A Houston Pool Build Inside the Loop

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Marlahoutex said:
PB 3 told me they include the abalone shells in their PebbleSheen, so that's great. To add the beads would be another $1086. He didn't seem to think it would be worth it for my pool because it's small. Umm, since you have them, what are your thoughts?
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I have lots of thoughts but often they are ignored so it is nice to have someone want my thoughts. J/K. Honestly I absolutely love the glass beads. It is hard to quantify it honestly. If you are in Austin and want to come by and see them let me know. It might help to actually see them in person. You should have some time to decide even while the pool is being built.

I have few thoughts on the glass:
1. I have only been able to really see them in the sun once right after the pool was done. After that it has been gloomy or dark when I get home. The few times I saw them in the sun they looked amazing. Plus that was when the pool was murky. I really think I had some algae or something in my pool at first because my pool was sitting so long with water in the pipes for months so when they started it up it really got green. I was pouring bleach in like a mad man for the first week because he didn't want me going above .5. The pool calculator was saying to add 20oz or something but I would add that and wouldn't get anywhere. Finally I added an entire jug of 1 gallon 10% and it finally started clearing up in the deep end. I now can see the pool calculator work when it comes to the bleach. My CC was over 1PPM too for awhile but now I have that under control. Darn Algae really hindered my ability to see the glass in the sunlight. I am hoping in spring I'll really be able to appreciate it more.
2. When not in direct sunlight the beads look more like smooth rocks. I can't really see the light blue or the clear beads. With the blue blend you get basically 4 colors of beads. Dark blue, light blue, clear, and ones that have a pearl like color. I think the light beads and the clear don't really show up at all when the sky is gloomy. Now with that said the dark blue beads really add some kind of sophistication to the finish. It is hard to quantify it but it looks higher end than the other pebble sheen finishes I have seen.
3. Finally it looks nice with the pool lights on. They kind of glimmer a bit with the lights.

With all that said would I buy them again! Probably absolutely now that I have seen them. If I were to need to refinish my pool it would be really hard not to get them. If you asked me before I started this whole thing if I would pay $1k for glass in my pool I would say no. But now that I have had them I would probably pay to do it again. I would have probably have skipped the $1300 dollar upgrade on my controller to add the 4 extra accessory relays to get the glass instead. My pool is pretty simple and I think what makes it beautiful is the finishes are different than what I have seen. I think the stone on the bond beam, the pavers, and the glass in the pool really help my pool not look basic.

Your pool design has more pizzazz I think than mine so you could probably get away without the glass. The pebble sheen is really nice anyway. So it is only a decision you can make :) Here is the best picture of the finish I have so far... If you can zoom in really close you can see the glass pretty well...
1533546B-10F7-4ADB-BB31-831221588D0E_zpshpn41l7l.jpg


Also on your ledge I would honestly ditch it. To me it kind of looks out of place because it is tucked in the corner. I like when the coping goes around most of the ledge. Plus your pool is smaller so I would probably just have the bench go straight across so more people can sit in the pool or have steps on the other side to make the pool look more symmetrical. That is just my opinion and I am an engineer so I like symmetry haha.

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Oh and to zoom you can hold down the control key and use your mouse wheel in your web browser. If you don't have mouse wheel you can use Ctrl and the + or - keys.

Oh and another thing get yourself the large rectangular sample for the blue blend. It comes in 4 colors I think... Blue Blend w/ Blue Granite, Aqua Blue w/ Blue Granite and the other two are white I think. Anyway those samples look amazing whenever I see them in the pool store. I stare at them every time I go in (I just stared at them again yesterday). They must think I have issues or something. They really look fancy and sparkly and they get my attention. They have special lights on them like a jewelry store but I am secretly hoping when the sun comes out and my water is clear I'll get a little of the same effect. I think they pop out to me more than the pure glass finishes. Because it is rock and you aren't expecting the reflection and then it just gets you! Like a surprise. The all glass finishes (bead crete) have so much glass it almost takes away from the effect a bit. I really do think the pebble sheen with the glass is probably my favorite finish but then again I am talking like a parent thinking their kid is the most beautiful child in the world. (And of course my 1st daughter actually won a world's cutest baby contest haha so I know the feeling). Anyway get the sample haha.
 
Thanks Umm for all of that info! I really appreciate it! I think I am going to go with the beads and ditch the shelf. We are going to go look at pools on Saturday so I am hoping to see one with beads.

Amanda, thanks! I thought the Dolphin would climb steps. I will get one anyway. I can sweep the steps and benches off.
 
Umm, that pic is gorgeous! I really am sold on the beads!

In another thread which I can't remember where, i read that the salt cell should be 2x the manufacturer's recommendation. PB3 is using the Aquapure 14 blade good for a 40k pool. Sound reasonable?
 
Thanks I love the finish.

How big is your pool that seems almost 3x or 4x right? I would be worried about having it too big because it would be hard to turn it down enough during the winter. It might push your chlorine really high. I wonder if anyone has any experience with a SWG that is way oversized for a pool? Maybe they make a slightly smaller one? I have a 40k SWG on my setup but my pool is almost 20k.
 
Marla I posted more glass photos to my thread. I didn't want to clutter your thread with all my photos. Today was the first time I saw it in the sunlight. You can really see the glass reflect the sun even from the house.
 

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Thanks y'all! We are really close! Hubby wants to meet the owner and Project manager, which will happen next week. Then I think it will come down to finalizing numbers and signing a contract.

Here is what he said about having 2 main drains: "The reason for two main drains is what’s called anti-entrapment. The two drains are plumbed into the same return line to the equipment and are spaced 36 inches apart from each other. This ensures that there’s no way for someone to accidentally cover a main drain with their body and create a suction/vacuum that they can’t get free from."

Is this standard? I guess I don't recall other TFP pools having 2 or maybe I just wasn't paying attention.
 
That's the exact reason our PB gave us. I think it's fairly standard on new builds. Not sure if its required, though.

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Actually I believe we have 1 main drain and a secondary drain on the wall. Same concept though.
 
Jaime, thanks for the info on the VGB channel drain. I think that's what we are going to go with. It really looks unobtrusive.

Saw 3 pools today. My hubby was impressed with their quality of work. He is going to meet with the owner next week at lunch. I told him if he is still comfortable with them, then he can let them know they have our business. I think we are going to stay with the spouts. They weren't noisy, but had a very peaceful sound. Unfortunately, the pool with the beads only had it on the shelf and it was in the shade, so I really couldn't see it very well. Doesn't mean I'm not going to get it though!!! Also saw the shells and they are amazing, especially in the sun!

The PB said if I want to see a Blue Surf pool he would see what he could do since they haven't done one yet. I did see a Blue Granite pool and really liked it. Unfortunately I can't remember the names of the other 2, but they all seemed to be grayish on either the shelf or the benches.

One thing we are going to change is the fire pit. We are going to reduce the length to an inside dimension of 5' (I think it was originally 6'), but leave the width the same as the revision. One pool we saw had an 8' long fire pit (with the glass) and that sucker really put out the heat! Had to stand back a good 2' from it. That makes me think we could reduce ours and would give us a tiny bit more pool.
 

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