Should I get Abalone Shells added to stonescapes midnight bl

[jparadise]

We have picked out the color midnight blue for our new pool. I really like how the abalone shells makes the water sparkle. I talked with my PB and he said I could get it mixed in but it would be $800 extra! And he was giving it to me at his cost?!?! Can anyone please let me know 1. If it is worth it? 2.How much did you pay for it. It is with stonescapes.
Thanks so much for any advice!

 

[alanpaul]

Re: Should I get Abalone Shells added to stonescapes midnigh

JP,

If you always keep your water clean, the water will always sparkle. If you want extra pretty, high end finishes for your pool, then it will cost you more. Only you can decide what it's worth to you.

I would ask the contractor about warranty issues regarding the addition of abalone shell, and verify it with the corporate offices. Why? Because sometimes contractors will upgrade using materials not by the same manufacturer, which can void the manufacturer's warranty.

I've not seen StoneScapes with Abalone Shell before. Perhaps others have, and will post.

Nevertheless, it sounds very attractive. Good luck with your new pool!

 

[Killer95Stang]

Re: Should I get Abalone Shells added to stonescapes midnigh

I had abalone added to my Stonescapes mini pebble as part of a special color blend that my builder came up with. I'm not sure what the base color was, but it does look similar to Midnight Blue. For us, it was never presented as an up-charge, but I'm sure he made his money back somewhere along the process. Hard to say if it is worth it for me, but I did ask my wife and she says she loves the pop it gives and would have paid the $800.00. I probably also would have given in if my wife asked for that option. This coming from someone who put their foot down when the budget for $40K was agreed upon for the entire pool project... but is still happy even after we spent over $65K..

If that money can be better spent on another aspect of the pool you really want, then put it there... but if you will be happier in the long run spending that $800.00, then do it. You only live once and will probably never build another pool.

 

[manda64]

Re: Should I get Abalone Shells added to stonescapes midnigh

We had the abalone shells added to our first pool, Pebble Sheen in 2008, and now that we have moved and are remodeling the existing pool, it is a must have for us. It made such a difference to me in the Arizona sun. This time around we are using a Pebble Sheen like product that has the glass beads and abalone included. In 2008, we paid and extra $400 for our pool, I think it was a 90 with 17,000 gallons if that helps.

 

[PilotAlso]

Re: Should I get Abalone Shells added to stonescapes midnigh

We got the abalone shell option with our Stonescapes finish. It looks fantastic sparkling in the sun. We actually sit at the edge of the pool and marvel at how much we like it. Ours was installed as a no-cost upgrade (very competitive market here in Florida) to sway us toward our builder. My wife and I are so glad we chose the builder and the abalone. We'd easily pay the extra money to have it added.

 

[bacevedo]

Re: Should I get Abalone Shells added to stonescapes midnigh

Another recommendation for the abalone here. We just finished our build and we love the abalone! I just wish there was more of it! The way it sparkles in the sun is amazing! I just posted pictures in my build thread with the pool full of water. I'm not sure how well you can see the sparkle, but it's there.

 

[Casey]

Re: Should I get Abalone Shells added to stonescapes midnigh

 

[PilotAlso]

Re: Should I get Abalone Shells added to stonescapes midnigh

Oh well, the best picture I could come up with. The sparkle jumps out in person. Not so much in the picture.

 

[bella24fl]

Re: Should I get Abalone Shells added to stonescapes midnigh

I have stonescapes Midnight Blue with Albalone shell. My pool was just filled with water and there are a lot of heavy patches with the albalone shell. Did anyone else have any issues with the Albalone appearing as heavy patches /spots in some areas?

 

[vanechay]

We do not have any problems with heavy patches of abalone. The shells are scattered randomly and evenly distribution. My interior crew was certified and very experienced. We got ours filled 2 days ago.

 

[lasvegaspools]

Ask if it is added to the mix, or hand cast on the surface. The $800 is a quite expensive for the abalone shell, typically it is hand cast on the surface toward the end of the application process and not added to the mix. Hand casting greatly reduces the amount of shell needed to achieve desired results.

 

[Oceanic]

Ask if it is added to the mix, or hand cast on the surface. The $800 is a quite expensive for the abalone shell, typically it is hand cast on the surface toward the end of the application process and not added to the mix. Hand casting greatly reduces the amount of shell needed to achieve desired results.

