Let the wild rumpus start! (new Houston build underway)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Yes, the tilers filled the big holes. We didn’t specify and I was a little annoyed at first but now I’m really glad they did. The smaller holes that were left are hard to clean. We also had ours sealed with a penetrating sealant that has a 25 year warranty. No reapplication necessary. There was absolutely no change to colour, texture or slip before and after. Love our paving so much and can’t imagine having anything else.
 
And after a two month hiatus, the build has resumed!!!

What's that sound? Some kind of saw. And I do believe that's the sound of my DEET-doused neighbors cheering wildly.

The tadpole and mosquito preservation area has been drained, the tile is going up (with stain resistant grout), and the equipment is going on the pad.
No idea how they're going to get the monster heat pump/chiller past the tree, but I'll let them worry about that.
I'm going to resist the urge to look out the window and just drink my Lipton Stress Less cup of tea.
 
I've gotten so used to the mud that I almost don't even notice it anymore. That's not true. I notice it. I think maybe I've just resigned myself to the possibility that this build may never end.

Need to stay optimistic.

On a positive note, the equipment pad is in. Fastlane is almost in. If we pass the (second) electrical inspection, the pavers can go in. Here's hoping the universe is feeling benevolent and the current light travertine stock is less yellow/orange than usual. Also hoping the fence contractor shows tomorrow. He's cancelled twice, but third time's the charm? And the frog and/or toad population explosion? Not a Biblical plague so much as an eco-friendly (and free) mosquito control system.
 
I almost forgot. The reason I logged on was to get some feedback about the pool surface.

Fairly sure that we'll upgrade from plaster to either Pebble Fina or Pebble Sheen. Weirdly enough, there's not much of a price difference between the two for us. I like the smoothness of PF, but it may be worth it to go with PS for the durability.

I really like some of the medium blue colors that are available in PS, but we will probably go lighter because (1) lighter colors generally mean cooler pools, (2) the water line tile is light and I think there might be too much contrast between the tile and the surface if we go dark (thoughts on this???), and (3) the City of Houston may or may not allow a medium colored surface (it's a somewhat subjective process).

Ideally, I'd like a light or medium blue that goes well with light travertine. Want to avoid colors that look too green, as we have shade on the back of the pool in the summer. Would probably prefer less intense shades, though some pools with those colors are quite beautiful. Have a spa, a couple of shelves and a relatively shallow pool (no more than 6'). Not entirely sure if I like shades that look really different depending on depth.
It seems like most pools skew darker nowadays, so if anyone happens to have feedback on or pics of their lighter PF or PS surface, I'd love to hear about/see it.

And if any Houston peeps know of pools or showrooms with the following colors, please let me know, as I'd feel much better about seeing them in person before deciding:

PF: Classico, Cielo Blue, Bella Blue
PS: Artic White, Cool Blue, Aqua Blue, Irish Mist, Slate Blue​

And if you're in Houston and managed to go with a darker shade you love, I'd like to know that, too!
 
Hi there,

I had the same dilemma 3 months ago, so I'll chime in on Pebble Sheen colors. Just like you, I wanted very light plaster color. Actually, I decided to go with Cool Blue or Arctic White several times. I even thought about adding blue glass beads to them to make them more blue, but in the end I went with Aqua Blue.

In an ideal world where I get to have a perfect architecture magazine feature worthy of a modern house with a pool, I would go with white plaster like Arctic White and Cool Blue. In reality, these colors would be too difficult for me to maintain them, because I can see every little dirt and grimes that sink to the bottom of the pool every. single. day. If I see something in the pool, I have to get them out with a net. I'm OCD like that... which is quite stressful sometimes... Also, most people associate white plaster pool with old/dated pools... So, I didn't want my pool to suffer such stigma from visitors either. LOL.... Sometimes I talk about my pool as if it's my offspring... Lastly, lighter plaster color tends to make the pool look shallower. My pool isn't too deep either, so I didn't want to make it look even more shallow.

Slate Blue has gray base plaster, so the shallow area of the pool will be gray. I wasn't a big fan of seeing gray water, and my pool has lots of bench area and a sun shelf, so I decided not to go with Slate Blue.

Irish Mist gives off more of a greenish/teal water color, so that was no go for me.

I will be brutally honest here. I absolutely love the blue color that Aqua Blue gives off on a sunny day. It's a crisp and beautiful light to medium shade of blue. When you add the prism effect and the sun light wiggling effect(?) I just want to dive in. On a cloudy day; however, it's just a pastel shade of blue. I can live with it, but I don't stop and get mesmerized looking at the pool like I do when it's sunny out.

All of the pool pictures in my pool build thread (link in my sig) came out too dark blue with a slight shade of teal (See page 7). In person, water color is not that dark, and doesn't have teal color either.

Here is a video of my pool that represents the true color fairly well... You have to click the image to play the video.




schwimmen said:
I almost forgot. The reason I logged on was to get some feedback about the pool surface.

Fairly sure that we'll upgrade from plaster to either Pebble Fina or Pebble Sheen. Weirdly enough, there's not much of a price difference between the two for us. I like the smoothness of PF, but it may be worth it to go with PS for the durability.

