Like Oklahoma Flagstone for coping...but not the price. Any alternatives?

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mckinneymagnum

mckinneymagnum

Well-known member
Oct 23, 2012
63
McKinney, TX
Pool Size
13500
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-9)
We are here in McKinney TX (north of Dallas) and just pulled the trigger on a fiberglass pool which will be installed in January...very excited!

One design thing we are struggling with is the coping. We are not fans of the bull nose concrete coping that is common with fiberglass pools, so we initially wanted Oklahoma Flagstone coping which would match our property line walls. We would then have the remainder of the brushed concrete deck covered in spray deck/cool deck/whatever it's called.

BUT, the price from the pool installer is $4000+ for flagstone coping...seems high to me and they suggested having the spray deck company do a 'faux' flagstone coping in spray. Has anyone seen this turn out nicely? Concerned that overtime the spray deck might chip, fade or peel. Are we worrying too much?

Thoughts??

Bryan

Soon to be new pool owner!!
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

I think there are quite a few threads showing a stamped concrete or faux flagstone surfaces that are stained. Have you tried searching for them?

As you may be aware, we do not recommend the use of a SWG system with the soft OK flagstone as there have been reports of deterioration. One advantage of sticking with concrete would be the ability to go to a SWG system if you desired.
 
My word, another Texan?!? Welcome to the club! :D :D :D :D I am very excited for you, as many others here will be too. I think you will probably be fine with the faux coping. If you take a look at some of the other builds here, they have entire waterfall/slide structures plus decorative rocks, etc. completely crafted out of gunite and they look incredible. It's amazing what these guys can make concrete look like. I'm just curious why you chose fiberglass though? I couldn't get a single pool builder to say anything good about them.. the consensus being that they float a lot. Whether there is any truth to that I could not say.
 
zethacat said:
My word, another Texan?!? Welcome to the club! :D :D :D :D I am very excited for you, as many others here will be too. I think you will probably be fine with the faux coping. If you take a look at some of the other builds here, they have entire waterfall/slide structures plus decorative rocks, etc. completely crafted out of gunite and they look incredible. It's amazing what these guys can make concrete look like. I'm just curious why you chose fiberglass though? I couldn't get a single pool builder to say anything good about them.. the consensus being that they float a lot. Whether there is any truth to that I could not say.
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Thanks! I will do some searching on here to see if I can find more pics of faux concrete that looks good. As for why fiberglass, we decided that the cost to build was on par with gunite however the maintenance (chemicals, re-plaster of gunite, etc.) is much lower in the long run. Plus, I have had too many friends with horror stories relating to gunite...either cracks, leaks or having to resurface them down the road. I had gunite pools growing up and know the staining issues first hand. As for installers in the DFW area there are only one (maybe two) that do fiberglass and I imagine all the gunite installers love to talk about float. Float can be an issue if not installed properly but we found a very solid installer that has years of experience...not a concern for us :)

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jblizzle said:
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

I think there are quite a few threads showing a stamped concrete or faux flagstone surfaces that are stained. Have you tried searching for them?

As you may be aware, we do not recommend the use of a SWG system with the soft OK flagstone as there have been reports of deterioration. One advantage of sticking with concrete would be the ability to go to a SWG system if you desired.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jason...I will do some searching tonight and see what I can find out. Brand new to the forum and quickly just posted that question. Looking forward to learning tons from you all!

Bryan
 
I do not really agree with your assessment of fiberglass vs. gunite. Although I am likely biased based on what I have had and the horror stories I have seen on the forum for fiberglass in stalls. Chemical costs should be basically the same. And at least you can actually replaster a gunite pool. There is not really a good option when the fiberglass starts to deteriorate. And float is not a problem for any pool if you keep it full and only a minor concern if you have high groundwater levels. Stains should also not be a problem with either if properly chemically maintained.

But, does not matter what I think as long as you are happy ... I am sure you will have a great pool either way. :D

I highly suggest you read about our maintenance methods. It is usually the members with past experience that tend to not follow what we teach and end up with problems. ;)
 
Welcome to TFP!

I can't wait to watch your install! PLEASE tell me they are going to have to use a crane to lift of over your house! Those are so much fun to watch when it is not your house LOL!

One thing you REALLY need to do when you order your pool and know it is on the way is order a good test kit. You will find the info. on the different test kits. The test kit will save you so much money, time, effort in the long run you will be happy you bought it.

We love pictures here so........................

Kim
 
zethacat said:
Can you elaborate how chemicals cost less in the long run with a fiberglass pool? Is water in a fiberglass pool somehow less susceptible to developing algae? :confused:
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You can search the web for more info on the topic if you haven't already, but since fiberglass is less porous than gunite, it makes it harder of algae to take hold, which means less brushing and less chemicals have to be used to treat it.

I love how my simple question about coping has turned into the typical gunite vs fiberglass :) That didn't take long at all...LOL

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kimkats said:
Welcome to TFP!

I can't wait to watch your install! PLEASE tell me they are going to have to use a crane to lift of over your house! Those are so much fun to watch when it is not your house LOL!

One thing you REALLY need to do when you order your pool and know it is on the way is order a good test kit. You will find the info. on the different test kits. The test kit will save you so much money, time, effort in the long run you will be happy you bought it.

We love pictures here so........................

Kim
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Hey Kim...

Yes, they will be using a crane over our 2 story house...should be quite a nail biter to watch! :)

Thanks for the tip on the test kit. Do you have any links you can share?

Also, we will post pictures from start to finish!
 
But algae can exist in the bulk of the water, not just on the surface. So I fail to see that as an argument. ;)
Don't tell anyone, but I can not remember the last time I brushed my pool and yet I have no algae. :mrgreen:

It is fine if you want a fiberglass pool ... just do not necessarily believe a lot of the sales information.

These are the Recommended Test Kits. The TF-100 is the best value.

As a heads up since your current storage allotment is very low, to post more/larger pictures, you either need to raise your storage allotment by Becoming a TFP Supporter or follow the How To Post Pictures tutorial.
 
mckinneymagnum said:
You can search the web for more info on the topic if you haven't already, but since fiberglass is less porous than gunite, it makes it harder of algae to take hold, which means less brushing and less chemicals have to be used to treat it.
Click to expand...

You must maintain a certain level of sanitizer in your pool regardless of what type of pool surface you have. This doesn't change from fiberglass to gunite to vinyl AFAIK. As long as you maintain that level of sanitizer and brush your pool at least once a week you will not get algae. If you don't have algae, you use the same amount of sanitizer as if you had a gunite pool. So while I do believe that a fiberglass pool is less porous than a gunite pool, I would need to see scientific evidence to believe a claim that it is somehow less susceptible to an algae bloom while maintaining proper levels of sanitizer in your pool.
 

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