Covid-19 Restrictions and Going About Pool Selections

[Sollace]

Maybe I'm doing this backwards, but I want to do my finish, tile, coping, and stone selections before the contract is signed. Presently I'm at the tile stage. The pool store is closed to the public, invite only. I haven't tried to call and set an appointment, I thought I'd go online first and figure out what I want. Well, I know what I don't want. !!

Pool builder: "Tile companies we use are Master Tile, NPT, Aquabella, and Keystone. Keystone also does our travertine. Master Tile does our brick."

Hubby just said pick what you want. From this forum I'm learned 2 X 2 and 6 X 6 are the sizes used. What doesn't match up is what tile is in the ballpark for the bid we received. For that information I have to visit the pool store.

Maybe others can chime in on what worked for them when pool building during covid restrictions. At this point it's very frustrating. I admire those that can take home samples of what they're getting. All I'm relying on is what's online.

To compound matters. . .
Our pool contact who is excellent, isn't receiving our emails. Either they go missing or go to spam. The way business is conducted now, email is prime. Hubby said it's on his end/pool company email address. It's not our problem to fix, it's theirs. So we have a lack of communication, too.

I can sincerely say that all the answers and help as well as reading all the old builds and information from past years on this forum have saved my sanity. Thank you! And thank you for letting me stand on my soap box and rant about this.

I'd love to hear what's working for others during this time of public restrictions.

 

[kimkats]

I am going to add a couple of sizes for tile for you to think about..........1x2 (my fav size) or 1x1

So lets think about kinds-do you like BLING or subtle? We will go from there.

 

[Dirk]

Regarding the email... if that continues to be a problem, you can open a free gmail account (or a second one), and see if emails from that account get through more reliably. It may be his spam filters don't like your email address or server. That'll keep all your pool-related coms in one place, too.

Oh, and tiles don't have to be square! Square is so 2019!!

 

[Dirk]

And not backwards... I think it's smart to vet out all the materials and costs before signing anything!

 

[Whiskeyfox]

Your contract should have a tile budget included. I picked my tile online after hating every option NPT had in their showroom that was in our budget. The only nice tile they had was $30 a sheet and not as good as what I found online(apparently they have lots of good stuff not in their showroom). Our budget was $8 per linear foot, so we were able to pick any glass tile up to $16 sq foot since it's sold in 1ft sheets that were cut in half.

I picked my tile from this website, www.poolmosaics.com/ . They had what I wanted at $14 sq ft and we ended up getting the same exact tipe at NPT for $13 after I gave my builder the part number.

 

[Sollace]

Thanks for all the replies.
Question about tile sizes. The waterline is 4" below the coping. So shouldn't the grout line be right at the waterline? I was trying to envision a 6" X 6" tile where the waterline hits and trying to eyeball the waterline. How much tile width below the coping? 12" ? ?? !!

And what type of tile 'hides' that awful white residue? Is it small tile? Lighter colored tile? Sorry, no glass and no flashy bling. It's not the cost or the results, I'm just not a bling type of person. My mom was. *grin* Plus for me glare is a thing and I'm going to have enough of that in the water... .

I was going to call the pool place 'shop' and ask why their server is booting my emails. Hubby said if our contact wanted to fix the problem, he would. Our internet service is typical for this area - It's the fastest in town - But yes, it is frustrating. We wasted a week not hearing back from him and emails to him each day. He's busy, they're extremely busy, most pool stuff is at home visits, not in the store, so it's a lot more on their sales reps with all the running around. They come to you instead of you going to them.

So out of the tiles companies listed: Master Tile, NPT, Aquabella, and Keystone . . .
Is one any better than the other? I looked up Master Tile, they're in Houston. NPT is obviously the brand that also does Stone Scapes. I haven't looked at Aquabella and Keystone yet.

This is a lot harder than picking tile for our house. Tile specifics were listed with each company, whether they were high traffic, indoor / outdoor, withstand various temps, you name it, it was listed. And it's all online. Nothing is listed on these pool tile brochures about stuff like that - It's all about the look. I couldn't find prices, either.

Again, thanks for your replies. I'd hoped some of the newer pool builds would respond. They're going through this, too -- Building and selecting during the covid restrictions.

 

[kimkats]

Here is a link to some of the past plaster jobs done on pools. Post number 14 is one that show where the water line hits the tile and skimmer face: Pool Finish and Color Viewing Room...TFP Member Sound Off

The proper water height is half way up the skimmer face and in the middle of the skimmer face. SO..........6x6 tile in one row or 1x2 tile in 6 rows, or 2x2 tiles in 3 rows.

that awful white residue?

Not sure what you mean here. Do you mean the grout line between the tiles? Do you mean what is right under the coping?

Is one any better than the other?

So long as it is rated for pool you should be good. I will tell you for the smaller tiles it is better to have them be "paperfaced" instead of mesh backed as sometimes the mesh backed the tiles don't stick as well if great care is not taken.

 

[Sollace]

This picture shows the awful white residue at the waterline. Hard water stains? And yes it looks like the grout line is the waterline. Is it best to go with the pool water line like that?

6 X 6" tile row. . . Waterline. . . Then 6 X 6 below it and so 12" of tile is correct?

 

[spd500]

We went to Master Tile showroom and they were still allowing people in without appointment. They are limiting the number of people in at any given time, but we had no problem with that. As someone mentioned there should be a budget allowance in your build for tile so you know what to look at for basic selections. We didnt have that number when we went to look, so we picked what we liked the most and asked for prices. The salesman at Master Tile was about to give us retail pricing, but not the price that our builder would pay if he ordered. They did let us have samples to take home to look at and even gave us extra because they tile we picked had alot of color variation, they also have us samples of the coping that we had picked so we could see how it would look with the travertine already in place in the outdoor kitchen. We didnt deal with any of the other companies you mentioned so I can't say what they are doing.

 

[spd500]

This picture shows the awful white residue at the waterline. Hard water stains? And yes it looks like the grout line is the waterline. Is it best to go with the pool water line like that?

6 X 6" tile row. . . Waterline. . . Then 6 X 6 below it and so 12" of tile is correct?

That pool probably has 3x3 tile and the water is really low. You can see where the waterline should be about 4" higher. You can treat the water to avoid the white hardwater deposits or just clean the tile whe it is needed.

 

[kimkats]

The water line mess is due to unbalanced water. I assure that is NOT a TFP pool. We can and will teach you how to balance and care for your pool and water so this should not happen.

They chose to put two rows of 6x6. There is not real right or wrong. If you want two rows then go for it. Like @spd500 stated the water is too low in that pic. The water should be up to where that white line mess is.