Narrowing down PebbleTec color from 4

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lucas33

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Jul 11, 2016
46
cary, nc
I think we have narrowed down pebbleTec color down to 4. Tropical Breeze, Tahoe blue, Caribbean Blue and Blue Lagoon.

I don't want fake Windex blue but I also don't want too dark or too green.

I know they are the "popular colors" (I think).

Wondering if anyone has any comments either way on these?
 
I'd go check out as many colors as you can... and keep in mind that it'll probably look different in your backyard. We looked at some of the colors on your list (Tahoe Blue in particular) but ended up going with Midnight Blue. IMO, it's got a better color depth to it with plenty of dark blues and some greens without ever looking "dark" or too green. We added abalone (shimmering seas) which also helps to lighten it up some. This is all of our pool in varying light conditions:


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To me Blue Lagoon is Windex. Of the others, I like Tahoe Blue the best because it looks most like my pool frankly. Keep in mind that your pool only goes to 7'. When you look at pool pics with those finishes, they could be deeper which will be darker. I think you would want to err on the side of darker water (so darker finish) because a) you are most likely to be by the pool when it's sunny - which makes the water look lighter, versus when it's cloudy, b) 1/2 of your pool is shallow, c) plaster fades over time, the pebbles don't but the plaster binder most certainly does (see some recent threads where they show removed samples and the exposed side is way lighter than the underside). Reason C is the biggest reason to go on the darker side. It will fade.

You also have big tanning ledge where the water will be quite light in color. The reason I choose Tahoe over Tropical is because the finish itself (not water color) of Tropical is more blue, which I'm not as big a fan of for the shallows where you really see the plaster color more than the water color. I like the greyish appearance of Tahoe.
 
We are just completing our pool with a pebbletec Tahoe blue finish. Ours also has Luminous glass beads (an equal mix of blue, green, and clear glass). I picked that mix because it doesn't really alter the color but makes it glisten more. If you want more blue, you could add their blue Luminous mix.

I had a hard time choosing the color and am very happy we went with the Tahoe because I love that it changes color fairly significantly according to light and weather conditions. It looks completely different in bright sun than it does when overcast or afternoon. I love very dark pools, but also love color, and the Tahoe has both looks at different times. The photo below that was taken before the deck went in shows how the pool looks on a sunny winter day. The darker photos are all taken in afternoon winter light and/or cloudy days.

Another consideration is whether you plan to have colored LED pool lights. I found that Tahoe was among the darkest colors that still shows off the LED colors well.
 

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Some things to consider -

1. Darker colors are harder to get right and will suffer from mottling and white-spotting. PebbleTec tends to hide these defects better than other products but it is the nature of darker colored plaster in general.

2. Plaster fades, no matter what! I have caribbean blue p-tek and here is a picture of it partially chipped out (to fix a crack) after about 4 years -

IMG_4245.jpg

Notice how the bulk color of the plaster is the Caribbean Blue color but the surface color of the plaster has completely faded to a grayish color. My water has always been balanced and I've haven't had to SLAM my pool in years. When I did SLAM to pool many years ago, it lasted for two days (because it was only a mild cloudiness problem not a full blown algae bloom). So even under the best kept water conditions, plaster will fade.

So, if you feel the plaster is a little "too dark" now, it won't stay that way...
 

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Hello, choosing a pool finish color is arduous. It's such a huge part of the build that can't easily or cheaply be undone. My husband, Xian, from a few posts above loved the Midnight Blue color when he saw it on a build on here. We went to see one with our pool builder (color is not super common here) and the pool etc was beautiful but it's situation was so very different from our own that to me our pool color looks nothing like it except in name.

Sample pool in Ponte Vedra near where we live...




Pool picture I saw online by Barrington Pools in Chicago (they use Midnight Blue all the time). This pool is very representative of the color of our pool.



This is our pool, freeform, with a cage in sunny St. Augustine, FL.



One of our friends who used the same builder we did went with Tahoe Blue. The first time I saw it I did not care for it. It was a cold overcast morning and her yard is heavily shaded. It looked like a cold gray sheet of water. A couple of months later our kids went swimming there and when the sun hit it it blew me away. It was so blue-green-gray and just sparkled.

M see as many as you can in person but remember none will be exactly like yours. Love what you get...and best of luck.
 
Most "additive" products like shells or glass beads are typically priced on a "per bag" basis and I've seen posts here quoting as much as a couple of hundred of dollars per bag with upwards of 4 to 5 bags needed (depend on how much plaster is used). So the total always looks to be in the $1-2k range.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Most "additive" products like shells or glass beads are typically priced on a "per bag" basis and I've seen posts here quoting as much as a couple of hundred of dollars per bag with upwards of 4 to 5 bags needed (depend on how much plaster is used). So the total always looks to be in the $1-2k range.
Click to expand...
Thank you. JoyfulNoise. You have Carribean blue? is there a pic I can see of the water posted?
 
My plaster is faded with age. All plaster fades and the color doesn't last more than a few years. Check out this picture of my plaster (o had a crack repair done)

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Notice how the bulk of the plaster is the Caribbean Blue while the plaster on the surface has gone grey.

This is what the repair looks like under water (fresh Caribbean blue versus old Caribbean blue) -

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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
We added the Shimmering Sea (abalone) and it was $300 a bag. I think we did two bags. I love it but I would have done even more if I had seen it in person before we built our pool. My only other issue is I have read some PT installers have let the customer hand cast it into the pool (or the installer) and then tamp it down so you can have it more heavily in the shallow water/steps. Our installer wouldn't do that and the heavier concentration of it is mid way through the shallow to the deep end. There's not much on the steps or in the spa where I'd really love to see more of it. i love mine!!!
 
This was the reason for my warning against abalone -

Abalone Shell Chips Causing Brown Stains in Diamond Brite Plaster-

I have a plaster problem

There have been random instances of abalone shells causing brown stains in lighter colored plaster. Abalone is a natural product and cause staining if organic compounds from the shell leaches into the plaster. It seems that there are some high-quality abalone products out there (pre-washed and certified for use in pools) and cheap abalone products. The cheap ones are implicated as the culprit. If you do wish to use abalone, I would sit down with the plaster applicator and share this info with them and ask if they guarantee that they will honor their warranty and replace the plaster if the abalone causes problems.

A better alternative (but likely more expensive than abalone) would be to use clear glass beads to add sparkle. Glass is mostly inert with respect to pool water.
 

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