Pebble Tec or Stonescapes

[agogley]

I've gotten two quotes for a remodel. Stonescapes came in a couple grand cheaper. Is Pebble Tec worth the extra money?

Frankly, I don't like the colors. I want a darker blue but they all appear light blue or black to me.

 

[agogley]

well, after talking to my original pool builder, my pool equipment maintenance guy, and doing some research on this forum (and elsewhere), I decided to spend the extra money to go with Pebble Tec. Virtually every response was to spend more money just because of the customer service of Pebble Tec. Stonescapes looked great and I'm sure the plaster guy was great, but it was a small business and I was thinking I didn't want this to be the guy I had to deal with if I had problems five years from now.

It was quite a bit more expensive, although I decided on a level 2 custom color mix. I also got them to give me a great price on beading the tile to remove the calcium line. I also got the startup (except salt) included and one month of pool service.

 

[jblizzle]

I would be leery of how they start-up the pool and what the 1 month of pool service does. While you certainly will have to follow some requirements to maintain warranty, make sure you fully understand what they are adding to the pool, why, and whether you approve of it.

An example, if the pool service only comes 1 time a week ... that may not be enough to keep the pH in line. Also, they may jack your stabilizer much higher than you will want it to be when you take over. If they make the CYA 100+ppm as their business model, we will recommend you replace water to lower that level to the recommended range for a SWG pool (70-80ppm).

Also realize, that experiments have shown that you should not add salt to the pool for at least 1 month, so you will need to be using an alternate form of chlorine until you can fire up the SWG.

Just stay informed and be aware of their plan.

 

[agogley]

Thanks for the advice. Honestly, it didn't occur to me to ask them what ranges they will be using for balance (I mean you have a lot going on with a remodel). Now I'll make sure to ask if they stick to NPC guidelines for startups.

The monthly pool service isn't that helpful to me. NPC guidelines recommend checking PH, TA, and CH everyday for the first 14 days. Once a week pool service obviously can't accomplish that. They'll be providing Chlorine and CYA (which should be at 30-50) until the 28th day (NPC guidelines for salt), at which time I have to provide the salt.

At least with the pool service they can't blame me for any defects resulting from water chemistry and I'll get an extra brushing during the first 4 days and weekly thereafter.

Now I'll have to check my test kit (I have the one recommended here) to see if I have enough drops to test TA everyday.

 

[jblizzle]

I had to pay for a "start-up" when I got my pebble done as well ... I am not sure I really got anything for the money though :grrrr:

Really you will need to focus on the pH. The pH and TA and CH likely will rise ... but the only way to lower the TA is by lowering the pH ... so you do not have a lot of control to lower the TA.

Realize that you can just get the solar salt from a big hardware store ... it is a little over half the cost of the "pool" salt. The only real difference is that the pool salt has been ground up more than the solar salt ... so instead of dissolving in 5-10 minutes, the pool salt will dissolve in a couple minutes. Just dump it in and brush it around until it dissolves.