I like the blues but that is what is going on my pool with OK flagstone. Our blue has some browns in it so it blends nicely. Your very first blue one on the left looks similar to what we picked. Master Tile SOLBELAZU6

The finish will be Tahoe Blue PT.

Thanks!

I also have OK flagstone and Tahoe Blue PT. I matched the tile as close as I could to the flagstone. I went with a tile from Noble Tile that said extreme shade variation - which was actually perfect since the flagstone has both light and dark.

IMO, I think the left is too blue, you don't want it to compete with the PT; the middle is too reddish for the browns in the flagstone; and the right is too light. I think you need a tile that has more brown in it since that is what is in the OK flagstone.

Good luck with the decision, I know it is tough; I asked several people their opinions before I finally decided.

amy texas - Do you recall the name or model number of your tile? I made 2 trips to Nobel this afternoon and got samples of everything remotely close to brown so I probably have a sample.

Thanks again for the input.

We have OK Flag on the coping as well as the steps and OK moss boulders in the waterfall. We will have Tahoe Blue Sheen as well, this is the tile we are going with. Has the tan, reds and blues of the OK Flag. I'm pretty sure it's a noble tile as well.

It is Noble NMVS 662 Rust. The name Rust is not a good representation; I see shades of brown. I will take a close up picture at lunch today and post it for you so you can see what it looks like next to the coping. I really am happy with the way the tile blends with the flagstone.

Hang in there hwade....have you seen the forecast. Makes you cringe. Wed is now up to 50% chance rain and Thursday is 80%. So guess we can expect one more round of flooding. We chose a darker PS finish than yours so our blue will go with that. If it's got some browns in the tile you should be good no matter what other colors are there. Flagstone has so many shades. Garageworks guy matched his really well.

Here are my pictures. Forgive me, but I took several because of all the natural variations in the flagstone.

amy texas - They must have discontinued the line because it's no longer showing in their catalogue. Thanks for the info though. I went back to an older thread and found your pool, very nice by the way, and that is the look we're going for.

ftwpoolgirl - We go 3 months without rain in the summer and now we can't squeeze in 7 days without a deluge. I hope the rain doesn't delay you too long.

hwade, actually it is listed as a new tile in their 2009 catalog. Here is a link to the online catalog. It is the Vesale Series (towards the bottom of the page). Click on it and there are 4 different tiles as part of that series and there you will see it.

http://www.nobletile.com/6inch.html

Thanks so much! Your pool is beautiful!

I must have an old version of the print catalogue. I'll run down to Noble this afternoon to get some samples.

Hwade, personally i like the blue simply because it provides some contrast from the flagstone. we also chose blue on ours as well and we are very please with how it looks with the blue granite pebblesheen. it had a bit more of a turquoise look that i wasn't sure about but it ended up GREAT. this selection process can be extremely stressful. don't be afraid to ask your PB for their suggestions as well. we also had the opportunity to see a couple of pools with tile that we had narrowed it down to so that helped as well!

keep us posted!

amy texas - Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I picked up a sample of the tile you used and we think this is the one. It's the look we had in mind when we set out on this journey. For some reason I had completly ignored this line in the Noble showroom because they are oversized. My family thanks you as well. We were able to discuss something other than pool tile at dinner tonight. What did we do before the interweb??? Here's a pic.

ajones - Your pool looks wonderful with blue tile. I'm a little hesitant about going with blue because I feel it's more risky. If we were to go with blue and miss I feel it would look worse than if we miss with an earthtone. Of course, I'm new to this whole thing so that might be way off base. By the way, I think you've handled your PS issue with a ton of grace. I don't think I could appear nearly as calm as you have if I were in your shoes. I'm glad PT had some reassuring words for you.