I really like some of the medium blue colors that are available in PS, but we will probably go lighter because (1) lighter colors generally mean cooler pools, (2) the water line tile is light and I think there might be too much contrast between the tile and the surface if we go dark (thoughts on this???), and (3) the City of Houston may or may not allow a medium colored surface (it's a somewhat subjective process).

Ideally, I'd like a light or medium blue that goes well with light travertine. Want to avoid colors that look too green, as we have shade on the back of the pool in the summer. Would probably prefer less intense shades, though some pools with those colors are quite beautiful. Have a spa, a couple of shelves and a relatively shallow pool (no more than 6'). Not entirely sure if I like shades that look really different depending on depth.
It seems like most pools skew darker nowadays, so if anyone happens to have feedback on or pics of their lighter PF or PS surface, I'd love to hear about/see it.

And if any Houston peeps know of pools or showrooms with the following colors, please let me know, as I'd feel much better about seeing them in person before deciding:

PF: Classico, Cielo Blue, Bella Blue
PS: Artic White, Cool Blue, Aqua Blue, Irish Mist, Slate Blue​

And if you're in Houston and managed to go with a darker shade you love, I'd like to know that, too!
Click to expand...
 
The darker the color the more at risk it is to streaking and such. Here is a set of links I put together for plaster start up:

How to set up to have the best plaster job: A Plastering 'Watch List' | Professional Watershaping | Watershapes

Brief snap shots of different start ups: Pool School - Start-up New Plaster

Full run down on the best BUT hardest start up: A Bicarb Start-up guide for TFP members

Next best start up BUT it leaves out to NOT put water in the pool right away. Wait at least 6 hours after plaster is put in before putting water in! The back of the card is what you want: google "NPC start up card". (I can't link to pdf files for some reason.)

Make sure to share this info with your pool builder!

Kim:kim:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Time for an update.

The pavers are in, and though I was a bit nervous about the color, am very happy with the classic light travertine. They orange up a bit when wet but are a nice, neutral shade when dry. Also happy to report that the garage didn't flood during the Halloween typhoon that moved through the area. We had our PB put in two large yard drains in the backyard and four drains in the patio. They're barely noticeable b/c they're covered with pavers that have slits cut into them. I wasn't sure they would be able to handle the water volume, but so far so good.

Automation panel is going in today, as is the spa blower. That's two fewer boxes in the house. Progress.

Got the fence quotes back. Ranged from $10-14K for our tiny little lot. Guess what my husband got to start this weekend?

Now if I could just make a decision about the surface. We thought we would go with Bella Blue Pebble Fina for the durability, smoothness, and color. But when we went to see it in person, the women told us we should consider a different surface. She was having issues with yellow discoloration after one year but didn't know the cause. I was aware of mottling issues, but had not heard of this particular issue. Anyone out there who's had this surface for several years who can weigh in on issues? In the meantime, I'm trying to find some light colored PS pools in Houston. No easy task. Everyone seems to be going for darker surfaces nowadays.

pavers.jpg
 
That coping did come out great!!! Glad to hear you like the color when it is dry!

Darn on the surface not being a good choice. I say to with a white base but add in pretty blue stones/pebbles in it to give it bling and shine!

Kim:kim:
 
Glad I found your thread! I'm putting in a fastlane this winter (in a vinyl pool) and can't wait to hear more about your experience! Sorry about all your delays! I hope you can find good answers to your color questions...I also like a light-colored pool so I can see the pool bottom. Your decking looks great!
 
I've decided that you learn a lot about yourself when you build a pool. I've learned that I'm incapable of making decisions.

So close and yet so far... The kids want to go with the Pebble Fina, but
the disclaimer ('there's a really good chance that you're going to be upset about the irregularity in the finish so prepare yourself now') has me second-guessing the choice.​
Actually I don't think the kids really care that much. My sons exact words were, "Mom, I just want to swim already. Get the pebbles if you want pebbles. Let's just put water in the pool." My daughter said, "I just don't want my feet to bleed."

On the upside, the pool builder is a lot more patient than my kids. I should probably send his wife a thank you card when this project is done.

Here's hoping we wrap this up soon so we can get rid of the feral cat colony that's taken up residence in the back yard.
 
Hey, Kim. What do you mean when you say it will really help with the color? That any irregularities won't be as obvious? Was just worried that going with a white might look really washed out in the spa where we have a lot of shade.
Much thanks for the support :bowdown:
B
 
You are right in what I meant. If you want to "brighten" up the spa you can put some pretty, bling tile on the benches along the edges.

I will also tell you that any color is going to fade/change with time. Here is a good example:

dbtgallery.php


This is a pool that has been a TFP from the very beginning.

Kim:kim:
 
The pool is being cleaned and prepped for finish!!! I'm not sure what's more exciting - having a functional pool or knowing that I won't have to make any more decisions about the project. If I ever do this again, I'm just going to tell the PB to surprise me :grin:
 
LOL or you could let me do it for you! I LOVE spending other people's money!!!

Now do your best to be there when the truck shows up so you can check the color. We have had a couple of pools where they had the wrong color or brand of plaster.

Kim:kim:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply