I don't have experience with Kool Deck, but we do have an in ground fiberglass pool (installed last year) that we have been really happy with. We did a stamped coping and it was slippery last year after it was first installed and sealed but doesn't seem slippery this year.

Wow. Really Beautiful... so you would do a fiberglass pool again. We are really torn.

Any thoughts on stamped concrete?

I did this in the Phoenix area, 15 years ago... Both as a border between grass and granite, and as retaining walls. Would never do it again.

Calcium deposits from hard water (irrigation/sprinkler system) formed almost immediately, and was impossible to clean off. The colorant they used faded quickly in the desert sun, and as concrete normally does, it cracked like crazy (but *not* along the designated stress lines). We paid the company to come back a year later to refinish/refurbish it, but the patches lasted only a few months.

At the time, the company we hired was the leader in stamped concrete in our area. We did *not* choose the lowest bidder, because we wanted quality. Checked everything out that we could (license, BBB rating, lawsuits, etc.; this was prior to the Online Reviews Era, lol), so we were forced to conclude that soil composition, materials, process, design, and/or labor was defective in the product. Maybe things have changed in 15 years....

OneDevotedDame. I am so sorry to hear that happened to you. So much thought ... blood, sweat, and tears, not to mention money, go into such a big decision. Thank you for your feed back. We are in KS, so we don’t get quite the heat you do, but the hot concrete still concerns me (grandkids, pets).
Really considering a Kool Deck or “like” type treatment for directly around the pool. But, boy it’s hard to decide on what to do on other patio areas. Maybe the Kool Deck treatment there too. Aesthetically it could be a good way to go too. Being from AZ, do you have any friends that have tried the “cool” treatment? So curious about it. Would love to know from someone who has tried that.

Personally, I prefer any type of pavers, for the ability to take them up, make any necessary repairs and re-lay them. We used Belgard pavers for our driveway and had some tree roots heave up part of the approach near the street. Five years after they were installed I called up the company and they came back, lifted up all the pavers in that area, cut back the roots, re-leveled the surface and put the pavers back in. You would never know that a repair was done to the driveway. Try that with concrete!

Another example. These same pavers wrap around part of the back of the house. We had a leak in the in-ground hot tub and the leaky pipe was under the paved area. Again it was so easy to just lift up the pavers, dig out the dirt, find and fix the leak, add back dirt, level the surface and replace the pavers. My only regret is not continuing the pavers onto the back patio and using a stone tile set in mortar in that area. The stone tile is not ageing/wearing as well as the pavers and there is no easy way to make repairs. At least the hot tub leak wasn't under the stone tile.

Chispa. Great points. Our pool/patio designer mentioned the Belgard to us. We will see his plan on Tuesday. Do they get hot? Maybe do that on just fire pit area and Kool Deck around pool. 🤔

kimberkc, pretty much any surface gets warm in the summer sun of southern CA. I don't walk outside barefoot, so I couldn't say how hot they get. The dogs don't have any problems walking on it .

I do NOT recommend stamped concrete. I live in a townhouse community. The builder used stamped concrete that looked like gray slate that was beautiful when new but has been a disaster! It requires yearly upkeep, and even with that, it cracks, leaks, and discolors.

Mtpo. Thank you for you feed back. That does not sound like the way to go.

Being from AZ, do you have any friends that have tried the “cool” treatment?

I'm so sorry, but I don't. :-(

Part of that is, *everything* is hot in Phx, lol, and part of it is, I didn't know many folks with their own pools. Of the few people that I *did* know with them, I didn't know any who had exposed west-facing yards without shade, which makes a huge difference in how hot a surface gets. I think shade planning in Phx is practically required when you have a pool put in (making sure the trees you pick don't stink or drop litter like crazy). :-D

I'm with Chispa on this one, for sure.... Pavers. Or a light-colored native flagstone (also popular in AZ). Limestone is prevalent around here (I'm in Central Texas now), and I want to use it extensively in my landscaping.

