Lap Pool Renovation with Aquabright

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pooldv said:
I am interested in using aquaBRIGHT if I refinish my pool and one of the benefits is that it is much more maintenance free and chemically inert as well as forming a continuous watertight surface. You will lose a lot of those benefits if you tile part of the surface.

Running water features cools pools.

Our solar panels and solar cover do a great job of warming our pool water. Good solar panels are robust and most have 10 year warranties. Mine only had one minor leak the first spring when I restarted the solar. Leaks are pretty obvious both because of water coming off the roof and also the water level dropping in the pool. A quick check each spring should cover it.

SWG should be the same brand if you plan to add pool automation like an easytouch panel. Otherwise it doesn't matter.
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Oh pool D.C. *Sigh* I was afraid someone would say this about the tile. It's just so PRETTY. But I've recently been dealing with mold and mildew because of this pool - and can't spend all this money to have yet another problem because of my silly tile wants. *Sigh again*

If our roof is flat, would we necessarily know if a panel leaks? I understand (all too well, unfortunately) that a change in water level would also indicate this, but worry a lot about these crazy flat roofs.

On a positive note, we are very impressed with our pool builder who specializes in AB!

Thank you for your advice!
 
I don't particularly care for the lighter AquaBright colors. I recently did a Kona Coast pool and it looked like it was dirty before we were even done shooting it. Blue lagoon is a beautiful color especially in full sun.

I've yet to do sandstone in a pool but I feel like it might look dirty?

Blue lagoon:
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bdavis466 said:
I don't particularly care for the lighter AquaBright colors. I recently did a Kona Coast pool and it looked like it was dirty before we were even done shooting it. Blue lagoon is a beautiful color especially in full sun.

I've yet to do sandstone in a pool but I feel like it might look dirty?

Blue lagoon:
View attachment 60958
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Oh that looks beautiful! Would you describe Blue Lagoon as more aqua or turquoise than blue?

I agree with you about Sandstone. I'm told the water is really pretty but I don't think I'd like to see it on my bench and steps.
 
Tony411LA said:
Hi AmyJo,

I was going to wait for the more experienced forum members to weigh in, but I will comment on what I know (or think I've learned.)

1) Regarding tiling the benches and steps. Prior to installing the tile, a waterproof membrane is applied, which should minimize the chances of a leak. There are 1000's of pool that are completely tiled, so it must not be a concern if installed properly. If you are using a 1 inch or smaller mosaic tile with many grout lines, that will provide friction and reduce the chances of slipping. There are also Matte tiles for this purpose. They are the same color as regular tiles and can be interspersed to provide friction.
2) From what I've heard about AquaBright you don't have to worry about staining. There is an AB installer on the forum, so perhaps he can provide more info.
3) Solar Water Heating on the Roof - there are other members on the forum who have this set-up and can advise. I think the raised beam with a water feature would add a nice focal point, especially if tiled like the bench and steps. A small water feature should not affect the water temperature too much but it could affect your PH.
4) If you plan on using automation, then yes, you should stay with the same brand.
5) LED lights can actually provide more Lumens, so one might be enough. But keep in mind lights at both ends will shine in the swim path at night. Just something to think about. Lighting is usually recommend to be away from the house but considering how long and narrow your pool is, I'm not sure if that applies. The AquaBright installation may also help mitigate the chances of a leak if adding more lights, but I am not the expert on that...just my thought.

That's all I got...I'm sure others will respond.

By the way, did you get the iridescent tile samples today? Would love to see those.
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Hi Tony! I'm not sure how I missed your latest comments. Sorry about that.

Our installer has come back and said that it would be watertight if we use hydraulic cement and grout with plaster. The word I don't like is "plaster." I hope that word and "leak" are never spoken again in our house! (I'm working on a project right now with new plaster interior walls and that has its own special problems, though it will be beautiful if ever finished).

Apparently a water feature WILL affect our water temperature. Atlanta gets pretty hot, but alas our pool does not. It can be over 100 degrees outside and our pool is still cold. It's the craziest thing. I'm hopeful that we can figure out how to add the solar and not impact our flat roof.

