Is pebble sheen worth the extra money v stonescapes?

[johndeere3010]

Howdy,
We are at the plaster stage on our new pool here in College Station Tx. I was originally going with stonescapes aqua cool but found out the PB had pebble sheen installed in his pool. Started asking questions and it seems
like it's a very comparable product but instillation is the main factor. There is an old thread from 2011 on here but everything changes so I figured I would ask the more experienced on here what the current opinion on the products are.
I have already learned a lot on here and appreciate y'alls input.
Bill

 

[ajw22]

You pay more for the bragging rights to say you have a PebbleTec pool. I don't think you will see any difference int he day to day usage of the pool. Some people believe a pebble pool will last longer and worth the extra money but there is no data supporting that.

Buy what you like.

 

[lasvegaspools]

In many markets Sronescapes, Gemstone, or Wet Edge may cost more than Pebble Tec. Skill of the crew is more important than the brand of the product in my opinion.

 

[ModernCha]

We debated this too and like everyone says it all boils down to installer.

 

[johndeere3010]

Thank you for the response. Does anyone know about how much more I should expect the PT to be over stonescapes?
Bill

 

[ajw22]

Thank you for the response. Does anyone know about how much more I should expect the PT to be over stonescapes?
Bill

Pricing is totally up to your builder. It may be more or less or the same. There are no "standard" prices and prices vary by geography and competition.

 

[johndeere3010]

Pricing is totally up to your builder. It may be more or less or the same. There are no "standard" prices and prices vary by geography and competition.

I guess what I'm asking is what would be an average up-charge? I don't want to get fleeced. 20-30% sound about right?

 

[ajw22]

I guess what I'm asking is what would be an average up-charge? I don't want to get fleeced. 20-30% sound about right?

It really should not be much. I would not pay more then 10%.. Pool builders try and upcharge a lot for the premium finishes to pad their profits. Materials is a small portion of the cost, 20% or less. Most of the cost is in labor. If you change from a finish that is a one day install, like regular plaster, to a 2 day install like hydrazoo that I have where they install it then come back the next day and acid wash it and polish it then it can cost 30% more for another day of work.

So ask questions about the application process of the different finishes. A day of work costs about the same regardless of findish. If you change to a finish that adds more days of work then it will cost more.

Once you understand what is involved then you have a better idea if the up-charge is reasonable.

 

[johndeere3010]

Update. The quote for PebbleTek was about 120% higher Than Stonescapes. To heck with that! Stonescapes Tahoe blue here we come.

 

[Kelly Wayne]

Water is an enemy of cement. It is the hard troweled compaction of the cream coat of plaster that makes the surface water proof and protects the gunite/shotcrete and rebar from water damage. Exposed aggregate surfaces remove the cream coat to expose the aggregate and do not have the same longevity as a polymer and pozzolan modified plaster surface. Exposed aggregates are not very user friendly as they are quite coarse and wear out skin. Only 1% of people do exposed aggregate twice. I have removed many new pebble finishes and replaced it with plaster because nobody uses the pool cause it makes their feet raw. 42 years experience and 18000 resurfacings later I wouldn't do exposed aggregate in my pool unless it was truly polished. I just polished a large exposed aggregate pool and it took 18 man days to accomplish. This was a $27000 pool surface in a backyard, 180 perimeter pool. I've seen many pebbles with ASR, alkali silica reaction, because of non pozzolan modified cement. Quartz does the same thing. Pebbles are notorious for cracking and delaminating at the noses of steps and benches and a matching patch is almost impossible. All the neighbors kids with pebble pools come swim and play all day in our plaster pool. 20 minutes in their pebble pools they can't walk for 3 days. You can polish plaster to baby butt smooth if you want to.

 

[johndeere3010]

Water is an enemy of cement. It is the hard troweled compaction of the cream coat of plaster that makes the surface water proof and protects the gunite/shotcrete and rebar from water damage. Exposed aggregate surfaces remove the cream coat to expose the aggregate and do not have the same longevity as a polymer and pozzolan modified plaster surface. Exposed aggregates are not very user friendly as they are quite coarse and wear out skin. Only 1% of people do exposed aggregate twice. I have removed many new pebble finishes and replaced it with plaster because nobody uses the pool cause it makes their feet raw. 42 years experience and 18000 resurfacings later I wouldn't do exposed aggregate in my pool unless it was truly polished. I just polished a large exposed aggregate pool and it took 18 man days to accomplish. This was a $27000 pool surface in a backyard, 180 perimeter pool. I've seen many pebbles with ASR, alkali silica reaction, because of non pozzolan modified cement. Quartz does the same thing. Pebbles are notorious for cracking and delaminating at the noses of steps and benches and a matching patch is almost impossible. All the neighbors kids with pebble pools come swim and play all day in our plaster pool. 20 minutes in their pebble pools they can't walk for 3 days. You can polish plaster to baby butt smooth if you want to.

From the video they have on instillation they claim that this a pozzolan modified plaster. Is this consistent with what you know? It's claim is in the first 20 sec.

Thank you for your help.

 

[palmspriings]

Johndeere3010, did you move forward with the Stonescape? Did it turn out well?