1) Ask for copies of each company's warranty.
2) Ask for references they have done warranty work for in addition to seeing pools they have done.

I'll bet you get better results from the PS dealer.

Scott

With Pebble Tec you get the warranty from Pebble Tec. With the other your warranty comes from the builder and what if he goes out of bussiness? It could happen to Pebble Tec as well in this market but I would much rather take my chances on a world wide company than my local builder dude.

PT warrants the material. It's the dealer that can bring that extra something to the table. Failures on their part are what PT looks at when they drop someone from their channel.

The fact that there is a premium for PT is not just for the bags of product but also for the application team of the dealer. It's that premium the dealer earns that keeps him interested in making happy campers from both corporate and end users.

The other guy may very well be better. All you can do is look at the evidence.

I used to have a VP of Sales in my old career in computer networking. He gave what I consider to be the best definition of Sales I have ever heard:

"Sales is defined as the transfer of confidence from one party to another through the use of evidence."

Evidence is very powerful. We can't see electrons but there is more than enough evidence to prove that they are there.

Scott

Thanks everyone for the comments so far. The fact that is one of only a few builders in our large metropolitan area that is a certified PT installer gives me confidence in their ability to install and support the product. I will have to read the details of the manufacturer warranty but I have not read too many complaints about the product itself. Issues usually seem to stem from the installation of the product. Having a certified installer definitely gives me some piece of mind.

Can anyone who has PebbleSheen in their pools comment on its durability and most importantly its feel under foot. The sample the PB showed me in the store seemed pretty smooth but you never know until you actually feel it in a pool. Has anyone who has had this product for a long time having any issues/regret spending the money for it?

Just want to get a few opinions from people who actually have this product.

The only contractor thta can install PT is a factory trained installer. The everyday guy can't even get his hands on the product like 3M or Stonescapes.

We had Pebble Sheen installed in our new pool about 2.5 years ago and haven't regretted it for a second. We love the look and feel. It looks the same way now as it did during install. The only issues we had were two small rust stains coming from some of the pebble material. The installer came out quickly and fixed, no questions asked. Our experience has been fabulous.

This is an interesting topic. I liken it to the Corian scam. Corian has to be measured and installed by an approved manufacturer install person and therefore very costly and and annoying for DIY-people like us because you can't get the materials. Now, presumably because the patent has run out, there are dozens of solid surfaces available that are just as good. But, if you talk to the Corian people, those are cheap knockoffs and aren't as good because of this or that. I may be completely off-base, but this is how it looks to me, consumer. (I was able to find two sheets of 4'x8' discarded solid surface from a kitchen design place for $75 each, but they couldn't give me the proprietary glue - only qualified installers can use it - ugh. The color is weird, but the price is right - I had bids for $600+ to install the countertop)

Anyway, one of my pool bids is from a PB offering Marquis quartz finish, and it has a 10 year warranty. I can't find the PebbleTec warranty anywhere - it's not on their website (that I can find) or in any of the literature that I've gotten my hands on.

One PB I'm considering has two pools at their HQ, and it's nice to see how they are holding up. I was able to stand on both Tec and Sheen and Fina and feel the difference (you want to put your weight on in and scuff around).

Unfortunately it's January and the water was something like 55 degrees, but I stayed in just long enough to get the idea. Everyone we know with pools loves their Pebble, and that's a lot of people (living in Florida).

quote" he said you can achieve the same looks and durability with a quartz mixture for far less cost. "quote

This, my internet friend, is Hogwash.

However, he is absolutely correct about the lower price.

See ya,
Kelly