Unfortunately we aren't willing to do anything that can possibly cause the pool to leak again. My closet is just a few feet away from where it was leaking. I've been horrified to find mold and mildew on clothes and shoes. Not everything - but enough to make me upset. Between flat roofs and a leaking pool ... we are done with invasive water! But I truly do appreciate your thoughts on the matter! [emoji4]

I did receive the iridescent samples. This tile is stunning. Unfortunately the exact samples are outside in the dark, but I will attach a few photos below. All of these, by the way, are from Oceanside Glasstile's Overstock Showroom. They are HALF the price of their regular lines. If TFP doesn't know about this resource - the info should be added somewhere here! Oceanside is one of only two companies in the US who actually make glass tile. I can't figure out if they make Lightwaves (that may be the other company?), but it appears they private label for other companies. Have you selected your tile yet?
4a9e0915287db9a5c1515be48666d494-1.jpg
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AmyJo said:
Hi Tony! I'm not sure how I missed your latest comments. Sorry about that.

Our installer has come back and said that it would be watertight if we use hydraulic cement and grout with plaster. The word I don't like is "plaster." I hope that word and "leak" are never spoken again in our house! (I'm working on a project right now with new plaster interior walls and that has its own special problems, though it will be beautiful if ever finished).

Apparently a water feature WILL affect our water temperature. Atlanta gets pretty hot, but alas our pool does not. It can be over 100 degrees outside and our pool is still cold. It's the craziest thing. I'm hopeful that we can figure out how to add the solar and not impact our flat roof.

Unfortunately we aren't willing to do anything that can possibly cause the pool to leak again. My closet is just a few feet away from where it was leaking. I've been horrified to find mold and mildew on clothes and shoes. Not everything - but enough to make me upset. Between flat roofs and a leaking pool ... we are done with invasive water! But I truly do appreciate your thoughts on the matter! [emoji4]

I did receive the iridescent samples. This tile is stunning. Unfortunately the exact samples are outside in the dark, but I will attach a few photos below. All of these, by the way, are from Oceanside Glasstile's Overstock Showroom. They are HALF the price of their regular lines. If TFP doesn't know about this resource - the info should be added somewhere here! Oceanside is one of only two companies in the US who actually make glass tile. I can't figure out if they make Lightwaves (that may be the other company?), but it appears they private label for other companies. Have you selected your tile yet?
4a9e0915287db9a5c1515be48666d494-1.jpg
93019f24ac32b9b6a74a3f068ac9eac5-1.jpg
767e4dc093d2c79599f8ada6cf2580a0-1.jpg
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Hi AmyJo, I completely understand your hesitation. I was just putting out possible solutions. :) When I first moved into my house, I found a mold & mildew issue in a closet due to the crawl space vent that was right under that wall. I never want to have to deal with that again.

I thought I had chosen my tile NPT Arctic Lagoon, but I met with my PB today and after he told me what the up charge would be due to labor for paper facing tile, I'm now looking again. :( I checked out Oceanside tiles previously and my favorite was the AQUA iridescent. I looked at the showrooms where it's available (Walker-Zanger, Ann Sacks), and figured it would be out of my price range. It is beautiful. If it was in my budget, I would absolutely go for that. Lighstream manufactures and sales their own tile exclusively. That is also paper face, which would put it out of my budget due to the labor. But if you can afford it, you can't go wrong. It is all beautiful. Lightwaves, which is another of my favorites is sold by NPT, but not sure who makes it. My PB told me that NPT parent company SCP also makes tile for Mastertile.

I didn't realize Oceanside had an overstock page. I did see some things I liked that were in my budget, but because they are paper-faced, the labor would be out of my budget. But I will keep looking. I'm definitely leaning toward an Aqua or Aquamarine iridescent colored tile in a 1 x 1 too. I just have to find it with a mesh back. (Yes, I know mesh isn't recommended due to less grout contact with the thinset, but I have mesh backed mosaics in my bathrooms an entire wall of it and I haven't had any issues in the 3 .5 year since it was installed.) Have you given any more thought on what color AquaBright you want to go with?
 
Brian,

Do you have pics of the Blue Mist? That's the color we picked out and they should shoot it hopefully by the end of this week. I just noticed on your website that there are additional colors that aren't shown on the ecoFinish website. Do you have any pictures of Bay ice or Pacific blue installs?

Thanks
-Mike
 
mrd5 said:
Brian,

Do you have pics of the Blue Mist? That's the color we picked out and they should shoot it hopefully by the end of this week. I just noticed on your website that there are additional colors that aren't shown on the ecoFinish website. Do you have any pictures of Bay ice or Pacific blue installs?

Thanks
-Mike
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Blue Mist...

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I haven't done the other two colors mentioned. There was a member here on the forum that had Pacific Blue installed. I'll see if I can find it.
 