Chispa, I love those Belgard pavers! I wish I would have to considered that to be honest! I wonder how the cost compares to concrete?

I had a cool deck placed over concrete on my previous pool build in central Texas. It definitely was cooler than the concrete and was not slippery but I was not crazy about the aesthetics. The patio was ceramic tile, a very bad choice--it was horribly slippery.

My current house in North Texas came with a stamped concrete patio, this was hot and I thought was ugly and looked like stamped concrete. I cannot remember if it was slippery or not. When I had the pool built this time I went with Travertine tile--love, love the look, it is cool in the summer heat and feels so good on bare feet. It is a bit more slippery when wet compared to the cool deck. I had the patio covered with the Travertine as well.

My daughter had cool deck placed over their concrete pool surround and loves it. I do not have any experience with Belgrade pavers. I think your decision should be guided by your budget first then aesthetics vs practicality. Only you know which one trumps the other two.

Previous pool with cool deck and ceramic tile patio

Travertine over the old stamped concrete

Current pool with travertine on pool deck and patio

Sonja Thank you so much for your detailed response. Your “pools” look gorgeous! I did have someone else mention travertine. I had no idea it stayed cool to the touch, even in the sun. As I mentioned above, our landscape architect is drawing up our plans (which we see tomorrow) and he is suggesting we do Belgard on our separate patio areas. We are needing to add a couple of retaining walls. We will have a covered patio coming out of the house, and then a large uncovered patio area for our fire pit and a table/seating area. That will be on an “upper” level, then the pool and pool decking will be a couple of steps down. The reason for this detail is, I don’t think they need to be the same material, just be coordinated. I will definitely ask our designer about travertine. Again thanks for sharing the info and the pics. (Sweet dog).

Kimberkc, your plans sound fabulous. I do not know if the pavers get as hot as traditional concrete. From what you describe I think some sort of natural stone for the pool surround would be more in keeping with the rest of the plans. I love the look of bluestone but could not afford that. I think I discussed Belgard pavers with my pool designer and he did not want to do that. What I remember is that he thought they cost more than the Travertine.

Wow. Well if the Belgard cost less than travertine ... that would be great news, and a first. Lol
Everything I do with the building of this house is of corse an up charge or up grade. (story of my life. Lol). I think the patios will be shaded thru most of the day, as the back of our house will face east, but the pool will be out far enough that it will still catch sun into early evening. At least that is what our lot is looking like. We are framing right now.
I really do appreciate your help. Hoping ours turns out as beautiful as yours. I have a list of questions for tomorrow, and just added travertine to the top of the list. 😊

The Belgard pavers were expensive, but we did a very large area, including a large semi-circular drive in front of house and the front garages, then a driveway along the side of the house leading to rear garages. It was a while ago and I think just materials was around $60k. We also mixed 2 colors for a more old world look, which fit with the Spanish style of the house. It was such an important material for the whole look of the house and property that we didn't even price/brand shop and went with the brand/model the landscape architect suggested. He had worked with one of our neighbors and done a good job there, so we trusted his advice. He brought several color samples to the house and we picked from those.

Travertine is a natural material, so I would research any issues with sealing and staining, to make sure they match up with your lifestyle.

Our patio areas will definitely not be as big as yours, Chispa, I think the upper level is about 700 - 800 square feet. Not including the pool deck, which I still don’t have any idea how big that will be yet (tomorrow 👏).
Sonja ... do you know if you do/will have upkeep with the travertine. Sealing? How often? I would imagine our landscape architect will know that answer as well.

Kimberkc, I elected to not seal the Travertine since that makes it more slippery and it is an ongoing upkeep. The pool is 3 yrs old and to my eye the travertine looks good. The stains on the stones are minimal, again to my eye, and blend in with the natural variation of the stone. Of course red wine nor KoolAid has not been spilt. Travertine is quite porous, that is why it is cool, but I think the sun on the pool deck bleaches out stain and when something gets spilled it diffuses so the stain kind of blends in.