Thanks to all who chimed in on this. I'm sure in a year it won't seem like a big deal but our lives have revolved around tile for the last 5 days.

hwade, you are so welcome. I am glad you found something that you like. It looks good next to your stone. I think you will really like it; I know we do. Please post pictures when it is done.

hwade, i completely understand about the earthtones and i'm right there with you. the wife and i found two we liked a lot but they were out of stock and had to make different choices. tile selection is a VERY important part of the process. BTW, love the tile you have selected and it's an excellent compliment to flagstone coping!!!! guess once they get the tile redone then it's onto decking pretty soon afterwards and then the interior. it will be coming right along if the weather cooperates just a little bit. shouldn't be to much longer! also, thanks for the kind words on the PS issue. just got a bit nervous with the PB's postings so i thought it would be best to go directly to the source. the PB's on this site are all great and offer excellent advice and hope they are not offended with my posting the conversation with PebbleTec. but certainly the words were re-assuring but will still need to keep an eye on everything.

continued excellent progress and keep the pictures coming!!

We ordered the new tile today (thanks again, amy texas!) and the deck crew came and put the forms in. The forecast is calling for rain all day tomorrow so I doubt if we'll get the deck poured until early next week. Here are a few pics of the deck forms.

It's been 15 days since the start of the project. This includes a 2 day rain delay last week. I really wasn't expecting things to happen this quickly.

WOW, they are coming right along. Great progress for just 15 days! hopefully the weather will get better and sounds like they might be able to get some stuff done tomorrow! keep the pics coming.

hwade, Your project looks fantastic! We are getting ready to start our second pool build. The first was a nightmare and I'm scared to death. Would you mind if I asked what your project cost?

Thanks! Other than the tile issue, which our PB has been great about helping us work through, we've been very pleased.

Send me an email at hwade972@gmail.com and I'll give you specifics on the cost.

hwade, since you didn't post additional pics i'm assuming they didn't get your deck poured today?

Nope. The deck crew inadvertently filled the electrical trench when they laid boards in our side yard for their equipment. This resulted in a failed inspection on Thursday. A crew came out this morning and uncovered the trench so we passed inspection this afternoon. We're shooting for early next week on the deck pour.

They also still have to do a little work on the arbor posts before we can pour. They initially cut off the bottoms of the posts at deck level and poured piers directly beneath them. With all of the rain and digging around them the piers have moved away from the posts. They'll have to repour the piers and remove the bracing before the deck pour as well.

How's your finish holding up? Any noticable issues?

sorry to hear about the insepection but hopefully they can get moving along next week. i know that's frustrating. the finish appears to be good. there are some what i would call splotches on the interior but they appear to change in size and location each day and the PB said that's the interior curing and those will disapppear. there is one approx 10 inch perfectly round white circle by the main drain that the the PB and i noticed but he said he would have his maintenance guy come out and put some type of stain stuff on it. if that didn't correct the problem, then he would get divers out to fix it but he's confident we can do something about it. one of the reasons we went with him was because he's an honest man and has done everything he said he would do to this point so we are confident that he will correct anything we need. i see where you're going with wetedge interior. i just posted on CVD's post that our neighbor has wetedge and he loves it! keep posting the pics!

First the rain, then the snow. We're on the way to setting a record for single day snowfall in the Dallas area. Where is global warming when you need it?

We're targeting Monday for the stamped and stained concrete deck. The high Monday will be 49 with an overnight low of 29. Tuesday will be almost identical with temps ticking up to 38 and 55 for Wednesday.

For all of the experts out there, will these temps present a problem for us down the road with the concrete?

Thanks!

As long as the concrete is cured (hard) it will be ok.

The storms we have been experiencing are more El-Nino related than anything else. When it subsides, the storms will ease.

Scott

We finally got a break in the weather this week so the deck was poured on Tuesday. I haven't had a chance to take any decent pictures yet but I will. The colors we chose for the stained concrete were steadman buff with a walnut release. So far the color looks significantly lighter than the sample work at the pool builder's office. I've been told it will darken once the sealer is applied.

Does anyone have any experience with stained concrete that can comment? Is this something I should be concerned about?

Thanks!

I am curious..has your tile been replaced yet?

Not yet. They're supposed to start that tomorrow. I'll post pics as soon as I get a chance. I hope it looks as good as yours!

Here's a shot of the deck. Once it's sealed it should be a darker brown color. The tile guys couldn't make it today so hopefully we'll see them on Monday.

Are those columns embedded in the concrete? Their bases may rot and you will have issues.

