I am having a pool renovation using 1x1 tile. It was not much more than plaster.

Click on the link to view tiled pools done by my PB. The one with the bird of paradise is much more beautiful in person.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tiled Pools

waitingtoswim: We were planning on using 3M because we did not like (in fact hated) the feel of pebble but, like you, had real trouble trying to choose a 3M color as there are so many variables which can effect the finished product. At the last moment I began trying to find a different pool finish and then my PB handed me a box of Stonescape Mini Pebble samples. I was immediately hooked. The mini pebble is much smoother than regular pebble yet has the same durability. Our mini pebble was installed a little over a week ago and we absolutely love the color (Tropics Blue - which may be a bit darker than you want) and the feel! Our children (aged 6 and 3) have had no complaints about it even when crawling around on the baja shelf. They have had a couple of minor scrapes but I recall having tons of scrapes and "raspberry toe" from plain old plaster pools when I was kid. We are SOOOOO happy we decided to use the mini pebble!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Stonescapes

Thanks for the advice! Anyone else? :)

I called Wet Edge when we were doing our pool and they told me that the pool at the Buttes in Tempe is done with their product. We never went and looked at it so I don't know what color it it, but it is an idea for you. If I remeber correctly, Wet Edge is over by Superstition Springs Mall if you wanted to go by there, if you're close.

Thanks mommyniki, anyone else?

We just got our pool, but I'm enjoying the Diamond Brite-- it comes with a ten year warranty and is so soft on the feet I don't even notice it...

For the record, Diamond Brite is essentially the same as the 3MÂ ColorquartzÂ. The basic difference is that a pool done with the 3MÂ entails the plaster company mixing the quartz crystals in with the plaster (substituting some of the other aggregate that would otherwise be used - usually it's crushed marble); whereas the Diamond Brite is a prepackaged mix of plaster and quartz crystals (yes, they use the 3MÂ crystals).

Having said all that.... we have Black Onyx Pebble Sheen® in our pool. It's gives a deep blue color to the water, which is darker than you want, but the pebble finish itself is very smooth. I have often equated it with the texture of a football or basketball -- you feel the bumps, but it is still smooth. No rough spots at all; no snagged swimsuits, etc.

I gave Swimmingin07 a call but only got her voicemail. Hopefully she'll post soon :)

Thank you so much zarbiya123, lindsey_ca and houseful! I appreciate your time. Thanks for going to the extra trouble to track down swimming, houseful, that is so nice of you!

Any other opinions or recommendations from anyone?

I thought I replied to your comments to me in the other post, but I don't think it ever posted.

The reason I went with Stonescapes over Wet Edge was price & the Co we were considering (the one the friend of DH's fammily) didn't have a great record with either the BBB or ROC. So that's why I went with Stonescapes. I am overall happy with the product, mini-pebble, but have some issues with the application/applicators.

I don't think the mini-pebble is rough at all, although I do have a diving pool, not a play pool. I have spent a lot of time in the shallows though & so does my son, almost 4yo.

Ours has a nice blue, kind of turquoise water color. It's carribbean blue. I don't have pics yet of the full pool, just as it was filling. I can show you those if you would like.

I'm here! :) We just got back from vacation. Sorry it took so long to reply. I am sitting out by the pool as I type, watching two 9 year-olds, a 6, a 5, and a 3 year old swim (and listening for the 5-week-old through the monitor). I am very happy with our pool finish. I LOVE the color of our water (Kona Coast), and the product has turned out to be quite smooth. Not as smooth as the samples, but close. We haven't had any issues with elbow scrapes, bleeding toes, or snagged swimsuits so I am considering it a success.

In our situation, the crew (Superior Pool Plastering) that installed the Primera Stone exposed more of the aggregate than is traditionally done with this finish. That is what caused it to be rougher initially. WetEdge was amazing! They sent out the owners to look at the pool, and they were so eager to make us happy it was surprising. They offered to repolish the interior of the pool, and they came and dropped a pump to drain the pool the same day. The second polish made a big difference! They have followed up with us to make sure that we were pleased with the end result and I really appreciated that. If you contact Carl Shores with WetEdge, he will meet you at homes to show you the finish. I can post a few more pics, just not right this second, probably later tonight.

Houseful- the baby is great. The kids are crazy about him and he has a nice, calm temperment. I couldn't ask for a better baby! He has definitely enjoyed his couple of "swims" in the pool. :)

Wow! sounds like a great endorsement! It is great to hear from you swimming07, thanks for the advice and info. I think we are going to go with wet edge and do kona coast so if you have a break (ha! like moms get breaks with new babies!) that would be great if you could show some pictures to me!

Here's a link to her pool building process with pics.

Here is a link that might be useful: swimmingin07 pool

Thanks mommyniki! i did see that post, but I wondered if the pool color looked
more like the 1st picture or the last 2 as the first one seems darker and more
like the color we want. You guys on here are great to help people out after you
are already done with your pools, and I plan on 'passing it on' after ours is
done in the next couple weeks. I still need to decide on deck too! All of these
decisions when you owner build. cant wait to not have any pool decisions except
'do i want to swim now, or later?' :)

Trying out a picture...

