project" can be a real turn-off to buyers. If these are the samples you must select from, I say select one of the more simple plain glazed tiles (bottom left is probably the safest best and probably the most universally liked in the pool world) and move forward! However, a neutral color could also be nice if it blended with your decking (difficult to tell in the tile photo) and a more turquoise-y tile like a plain glazed tile the color of middle bottom tile would be *my* first choice as it will most likely blend into the water color of a white plaster pool. Whew - how's that for confusing advice?
 
Kcindc thanks for sharing the info...top left and bottom left work for me. Keep the questions and pics coming...
 

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Can you get away with only replacing the tile? If planning to sell this year, I recommend doing the least possible because you are unlikely to recover the money spent.

I think the tile samples look like tiles from the 80s - which can be nice for a retro look but if looking to update the pool, a different option might be better. Since you are in Fairfax, perhaps stop by Huston Pools as they have a large selection of sample tiles and Cindy can show you some nice options (they built my pool).
 
yankeelawyer said:
Can you get away with only replacing the tile? If planning to sell this year, I recommend doing the least possible because you are unlikely to recover the money spent.

I think the tile samples look like tiles from the 80s - which can be nice for a retro look but if looking to update the pool, a different option might be better. Since you are in Fairfax, perhaps stop by Huston Pools as they have a large selection of sample tiles and Cindy can show you some nice options (they built my pool).
Click to expand...

I live in the neighborhood behind Huston Pools and I go there when I need something quickly.

I just looked over the online brochure and asked for a quote on 4 files. The firestone multi by itself didn't look impressive, but I saw it next to exposed aggregate concrete and it looked real nice. My deck is aggregate concrete.
NPT Aztec Cobalt Blue AZ606
NPT Aztec Cobalt Blue AZ606.jpg

NPT Blue Seas Rustic Blue
NPT Blue Seas Rustic Blue.jpg

NPT Firestone Multi
NPT Firestone Multi.jpg

NPT Gemstone Blue
NPT Gemstone Blue.jpg
 
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lol Kim. That's. Side it's my tile! Lol

im partial to it also but for obviously reason as mentioned above!

good luck with the rebuild! If u r selling maybe doing an upgrade like quartz will help in the sale? I don't know.
 
Re: Remodel 1980s A&S Pool Northern Virginia

jimim said:
lol Kim. That's. Side it's my tile! Lol
good luck with the rebuild! If u r selling maybe doing an upgrade like quartz will help in the sale? I don't know.
Click to expand...

Jim, which one is yours?

Yankee is right about the first set of samples. I like your new set much better.

Top: I like the aqua in it which would look nice with white plaster pool color. The reddish brown is ok. Does that color tie in to the surroundings?

second from top: too dark and bold - hard to get a blue tile to look nice with many blue water colors

third from top: c'mon Kim! Plain has its place! Very similar to what I have - good for a blended or monochromatic look. This might be too dark and look old in the pool.

bottom: nice mix of colors; not sure how the blues in this one will look with the water from white plaster,but there's not a lot of that blue, so might not be a problem.

Stick with white plaster and let the new owners upgrade to aquabright!! Lol! (isn't aquabright applied on top of plain plaster?) Seriously, it's surprising how many people don't know about different pool finishes. Chances are they wouldn't know an upgrade if they saw it.

- - - Updated - - -

It doesn't hurt to ask if they have overstock tiles or such. You might get lucky and find something that works at a much better price.
 
"HEY were did my water go???" says Scooby!

That is a good start! Watch Scoobys feet for boo-boos if there are any little shards from the tile they missed when cleaning up. I like the fact they cleaned up so fast also!

SUZ!!! BUT you have all of that BLING to overcome the plain!

Kim:kim:
 
They did a great job cleaning up and there is just a little dust in one spot that I was able to sweep up quickly. Thanks for the reminder, poor Scooby is panting next to me because his pool is empty. I forgot to cancel the dog walker, so he got extra play time today... along with my non-swimming lab Samantha. I played with Scooby until the water was too shallow for him to swim. They were demo-ing the deep end, so I kept playing fetch in the shallow end of the pool.

The Firestone Multi is out of stock and I'm waiting to hear back on quotes for the remaining 3 tiles.

Thank you all for your feedback!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just got an update on prices the Aztec Cobalt Blue is a few hundred higher than the other two remaining tiles. I'm choosing the Gemstone Blue (bottom of the last set) because it has bling and variation. The extra cost is just shy of $400, so I'm going for it.
 
Perfect choice! I actually call this type of tile "plain" because it doesn't have a definite design. [emoji4] This will be nice with the existing deck AND the water!
 

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