First Time Pool Owner (Houston Pool Build)

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kimkats said:
DONE! Now it really looks like a pool! Glad they listened to your wants for the spa and such. The things you are not as happy with go look at again in the day light. If it is really off let the PB know and he should send someone out to fix it. It can be done if you really want it done.

It is time for your own set of links. I put these together for new pool owners. It is a lot of info so this will give you time to read it and let it start sinking in.

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

TFP also has a Pool Math App! Here is the link: Pool Math It is so neat and easy to use!

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

Now is also the time I ask about what test kit your PB is providing. Let us know so we can fill in any holes.

Kim:kim:
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Thanks Kim, I just got my TFT test kit this morning and I will use it to test the fill water as well as the water in my parents in law's pool to practice. We probably have another 1-2 months until plaster because we will wait for the house to be finished.

Below some pics from this morning before I watered. The gunite did not take much water since it had been completed at 9pm and we had a coolish night. I will water 3 times a day until Friday at least and then once for Saturday and Sunday.
 
Sorry forgot the pics
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kimkats said:
That is such a neat design!

For your fill water do not bother testing for CYA as it has to be added. You can and should test for it in the in-laws pool though!

Kim:kim:
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Thanks Kim! I gotta say I'm a little proud after seeing it all come together. With the exception of Bryan's tip to move the spa out I designed it myself.

I will post back test results of the fill water once we get closer to actually filling it.
 
So we need some design advice! We have picked our pool finish (Primera Stone Azure Treasure) and tile (Aquabella Fjord) - click here for pic - but we are having a hard time selecting a travertine coping color and spray deck color.

While we have the brick the home is rather modern. We like the modern look of a whiter coping (e.g. Shell Beach travertine) and light spray deck as shown in the pictures below, but I noticed they always come with a very dark water colors to give a nice contrast. http://www.paradisepools.com/img/Geometric/gallery/geometric-pools-3.jpg

Therefore I'm wondering if we should chose a darker travertine for coping?

For the spray deck we were initially thinking light grey / silver at first but then wondered if that just always make it look "cloudy" outside compared to going with something with more warmth like a light tan or beige?

The pool builder is asking us to make our coping decision by Monday ...
 
Here is an example of beige cool deck with completely white plaster - might help a little with the water color (I'm assuming yours might be a bit bluer with the addition of the blue "glass" in the finish):

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I think the white/grey might work, but I'm not totally sure. Hopefully this helps a little?
 
We went and picked up a sample of the coping we liked in the catalog. They call it Shell Beach but that's their own trademark for this stone.
http://keystonetile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CREAM-OF-WHEAT-HONED-12%E2%80%9DX24%E2%80%9D.jpg

It looks much better in person (I will post some pics later when the sun comes out).

But we found out two things: Keystone Tile in Houston had it labeled as Limestone and not as Travertine. I read a lot here about stone and SWG. Not sure if this matters? Interestingly compared to the travertine sample we got, it has less holes in it and when water gets on it it doesn't really change color like the travertine does. Not sure if that's good or bad.

Besides the SWG, we are also wondering about staining. Is an white colored stone with barely any variation going to look bad in a few years? Or do any stains from leaves, possibly drinks, etc. come out easily? Sorry we have no experience with travertine or lime stone. My wife's parents in law have a brown sandstone or flag stone and it still looks good after 15 years even though several top layers have delaminated but the amount of sand they have on all their pool steps from the coping is annoying. And when we wash the cartridge filter the water turns the color of the coping.

I assume for the SWG but also to prevent stains sealing is a good choice? Any product recommendations?
 
On the right the "shell beach limestone" we like and on the left a "light vein cut travertine" that is a bit darker / more tan and significantly less reflective. For a full deck the shell beach would definitely be too bright but for the coping it might be fine?

Our bone white spray deck color would match the travertine so it would blend (see left two pieces in Pic with spraydeck) and the shell beach would give a bright contrast outlining the coping (in the center)
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Hey, rhawke. I just saw a light stone the other day that I really liked. It was called Freska travertine (limestone?), and it reminds me of the stone you’re looking at. It seems like it would look better with our gray house than the tanner/browner stones. Interested to see what people have to say, as I have the same questions about SWG, staining, and sealers. I’ve asked my neighbor (professional geologist) for his opinion. I’m wondering if stone issues have more to do with acid and lower water pH than the salt.
 
Think about sitting on the lighter one with your legs handing in the pool. Well any of them really as they are all light.........NICE! No burned fannies!

I have heard limestone is a softer stone BUT if you maintain your pool the TFP way any stone should be fine! A good rinse after lots of in and outs it will all be good!

Kim:kim:
 
It’s really just a personal preference whether you want your coping to stand out or blend in. I think the lighter travertine looks better with your waterline tiles than the darker option. I don’t think glare would be too much of a problem if it’s just the coping. Either or and it will look fabulous!
 
schwimmen said:
Hey, rhawke. I just saw a light stone the other day that I really liked. It was called Freska travertine (limestone?), and it reminds me of the stone you’re looking at. It seems like it would look better with our gray house than the tanner/browner stones. Interested to see what people have to say, as I have the same questions about SWG, staining, and sealers. I’ve asked my neighbor (professional geologist) for his opinion. I’m wondering if stone issues have more to do with acid and lower water pH than the salt.
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How is your build going? Have you dug yet?

You probably saw my response on the recent travertine thread, but we are sealing. Not to protect the stone though. It will last through salt water no problems. Yes, the ph could damage it potentially. We are sealing to protect our grout and to make cleaning easier. Travertine is a form of limestone, so you will refer to it being called that at times.
 
We just walked over to the neighbors pool for the first time since they told us they had a lighter color coping. Turns out they literally had the same shell beach and it looked beautiful after they had it for about 4 years.

Thanks for all the answers, we will definitely go with the lighter color which seams also to be the preference of your comments!

Now just the question of sealing it and if yes, with what?

I will check with our pool builder as well to see what he recommends after getting our selection.
 

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