I'm trying to figure out the best pool surface for my budget. I want it smooth, since my feet are VERY sensitive to rough surfaces. Is that regular plaster, or some $8000 Pebble upgrade? If I have to spend 8k+ just to get a slightly smoother surface, I'll just stick with what I've always had (plaster).
Plaster vs Pebbletec vs...?
- Thread starter tedujam
- Start date
Except for one: The smoothest surface that I have come across is Primera Stone by Wet Edge Technologies. Wet Edge offers products very similar to PebbleTec (in fact, I think Wet Edge was founded by former PebbleTec employees). The Primera Stone product line is essentially a pebble pool surface that gets manually grinded into a smooth finish. It's probably the best of all worlds: The durability of pebble with a smoothness that exceeds plaster.
We renovated our entire pool 2 seasons ago, and we chose the pebble SHEEN surface by pebble tec, and we love it. The sheen is much smoother than the pebble tec surface. We chose the aqua blue and love it! Good luck. they also offer a Fina surface which is supposed to be even smoother than the Sheen. Checkout pebbletec.com
When I was shopping we decided we want the lifetime of pebble but don't want it rough so we went with pebble sheen. I don't know if the sales guy was blowing smoke but he said that pebble sheen is one of the few companies that water tumbles their product. Some of the other knock offs don't water finish their stones so they are rougher. Plus I don't know who you are using or if you have a large pool but our pebble sheen upgrade was I think <3k for a standard color over plaster.
Thanks for the recs, but how much more than plaster is pebble sheen? It may be the best thing in the universe, but like I said, I don't want to spend 8k+ for a surface that's just a little smoother than plaster.
It's going to be double or close to it versus plaster. A very durable, still very smooth option is a good Quartz finish. Much more durable, barely if at all rougher than plaster.
If you want the smoothest aside from Tile, you have options for a sanded/polished finish, but these usually run a bit more than a good pebble. They are nice, but very labor intensive=$$$
If you want the smoothest aside from Tile, you have options for a sanded/polished finish, but these usually run a bit more than a good pebble. They are nice, but very labor intensive=$$$
Pebblesheen or WetEdge are more than just a plaster. You are making an investment in aesthetics as well rather than just plaster and one homogenous color.
If you are looking for a quick fix and the smoothest, then plaster is the best bang for the buck. If I were you, I would ask to go see some pools all the diff finishes and feel them too.
If you are looking for a quick fix and the smoothest, then plaster is the best bang for the buck. If I were you, I would ask to go see some pools all the diff finishes and feel them too.
elwood58
LifeTime Supporter
We went with Pebble Fina three years ago, and have been very happy with it. It is not as smooth as plaster though. We have a SeaScooter that the Grandkids love to play with, but you can tell when they get too close and rub the surface. Worse than rug burn. Can't beat the durability of Pebble.
I would suggest a quartz finish. It lasts much longer than the white plaster and it is very soft on the feet. For price, it is usually in between plain plaster and a pebble tec/sheen.
Questions like this are subjective but if your main priority is smoothness I would say quartz as well. We just refinished our pool and used pebble but I was drawn to the quartz for smoothness. We had also just stayed in a resort that had quartz and it looked and felt great. Our priority was more of longevity so we selected pebble. When you look at pebble options you can get different size pebbles, the smaller ones usually have the smoothest feel. Pebble tec has named their small size pebbles "Pebble Sheen". Quartz will be less expensive than pebble but will have a shorter warranty and life expectancy. When you talk to the pool refinisher they should bring samples that you can feel for yourself, that might help you decide.