Is Pebble tech a good surface?

Tile, mosaic, marbelite, Marcite, Marblesheen,
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Use, care and repair of the various surfaces.
crazyannie
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Pebble Tech Surfaces

Postby crazyannie » Fri 14 Mar, 2008 19:52

I have been doing pools a lot of years and have come to work with a company that just installs pebble tech surfaces. And as a tech and have been through the staining in diamond brite. I find this surface to be far superior to Quartz, Marcite, Fiberglass and Vinyl Pools. These are the edge pools. They look nice and can make the value of your house increase.
But the issues that I see here are chemical, or improper maintence and maybe just not enough known about the positives of these surfaces.
Salt and pebble tec is ideal, Salt generators produce chlorine gas. Chlorine gas is a lighter abrasive.
Proper Brushing which should have been a first hand religious exp. the first year of install.
Do you know that Pebble Tec pools are only warrented by a running time of 10 hours?
There is a reason for that all those rough edges. Think about it if a stream runs over the top of rocks they become soft and sometimes slippery.
But if water just passes over the top peridically they become rough.( Especially if chemicals just sit on the surface and are not moved around by a good brushing)
Circulation, is the key here.
Another thing is chemicals
With what I have been through
1-3 on chlorine in the winter
2-4 in the summer
Bump your salt genrators to 70-100 percent depending on what amount of usage your pool gets. In the summer (Winter keep it at 20-35%)
PH hmm I hear 7.4 and I guess its a reccomendation. I prefer 7.2 but you have to be careful and maintain your alk level after it rains. And if you have a gas heater.
Alk in these pools can safely be maintained at 80-100
And when it hits 80, I add 3 pounds mixed with water around the best part of circulation in the pool.
And I hear a lot about stains,
One stain I have not seen here is the dreaded cauliflower stain that starts at the main drain and then blossoms out all over the pool.
That is a stain from fertilizer.
High chlorine readings produce a scale of white icycles.
Plants fertilized can cause overspray and can and will end up in your pool.
Metal test are a fact when you have high iron,copper,magnesiem.
etc. Im not a great speller but I do know pools.
Less is more with pebble tech surfaces.


Kelly in az

Pebble or quartz plaster

Postby Kelly in az » Fri 18 Apr, 2008 20:32

My pool builder said don't go with pebble he said he has done 20 to 25 refinishes last year becuase of calcuim build up then people acid washed them then the pebbles start to loosen up and fallout. He said you can't acid wash a pebble tech pool plaster/quartz finish can be drained and buffed with buffers like rubbing out a car finish or acid wash it. He makes more money on the pebble but doesn't recommend it. He said calcuim build up in the cracks is the main thing he sees. I don't like how rough it is we like to have fun in our pool we dont need a stubbed toe or feet that are torn up. I have had plaster pools for years and if you take care of them they last just as long.
scott

Pebble tech and pebble sheen

Postby scott » Wed 30 Apr, 2008 19:32

I recently had my pool refinished in Pebble sheen. Right off the bat I was seeing color differances in the finish. After spending the first 30 days adding lots of acid to balance the pool, I noticed the discolored areas where growing. My mostly black pool is now mostly a white calcuim looking color. My refinisher gave me no instructions on this finish other than to keep my ph balanced. Great advice! Now I am looking at having the pool drained and acid washed to clean it up. Swim season is here and I have spent $6000 so far and still can't enjoy the pool or spa. I strongly reccommend that you research and ask lots of questions before going to peeble tech or peeble sheen. Don't assume that the refinisher will take care of anything. My pool surface is very rough despite evryone telling me it would not be. The spa is not smooth or slippery anymore. The rough surface will catch your swimsuit is not very enjoyable to sit on.
Goldenglow

Pebble Tec

Postby Goldenglow » Wed 16 Jul, 2008 15:03

We purchased a custom spec home with a pebble tec swimming pool. Six yrs. later, the pebble tec that was blown on the Rolled Bond Beam chipped away in big chunks into the swimming pool, and there are other cracks in other areas. Our pool is rarely swam in and maintained by a licensed pool company over the yrs. I received an estimate from several different co's for between $2,500-$3,500 to replace it with the same, or go with a different material (flagstone). I was told by one company, that Pebble Tec is not a good product above the water line. (it was popular when it was used on my pool in 2001). The warranty is 2 yrs. above the water line, and 5 yrs. below. I'm remiss to replace Pebble Tec with the same.
MJH1948

Pebple pool surfacing

Postby MJH1948 » Sun 27 Jul, 2008 17:43

I have recently remodelled to Wet Edge pebble system from 20+ years of plaster...it's night and day! No more stains or worries about rough surfaces. Make sure you get a lot of references for the installers and pay the extra for the smoothest surface finish. Take a look at installations as the color looks really different when completed and filled with water. Also go salt water..it's awesome!
DesertFlower

cracks in pebble tech rolled edge - help!!

Postby DesertFlower » Mon 01 Dec, 2008 00:08

We are 2nd owners (for six years) of a 14-year-old house whose Pebble Tec pool we believe was installed at the time of construction. So it's a 14-year-old pool.

We maintain the pool correctly and carefully, and we've been delighted with the Pebble Tec surface. However, cracks have recently developed in the rolled Pebble Tec edge (above water line). We've been told, as someone posted above, that Pebble Tec can be a problematic material above the water line.

Can anyone offer advice on this problem? Can it be repaired? We certainly don't want to resurface the entire pool.