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Perhaps I'm crazy but I wonder if Sahara Sand or Kona Coast on the steps & floor and Blue Lagoon (or maybe a darker blue) on the sides would be neat. Would it feel like swimming in the sea - sandy bottom surrounded by blue? Seems like AquaBright opens up a lot of possibilities.
 
Tony411LA said:
Hi AmyJo, I completely understand your hesitation. I was just putting out possible solutions. :) When I first moved into my house, I found a mold & mildew issue in a closet due to the crawl space vent that was right under that wall. I never want to have to deal with that again.

I thought I had chosen my tile NPT Arctic Lagoon, but I met with my PB today and after he told me what the up charge would be due to labor for paper facing tile, I'm now looking again. :( I checked out Oceanside tiles previously and my favorite was the AQUA iridescent. I looked at the showrooms where it's available (Walker-Zanger, Ann Sacks), and figured it would be out of my price range. It is beautiful. If it was in my budget, I would absolutely go for that. Lighstream manufactures and sales their own tile exclusively. That is also paper face, which would put it out of my budget due to the labor. But if you can afford it, you can't go wrong. It is all beautiful. Lightwaves, which is another of my favorites is sold by NPT, but not sure who makes it. My PB told me that NPT parent company SCP also makes tile for Mastertile.

I didn't realize Oceanside had an overstock page. I did see some things I liked that were in my budget, but because they are paper-faced, the labor would be out of my budget. But I will keep looking. I'm definitely leaning toward an Aqua or Aquamarine iridescent colored tile in a 1 x 1 too. I just have to find it with a mesh back. (Yes, I know mesh isn't recommended due to less grout contact with the thinset, but I have mesh backed mosaics in my bathrooms an entire wall of it and I haven't had any issues in the 3 .5 year since it was installed.) Have you given any more thought on what color AquaBright you want to go with?
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Oh no - hope you don't ever have to deal with mold and mildew again! It's the worst.

Sorry to read you are not able to have your favorite tile. [emoji20] If you are interested at all in Oceanside Glasstile, you should call their showroom directly. They have hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of tile that is not shown on their Overstock pages. I know they currently have Aqua Iridescent in stock, as I have a sample of it. I assume their tile is all paper faced, but you should call and speak to Sheryl, the showroom manager. It seems that most of what's available is 50% off retail. Also, have you thought about hiring your own tile contractor? I know some pool builders are very against it, but we happen to have one who is perfectly fine with us having one of our employees (who was formerly a tile sub) do our tile.

As for an Aquabright color, I do not know yet. I think it's so difficult to know how the various finishes will look until seeing them in person. I would love for the water to be similar to the aqua color in the tile. Apparently I'm in the minority, as most everyone here (in Atlanta) seems to like darker pools. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated!
 
A question for all of you Pool Gurus - what do you think about us building a small tiled wall with a sheer descent at the far end of our pool? How tall would it need to be to fall nicely? I would want it as wide as the pool. I've also seen photos here of pools with water/fire bowls/scuppers, but do they need to also be raised? I will post a better photo of our pool. The "far end" refers to the end nearest the gazebo(ish) structure. Would love your input! Thanks!
 
My PB said a standard height of a wall like that is around 12-18" and I think for your pool, that would look nice. PB also said a lower height like 12 to 18" usually doesn't require a booster pump unless you have various features running.

This is our wall right after placing tile. It is 2' tall but with the waterline tile under it, it makes it look 2.5' tall. It has a 4' sheer decent in the middle. It will have stone columns on either side that will probably be 2.5' but we are going to play with the height once decking is in place to see how tall we want them. Then on top of the columns will be fire bowls.

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Regarding your question of fire bowls, they don't have to be raised. I have seen many in photos that sit on the deck. You could even do one larger one in the center of the wall at the end of the pool, having the sheer decent under it.
 
Big Will said:
I seen people do 12 inches all the way to 5 ft. But with the width of your pool I would think 12-18 inches would be perfect. Mine is 18 inches and it seems pretty high
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Thanks Will! I think that 12"-18" would be great. I like the idea of approaching 15"- 18", as it could then be used as a bench.

What brand did you purchase and where, if you don't mind me asking? Do you have lights with yours? We aren't able to add another light due to wanting to keep the shell intact, so I thought this might be a great way to get a little illumination at the other end.

DARN IT - I just realized when typing that, that this needs to be able to recirculate water from the pool, so it would have to be tied in directly to the pool. [emoji34] We are trying to avoid cutting or drilling in the concrete (gunite, or whatever we have).
 
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