Hello smaug,
Its all going to come down to personal preference. I was in the same boat as you. It just depends on what you want your pool to look like color wise.
If you go with the quartz finish, look at pooltite plus. Really good. Just had mine laid and it looks great.
But remember brushing is the key once its laid down.

If you do a search you will find many posts about which is better. It does come down to preference. Some people just hate the feel of the pebble tec or even the sheen. We decided to do Pebble Tec.....we liked the look, the water color, the feel, the uniqueness and another key factor was the life time warranty as long as we own the pool. The few other finishes we looked into didnt offer that same warranty....couldnt tell you which they were, I was already hooked on the pebble.

The quartz actually has an HONEST warranty , where as the Pebble Tec waranty is quite sketchy. READ IT... first of all it used to be "lifetime" on Pebble tec, but only the stone (not the plaster which holds it together) now it is 5 years, but again ONLY THE STONE, the 3M Quartz has a 10 year warranty which is honest... so I recommend the Quartz, unless of course you have a salt system... it will destroy any interior finish, but it will trash the lighter color interior before the pebble.

Pebble Technology, Inc., for a very long time has only warranted their product for 5 years. Anything longer that than is the warranty from and burden of the pool builder. A pool builder's "lifetime warranty" is only for the lifetime of the pool company - not your lifetime or the lifetime of the pool. So if the pool company goes out of business, your lifetime warranty has no one to support it. And that holds true for any finish, not just the pebble finishes.

The Pebble Technology, Inc., web site says the following about the warranty of their product:

"What does the Pebble Tec® and Pebble Sheen® finish warranty cover? The warranty covers any failure due to improper application or imperfect materials."

The company puts all authorized installers through a training program and licenses them as installers. The company provides not only the pebbles, but the "plaster" matrix. Because the company supplies the entire product and trains and licenses the installers, they warranty the whole thing.

The 3M company's online warranty for the Colorquartz states:

"Scope of Warranty. 3M warrants that the crystals are made of hard quartz and the ceramic color coating will not fade or chemically react with swimming pool installation materials for a period of ten (10) years from the date of pool installation. Since 3M does not provide pool installation services or prepare pool plaster mixes, this warranty does not cover workmanship in pool installation, re-installation, other manufacturerÂs materials or plaster surface defects. If the crystals are proven to be defective, 3M will replace the crystals at no charge. You must pay for any other material costs or labor charges for re-installation."

So, by reading both companies' online warranty information, we see that Pebble Technology, Inc., warrants "the whole shebang," so to speak; while 3M warrants only the Colorquartz crystals (in other words, "only the stone" -- not the plaster, not the installation.

Checked our warranty, the aggregate is warrantied for as long as we own the pool. I believe that means the pebble and plaster. We love the pebbles. The warranty is from the installer, printed on their letterhead. I dont think it feels like a pumis stone, its very smooth feeling. Definately textured, but not at all rough. Its different, you love it or I guess you dont.

quote" the aggregate is warrantied for as long as we own the pool. I believe that means the pebble and plaster "quote

The aggregate is only the pebbles.

quote" you love it or I guess you dont. "quote

This, my internet friends, really sums up the pebble finishes.

Although I love them, many folks don't!!!

See ya,
Kelly

I guess I need to call our pebble tec rep. How do you warranty the pebbles and not the paster that holds the pebbles in place????????

Has anyone compared PebbleTec with CLI Pebble finish? One of the pool companies who's been in business for 20 yrs. used CLI Pebble as a standard (supposedly without an additional fee). He said that they have the same lifetime warranty as PebbleTec. Anybody have it? or considered it?

Here is a link that might be useful: CL Industries

For the Quartz lovers, what percentage of Quartz did you have? We are in Perth, Australia and have decided using a Quartz finish with a chemi-gem system. The base price includes 15% Quartz, but considering 30% for additional $$$. What is the differences? Thanks

Quick question. What is price differential beween pebble sheen and quartz finish? Thanks