Thank you SO much for stating that abalone was applied towards the end of the application process! Because of you, my parents will now get to have abalone in their pool. They had originally chosen the color Tropics Blue with abalone by Stonescapes®, but after seeing a pool, decided it was too dark. They then decided on Aqua Blue but were "crushed" that abalone wasn't in the mix, and the salesman told them there was absolutely no way it could be added. Well, I had read y'alls thread, so the very next day, I told the salesman I read it can be added as a last step and asked that if we could find abalone in stock, couldn't they add it? He agreed right away that he thought this could be done, and within an hour, we had confirmation from the installers. Oddly, they can only apply it to the "level" surfaces, but my parents (especially my mom!) are so thrilled to have the abalone! I saw it in person as well, and it really is magical...it looks like twinkling stars or magical fairy dust...like a mermaid lagoon. Love it! Thank you again Lasvegaspools!

 

[sunngurrl]

Thank you SO much for stating that abalone was applied towards the end of the application process! Because of you, my parents will now get to have abalone in their pool. They had originally chosen the color Tropics Blue with abalone by Stonescapes[emoji768], but after seeing a pool, decided it was too dark. They then decided on Aqua Blue but were "crushed" that abalone wasn't in the mix, and the salesman told them there was absolutely no way it could be added. Well, I had read y'alls thread, so the very next day, I told the salesman I read it can be added as a last step and asked that if we could find abalone in stock, couldn't they add it? He agreed right away that he thought this could be done, and within an hour, we had confirmation from the installers. Oddly, they can only apply it to the "level" surfaces, but my parents (especially my mom!) are so thrilled to have the abalone! I saw it in person as well, and it really is magical...it looks like twinkling stars or magical fairy dust...like a mermaid lagoon. Love it! Thank you again Lasvegaspools!

That is great! What did they pay to have it added at the last step? I am thinking of doing the same. Did they just focus on shallow end and steps?

 

[Big Will]

Adding shells was one of the BEST choices I made on my pool. I had mine mixed in the plaster batch and also hand casted. I would say that hand casting easily give you the best impact and is cheaper since you won't need as many bags. You can probably get away with 2 bags to do your steps , benches, spa, and shallow end

My pool steps

 

[sunngurrl]

Adding shells was one of the BEST choices I made on my pool. I had mine mixed in the plaster batch and also hand casted. I would say that hand casting easily give you the best impact and is cheaper since you won't need as many bags. You can probably get away with 2 bags to do your steps , benches, spa, and shallow end

My pool steps

Wow gorgeous! What color interior do you have?

 

[Big Will]

Wow gorgeous! What color interior do you have?

I have a custom stonescapes tropics blue, the mix normally requires one bag of black but I had them do 2 per batch to make the blue slightly darker

 

[sunngurrl]

I have a custom stonescapes tropics blue, the mix normally requires one bag of black but I had them do 2 per batch to make the blue slightly darker

I am so jealous! Tropics Blue is my all time favorite but unfortunately the pool builder that we chose uses Florida Stucco which I have never heard of. I am going to see if they can add a ton of abalone to their blue tahoe which I am sure won't be cheap. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pool!

 

[Big Will]

I am so jealous! Tropics Blue is my all time favorite but unfortunately the pool builder that we chose uses Florida Stucco which I have never heard of. I am going to see if they can add a ton of abalone to their blue tahoe which I am sure won't be cheap. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pool!

Thanks for the compliment! You can always have them customs mix the batch to achieve the color you want as a FYI. Once you do that it doesn't matter what the brand is you will achieve the color and finish your looking for

 

[b_veselka]

Thanks for the compliment! You can always have them customs mix the batch to achieve the color you want as a FYI. Once you do that it doesn't matter what the brand is you will achieve the color and finish your looking for

Do you have any other photos of your pool? I am in South Texas. I love the look of the darker finishes and my eye always goes to the Midnight Blue in Stonescapes and St. Martin and Anvil in the Quartzscapes. Worried that they will be too hot in the S. Texas heat. Thinking maybe Tropics Blue might be a nice medium. Any idea why in the NPT catalog the Tropics Blue is the only color listed with a * next to the name? I've looked for an explanation for the * but cannot find anything.

 

[Big Will]

I have tons of pics in my pool build . If you like a darker blue definitely go with the midnight blue. Personally that was my favorite but my wife didn’t want a super deep blue pool cause she says it scares her and she feels like sharks will be under her lol. So tropics was a compromise and I added more Black in the mix to get it a tad darker and it worked out for both of us.
As for the * I have no idea but I do know you can change the mix to suit your taste