Here is a link that might be useful: my first picture

Here is a link to miscellaneous pictures of the pool. The color varies a lot depending on the time of day and sun exposure. The more direct sunlight, the lighter the color.

Here is a link that might be useful: Misc pictures

I also can't resist posting one of the new baby :)

{{!gwi}}

Thanks so much swimming! that really helps! I think we are going to go with your color. (dont worry, you have no liability if we dont like it! :)) Did you like your plaster company? I think we will go with sunsparkle as their record is the best with the licensing board. Have you heard about them?

also, CUTE baby, by the way! no wonder you wanted to show him off, too cute!!! i love his eyes.....the color of the pool? :) beautiful!

I would go with Sun Sparkle if I were you. I wasn't happy with the plaster crew since they treated the pool like a pebble finish, creating all of the problems with the roughness. It was WetEdge that fixed things, not Superior. You can bet that they were definitely going to be talking with Superior about what happened. Those two companies are the only two that install the Primera Stone locally. When I was collecting bids I left at least 3 messages with Sun Sparkle to follow up on my bid request. I never received a call back and I never received a bid. That is how I chose Superior.

One interesting thing to mention: a separate company comes out to do the polish that is hired by WetEdge. They couldn't believe that Superior did our pool because it looked so nice. Apparently that isn't the norm for them. I guess they though that Sun Sparkle had done it. Have you checked to see how far out they are scheduling?

Thanks for the baby compliments! We are defintely enjoying him. :)

Swimming07, He is beautiful! Is he # 5 or #6? I read a lot of your post while building your pool, I was mostly a lurker then as my pool reno hadn't started yet. Congratulations of your beautiful baby.

Your baby is so cute! When I first glanced at the picture I thought it was a pic of my 3rd. I think it was the eyes. Congrats!

He's adorable!! What an angel! I'm so glad everything is going well for you.

When you have a chance, can you email me the name and number of your pool consultant? I have a friend who wants to get going on her project. Thanks!

wow, cute baby! We just remodeled our smaller pool (12x24) with traditional white plaster. I had planned on going with a colored plaster or 3m until I discovered the price difference. I replastered the pool, had all new coping and tile installed, and he also jack hammered out part of a return line that had a slight leak, all for under $6500. The companys that delt in agragate plasters like pebble wouldn't touch it for less than $11-15000.00, and said the drain work would be extra. I went to an old plaster man who has a regular day job and takes a couple side jobs every season as his own business. Plaster was all he knew and he did it well. One thing he told me that really stood out was that pure white plaster was the classic style way back in the day, and although there are currently a whole lot of fads and color schemes out there now, history dictates that white plaster will still be the classic style in the future when all the other fads have come and gone. I was very wary at first. I second guessed and thought it would look too plain. But now that it's done and the pool is full, I love it. At night, I turn on the light and the white fully illuminates, showing every detail in the plaster. I must say he did a fine job, considering he hand trowed it all. I can only find one small mark, about the size of a fingernail, that's probably a trowl mark. Every spec of dirt and leaves can be seen, so when the pool is chrystal clean, you can tell. Often, with a darker colored pool, it's masking dirt and leaves. Who wants to swim in a dirty pool? And the nice thing is that the $5000+ I saved will pay a year or two of college for one of my kids.
--J

Here is day 1 of our tiling process. It took two days to chip off the old waterline tile and to grind away the plaster down to a suitable surface.

Today they completed the waterline and the side wall at the shallow end of the pool (minus the steps.)

I'm really surprised there are not more talk about tiled pools on this forum. Here in Hawai'i it seems to be the norm and not much more than other surfaces.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Scl4, Funny you mentioned that. My salesman from the PB I choose is Hawaiian & guess what, his pool is all tile! We considered tiling the spa & pebbling the pool, the cost would have been much the same.

Our Primera Stone was completed 10 days ago and there is one large area of roughness(10 feet of wall) and a few small areas. Also there is a discoloration in the center of the pool where the color (Tahoe Coast) is a darker shade of blue than the rest of the pool. The rough areas feel like sandpaper while the rest of the pool is smooth. Also I noticed one area along a bench that has several 2-5 inch cracks in the finish.
We do like the surface both the look and feel but I have concerns about how these problems will be addressed.

swimmin07, thanks for the info and advice, I will let you know how it goes as I should soon have it done.

sc14 I think i would like the tile but imagine it would be much more expensive where I am at and as it is much more tedious work. too late now anyway as we have scheduled already and can hardly wait any longer to swim! summer is almost over!

swimminginclovis, could you please post pictures? do you like the color? is it light blue, med or dark? Where are you located and who did you use? Please let me know how your problems are addressed!

When we get this done, we will let you know our experience too!

going to try and post a pic:

{{!gwi}}

I will try to just give the link below..

Here is a link that might be useful: dig pic 1

and another...

Here is a link that might be useful: dig pic 2