Pebble finish start up-"Universal Mini Pebble"

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mmardini

mmardini

Well-known member
Jul 21, 2020
173
Palm Springs, ca
Pool Size
15000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Has anyone heard or used the company “universal mini pebble”? We were originally going to use stone scapes aqua blue but our PB brought us samples of “universal mini pebble” and my husband really likes the “aqua azul” color. I’m a little hesitant because I’ve never heard of this company for pebble. Any thoughts?? Should we just stick with stone scapes from NPT? Thank you!!
 
One of the most important parts is to ask if he is an approved applicator (which is assumed he is since he brought the product to you) and how many times has he installed it? Will he give you references? The company - Universal White Cement - is family owned based out of Arizona.
It would be best to call them and find out more details about the product and the approved applicators in your area.
 
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HermanTX said:
One of the most important parts is to ask if he is an approved applicator (which is assumed he is since he brought the product to you) and how many times has he installed it? Will he give you references? The company - Universal White Cement - is family owned based out of Arizona.
It would be best to call them and find out more details about the product and the approved applicators in your area.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your reply and advice! I will def be doing that first thing Monday!
 
I have been researching plaster, The company is Finest Finish and they do things a little different and probably who I am going with when I do plaster.. I believe the reason there plasters are better is because everything the crew needs is in the bag... Nothing extra is added on site except water and they are trained in each finish they install... The company in OKC that sells it has been selling there product for years, like 50 years and said it is the best stuff and always consistent from bag to bag...

finestfinishpools.com

Universal Mini Pebble Series - Finest Finish Pools

UNIVERSAL MINI PEBBLE SERIES Smooth Classic Naturally Tumbled Mini
finestfinishpools.com

He really likes the Radiant Fusion blend of micro pebbles...

finestfinishpools.com

Finest Finish Blend Radiant Fusion Series

FINEST FINISH RADIANT FUSION SERIES Modern pre-blend of micro pebble,
finestfinishpools.com finestfinishpools.com
 
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Hey everyone! My pool will begin its remodel from plaster to pebble on 9/28 (one week!!!). Originally when I talked to our pool guy about start up he said it would be an extra 400$ as it’s a lot of work. Now that we decided to go pebble he said that the start up he was thinking of is not needed, and that he would acid wash the pebble once it’s installed he would balance the chemicals and vacuum but since it’s pebble he wouldn’t need to brush the pool everyday for 10 days like he originally planned so he said it would only be an extra 50$. Does this sound right to everyone? Just want to make sure because I want this finish to last! Thank you!
 
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ajw22 said:
Here are the startup guides for PEBBLETEC...



Review them to understand what someone needs to do.
Click to expand...

Thank you!!! That was very helpful. It doesn’t say anything about acid washing In those instructions? I’m kinda hesitant to acid wash a brand new pool surface and don’t understand what that would do for it. We got bids from numerous companies and some said they did it and some didn’t. I should have asked for the rationale!
 
Acid washing removes the cream to expose the pebbles. It is part of the installation and not part of the pool startup. You don’t have all the directions for the pebble installation.
 
I dont think the initial acid wash is out of bounds at all for your startup. Essentially it cleans the surface and removes any extra plaster material from the pebble finish. If it were me I would have the initial acid wash then do a startup like mentioned above. Definitely brush twice daily till you dont see any dust...and just for measure I added a couple days myself. Its really not that big of a chore...kind of cathartic honestly. Good luck!
 
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Thank you for that information! I apologize I’m to this pool thing. I was reading the instructions and it says to run your pump for 5 days straight. We bought our house last year and the previous owners installed a brand new pump right before we bought the house. Unfortunately it’s a single speed pump (we would have gone variable). I’m concerned about how much my electric bill will spike to run this pump 24 hours a day for 5 days. The pump is a Pentair I have attached a pic as I’m not sure exactly what I should be looking at. Any help is much appreciated! Would it be ok to run this pump for say, 16 hours a day? We currently run it for 8 hours a day and our electric bills are high (we also live in Palm Springs so the A/c takes into account also). Thank you!
 

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You spent a lot for your new plaster job. You don’t want to mess it up trying to save a bit of electrical cost.

Running the pump continuously for 5 days is needed to filter out the plaster dust and keep it from settling back on the walls as rough spots.

I don’t know exactly what your electrical cost is but I guess it averages around .30/kWh. That will be about $17/day for running your pump 24/7 or less than $100 for the 5 days.

Get a VS pump. Your payback can be in a year of electrical savings.
 
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A 2.7HP V Green VS motor from InyoPools would be an easy swap. Might check with your utility to see if a rebate is available.
 
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mknauss said:
A 2.7HP V Green VS motor from InyoPools would be an easy swap. Might check with your utility to see if a rebate is available.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I am going to check on the rebate. I didn’t realize I could swap with that for less than 1,000$ or I would have done it a year ago! Wish I found this site earlier!
 
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Ok I hope someone sees this thread! We are so confused now. We drain the pool tomorrow to start the remodel but can’t get a straight answer on start up! We read the pebble tech guidelines but we are not using the actual company pebble tech. We are using universal mini pebble. At first my pool guy said he would need 400$ for start up thinking we were using plaster. When he found out we were going to pebble he said it would be 50$ bc all he needed to do was come and brush a few times. I read the pebble tech guidelines and it says brush twice a day for 10 days then once the rest of the month (I believe, it’s been a couple weeks since I read it and obviously will reread it). Our plaster guy just left the house and said that start up is more time consuming and he said that he has a guy that can do it for us, but when I asked about the 5 days of pump running non stop he said his guy doesn’t even turn on our pump for a week or two and uses his pump when he is here?? We are SO confused now on what to do. If we just need to run the pump for the 5 days and brush the pool we can do that ourselves, but that is not what our plaster guy follows. He also offers a 7 year warranty that we don’t want to void. Does anyone know the correct start up?? Or any advice?? We want this finish to last!!
 
I suggest you contact the manufacturer of “universal mini pebble” and ask them what the recommended start up procedure is. I have never heard of that finish.
 
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The company is called universal cement and the product is universal mini pebble. Our plaster guy says it’s highly recommended, I also had never heard of it. I am trusting him and hopefully it doesn’t bite me in the butt
 
finestfinishpools.com

Finest Finish Blends Technical page

Please remember, actual aggregate size, color and texture can vary from samples and photos to finished pool. Due to the constant changes and variables such as the angle of the sun, sky and water clarity, pool depth and surrounding reflections of hardscape and landscape, expect your pool water...
finestfinishpools.com finestfinishpools.com

refers to the NPC Startup procedure which you can find at...

 
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mmardini said:
Has anyone heard or used the company “universal mini pebble”? We were originally going to use stone scapes aqua blue but our PB brought us samples of “universal mini pebble” and my husband really likes the “aqua azul” color. I’m a little hesitant because I’ve never heard of this company for pebble. Any thoughts?? Should we just stick with stone scapes from NPT? Thank you!!
Click to expand...
we like aqua azul too! did you ever get example pictures? ive only seen one..!
 

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