Thanks for any help you can offer.
sewimagine

pool stains

Postby sewimagine » Mon 01 Dec, 2008 17:32

We just finished resurfacing our pool with pebble tech. We did it ourself and it is beautiful...however 24 hours later we have several stains from eggcorns. Any suggestions as to how to remove them?
flagpools

Pebble tech stains

Postby flagpools » Mon 16 Mar, 2009 07:21

eggcorns


Do you mean acorns?? :)
Terry

Is Pebble tech a good surface?

Postby Terry » Sat 18 Apr, 2009 12:02

I had a pebble tec pool built last year and am constantly having to adjust my alkalinity up and drive the ph down. My question is- Could the pH be rising due to the cement that was used during construction to create the shell and is also mixed with the pebbles during application. FYI- My pool is salt water with an electronic chlorine generator.
Any ideas?
Terry
craig

whitened pebble-tec

Postby craig » Sat 12 Sep, 2009 20:03

mrede wrote:I have a pebble-tec pool. I have maintained it for the last 2 years with occasional help from local pool supply store.

Recently I put in Algaecide (liquid) agent in the jacuzzi. And I added chlorine. Somehow the combination bleached the bottom of the jacuzzi. So now my pebble-tec looks whitened on the bottom of the jacuzzi.

I tried a rubber brush to see if I could scrape it off. No success.

Anyone have any ideas how to fix this?
Stephens

Is Pebble tech a good surface?

Postby Stephens » Mon 12 Oct, 2009 16:52

I've had my Pebble Tec Pool for 5 years and it's begining to crack above the water line, around the perimeter. I contacted Pebble Tec and they came out to look at it and take pictures. I was told by the company that installed my pool that the gunite did not stick, so it was an application problem and Peeble Tec shoul repair it. Peeble Tec is saying that my deck moved causing the Pebble Tec to buckle or crack. My deck is on three sides of my pool and only one place is cracking so I don't believe that is the cause. My plans are to take Pebble Tec to court. I'm looking for anyone else that has cracking and whether Pebble Tec is doing anything about it? I have a liketime warranty for Peeble Tec finish.
czechmate
Swimming Pool Superstar
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Posts: 401
Joined: Sat 16 May, 2009 09:20
My Pool: 16 x 32 gunite21000 gal., Diamond Brite Blue, Swimquip XL pump, DE36
Location: Texas

Is Pebble tech a good surface?

Postby czechmate » Tue 13 Oct, 2009 20:49

Waterline should be in the middle of a tile.
Are you saying here that you do not have a waterline tile installed in your pool?
Cliffster

Is Pebble tech a good surface?

Postby Cliffster » Fri 23 Oct, 2009 07:43

Your an idiot! HAHA! Your going to loose that court case. A crack above the waterline going along the perimeter of the pool means the coping is loose. That crack represents the transition between the gunite pool shell and whatever you have for coping or decking. That transition is cracking and cracking the pebble tec along with it. I'm a pool builder and this stuff is pretty basic. Your reasoning would be like taking the stucco manufacturer to court cuz your house structure is cracking! FYI... this happens, ground expands and contracts which exerts pressure on the coping until it pops loose. It's definately repairable except for the fact that who would perform the work under threat of lawsuit! I dunno, but good luck!
cathyb1955

Is Pebble tech a good surface?

Postby cathyb1955 » Fri 23 Oct, 2009 13:05

hey cliffster I hope you are still online I have a pool that has pebbletec and I am having it repaired right now. Not because of the pebbletec but because there are some leaks in the steps. The steps are flagstone and probably not installed correctly in the first place. Anyway the guy who is repairing the steps drained the pool and showed me several nickel to quarter sized spots in the pebble tec that are missing. Like divots. He said he could repair them but it would be better to resurface the whole pool since he thought it was done badly to begin with and we will probably just keep having these spots show up again and again. He said we could lose a lot of water through the bare spots in the surface. Is that correct? I can't see how we could lose that much water through these little spots but then again I don't know anything about pool surfaces. Help me!!!
Cathy
czechmate
Swimming Pool Superstar
Swimming Pool Superstar
Posts: 401
Joined: Sat 16 May, 2009 09:20
My Pool: 16 x 32 gunite21000 gal., Diamond Brite Blue, Swimquip XL pump, DE36
Location: Texas

Is Pebble tech a good surface?

Postby czechmate » Fri 23 Oct, 2009 19:56

cathyb1955 wrote:hey cliffster I hope you are still online I have a pool that has pebbletec and I am having it repaired right now. Not because of the pebbletec but because there are some leaks in the steps. The steps are flagstone and probably not installed correctly in the first place. Anyway the guy who is repairing the steps drained the pool and showed me several nickel to quarter sized spots in the pebble tec that are missing. Like divots. He said he could repair them but it would be better to resurface the whole pool since he thought it was done badly to begin with and we will probably just keep having these spots show up again and again. He said we could lose a lot of water through the bare spots in the surface. Is that correct? I can't see how we could lose that much water through these little spots but then again I don't know anything about pool surfaces. Help me!!!
Cathy

Pebble tech is only a veneer layer on the gunite shell. Properly shot gunite should not loose water without any further plaster finish anyway. 6"walls, 12" bottom. Your beef may be with the people who shot the gunite.

BTW, to suggest that in a fact, steps where additional 12' of gunite is usually packed on the already done shell would be in my view a little insane idea...........
On the other hand, after 40 years in commercial construction I have learned, not to underestimate who some contractors are willing to hire to make the extra buck.

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