Love this thread! We picked aqua blue for our pebble sheen color but are now waffling between blue surf and the aqua blue. Such a hard choice!! Love all the pics!
NEW Blue Surf Pebble Sheen color
- Thread starter SuzfromTexas
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Thanks for the kind words. I will definitely take more photos as things get closer to completion. And yes, I am in the Tampa Bay Area in Florida, so we still have lots of swimming weather left this year, especially because I installed geothermal pool and spa heating as part of the project, so I'll be able to keep the pool warm at a relatively-low cost until the air temps make swimming undesirable.
Geothermal uses an efficient heat pump but rather than using air, it uses ground water. Ground water temperatures are stable year round, in my location around 72 degrees. So the heat pump removes heat from the ground water and puts it in the pool. Air source heat pumps drop off dramatically in efficiency as the air around them drops in temperature, the time when you really need the pool heating. The geothermal systems also have twice the life expectancy of an air source heat pump.
The system is expensive because of the costs of wells and such, but if coupled with at least one AC unit being geothermal, the entire job qualifies for a 30% tax credit.
Operating costs of geothermal are roughly 25% that of natural gas or propane, and if the person heats their pool year round, the entire system after tax credit is paid for within a few years (and still has 17 years of life expectancy).
Very cool -- we have a neighborhood house with geothermal heating.
Try Antigua. That's what I have with abalone and we love it
Where are you located? If you're close you can come see it
Just signed up for blue surf with double shimmering seas! Looking forward to seeing it. 
Great call!!! Next time, I would definitely get double shimmering seas spread all over the pool and spa!!! You're going to love it!!!
Suz.
Suz.
Do you have any pictures? We will also be using Wet Edge. Also how is the texture of the Satin Matrix? We are decided between Satin and Pearl Matrix.......
Thank you for a great thread. I am in the process of building a Pool in Frisco, TX. I just spoke to my Pool Builder and they told me Blue Surf is an upgrade of about $3.50 per sq ft.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
That doesn't sound right. There are some pebble sheen colors that are extra cost because they include shells, but blue surf isn't one of them (at least as of last fall when we did it). You should ask them to confirm that, and/or possibly call PebbleTec themselves - I'm sure they won't give you pricing, but they may be able to confirm that Blue Surf is the same cost as some other finish choice that the builder is quoting as cheaper.
(side note - we added some shells ourselves to the Blue Surf, so we paid a little extra because of that)
I was told if I wanted the glass beads it's an additional $22.50 per sq ft.....
I do like by PB but they are not low cost....plus they are my client too
I was told if I wanted the glass beads it's an additional $22.50 per sq ft.....
I do like by PB but they are not low cost....plus they are my client too
Glass beads are different (and more expensive) than shells. My understanding is that there are 2 classes of Pebble Sheen color options, the "base" colors, and "premium" colors. The premium colors include shells in the mix. You can add shells, or beads, to any finish (base or premium) if you like at additional cost to accentuate the finish. But Blue Surf should be a "base" option for Pebble Sheen - no markup. (unless you're comparing it to PebbleTec, which are the larger stones, then there would be a markup).
BeadCrete is their finish that uses the glass beads, I can't remember if that is the larger (like PebbleTec) or smaller (like PebbleSheen) size for that one - we never looked at that option seriously - it was a lot more.
Bottom line is the installer can probably charge what they want within some limits, but you can probably push back on the upcharge for Blue Surf if you like the color - I don't believe that will cost your installer any extra beyond the other PebbleSheen base options. So either they've made a mistake and thought it was premium, or they're trying to gouge you a bit ..... I suppose it's also possible that PebbleTec made a change and BlueSurf is now a premium PebbleSheen option, but it wasn't last fall.
Thanks for posting these photos! We decided on Blue Surf bc I love the look of a true blue pool (didn't want dark lagoon look or too grey). But since we picked it we have not been able to find many photos of Blue Surf pools. The color has been available for a while now and PebbleTec says it is one of their most popular colors. Odd. Are you happy with Blue Surf? Did you post any photos of your pool anywhere? Thx!
We also decided on Blue Surf with Abalone shells. We are trying to decide on 1 or 2 bags. Just felt the glass beads weren't worth it and the abalone gave more ROI.
I would definitely do the second bag. I love the sparkle! I've seen pictures of some people's bag of shells from the installer which were huge compared to mine. I don't think you can know in advance how much you will get. If you love sparkle, play it safe and get 2 bags.
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