Scott

No. The arbor was braced and the columns were cut off just above deck level. They then dug 2' X 2' X 2' footers under each column before pouring the deck. The bracing in the picture above will be cut off at the deck and flagstone footers will go around each column.

We'll find out soon if it worked!

Please let me know if you are pleased with the end results of your stained / stamped concrete. The decking issue is driving me crazy and I'm still deciding between Sundek (spray decking) or going the stained and/or stamped concrete route. Our backyard still has three feet of snow, so the project won't begin until late March!

We looked at several options for decking but opted for the stained/stamped concrete based mostly on the look. The pattern we chose is called Rockskin. Here's a closer shot.

The new tile was installed yeasterday. It looks like a subtle change in the picture but in person it's a big improvement.

Thanks again amy texas! This is exactly the look we had in mind. If it wasn't for you I would have made a decision I know I would have regretted later.

The best news is that Master tile agreed to absorb the costs of the original tile since what was delivered was so differant than the sample tiles we chose.

The last few weeks have been spent watching it rain, putting the stone boots on the arbor posts, cleaning and grading the backyard, and re-installing the sprinkler system. We're hoping for plaster on Tuesday. Here are a few of the latest shots.

The pool looks so inviting. Your yard looks so much cleaner than ours. We're at the same stage about as you. Waiting on sprinklers to be repaired, plaster and hopefully landscaping. Your privacy fence is so nice as well. Love the way they trimmed it out.

Thanks! We're very happy so far.

Did you get the slide issue resolved?

The plaster went in today. It's Wet Edge Tahoe Blue. It was a very interesting process to watch. Tomorrow they'll acid wash. We're getting close!

We filled the pool a few days ago. It took 16 hours with two hoses running. The deck will get sealed this afternoon or tomorrow and then we're on to landscaping.

Your pool looks wonderful. We are still working on our landscape and it is 7-8 mths later.....

The deck was sealed this week. It made a huge differance in the overall appearance. Here's a pic of the work in progress.

We also had the landscaping installed. I was a bit nervous about going with the native Texas look but now that it's done, we wouldn't change a thing. Still to go is mastic, laying more sod, and patio furniture.

Love the new tile! Deck looks great! Landscaping is coming along nicely. Now that you are almost done, is there anything you would do differently if you had to do it over again? We are about to begin. :)

Thanks! Other than the initial tile selection, there really isn't anything else I would change. I thought I was well informed before signing the contract but I realize now how little I really knew. I feel very fortunate to have selected a builder that made the "right" decision for us time and time again. From design to equipment selection to fixing the small things throughout the process I always felt like their primary goal was to make me happy.

My advice is to make sure you pick a reputable builder, ask lots of questions, and try to be home as much as possible during the build. It's amazing what the subs will do for you if you're nice to them and don't mind footing the bill for lunch and drinks occasionally.

It's been a few months since I last posted but we finally have everything done. All of the landscaping is in and the furniture has all arrived so I thought I would end the thread with some final pics.

Thanks again to everyone who offered advice and guidance along the way! This is a great forum with wonderful people.

Your pool and everything around it looks GREAT! I love your selections! I have a very similar deck (pool & yard too actually, ha!) and am very interested to know what type of sealant they used on your stamped concrete deck?? We need to do that to ours! Please let me know, thanks!

Looks great! I like the stepped spa spillover and the landscaping looks great too.

Thanks! We're really happy with the final result. The sealer they used is called Clear Seal Premium Sealer 20% from Decorative Concrete Supply. They have stores in Carrollton, Buda, and Houston.

Here is a link that might be useful: Decorative Concrete Supply

THANK YOU for the sealer info hwade! I'm VERY excited to do this to ours! I love your yard/pool/EVERYTHING. You did a FABULOUS job with selections! I wish I had done so well.....

Thanks for the kinds words. I know it's little consolation but I REALLY think yours looks wonderful.

I noticed in your original build thread that you commented about sealed decks being slippery. It IS extremely slippery right after it is sealed. It helps if you throw sand on the sealer while it's still wet in between the first and second coats.

It took about two weeks for the gloss to wear off a little which reduced the slipperiness. The kids can now trot across the deck, despite our constant warnings, without busting their butts.

So, what was the cost?