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ucfknight_gw

I HATE my Pebble Tec / Pebble Sheen pool

ucfknight
14 years ago

I am so upset. We purchased a resale home when home prices were declining, but before the cliff drop. We knew that we would need to refinish the pool/spa. The pool is a basic pool. We didn't want to sink a lot of money into it since we have lost so much money on the house. We decided to refinish, re-tile, fix the lights, water flow, and raise the spa. The spa was flush with the pool so there really was no waterfall.

We were going to finish with DiamondBrite. After talking to others and looking at pools, we decided to get the Pebble Tec and even upgrade to PebbleSheen.

After over a MONTH of choosing a color....I HATE the pool water. We chose Slate Blue. I looked at so many samples in different levels of water and sunlight. I even dropped them into other people's pools to compare. I did not get to see a Slate Blue pool in person, but I saw plenty of other pools including Blue Granite that my neighbor has. Using all of the pools as a frame of reference against the Pebble Tec brochure, we felt the Slate Blue would produce a nice water color. It instead produces THE #1 water color I was hoping to avoid: Green/Gray. I HATE it. If you look on PTs website, there are 2 areas where they show water color. One is their online PDF brochure with a black background. If you compare Slate Blue to Blue Granite, the Slate Blue water looks bluer than Blue Granite. If you compare the individual colors in the white background pages, the comparison is the same water color. The Slate Blue water color does NOT blue at all.

One reason we were not going to do a PT or PS pool originally was because my sister-in-law has one and we donÂt like her water color or the finish. But after doing some research, we realized there are many colors. We were determined to avoid having our pool look like hers....and now it does!

We went to a pool party at our neighbor's house yesterday. They have Blue Granite that was just installed a few months ago. They live 4 doors down with the same sun orientation and everything. I love the water color. I walked home to our house, saw my gray/green pool and wanted to cry.

I cannot live with this water color. It is not even like I can say..."well, I wish it were just a little bluer".... I hate it.

The quality of the product itself is very nice, and the thickness. The install needs lots of touch ups where they did a crappy job though. Also, I am not impressed with the marketing ploy that they "buff" your Pebble Sheen pool. They hardly do anything. PT just defends the installer. So, if you pick PS, just pick it for other reasons. The buffing is a bunch of BS.

I don't what to do. The installer is supposed to come out tomorrow to fix the finish. We have 2 small holes in the spa, the steps in the pool are horrible. The waterline tile has so many areas where the PS is sticking out too far and is rough. The installer and PT are blaming the PB who laid the tile. Well, my husband I can tell you thisÂwe watched the install. The areas that came out great (spa seats, swimout, waterline tile in the deep end) were done by a different guy than the one who did the crappy areas. The edges of our steps are unacceptable. The area where the finish meets the tile at the waterline in the shallow end is awful. Hmmm, the tile was laid by the same person, but not the finish.

And, arenÂt the instructions for PT/PS to keep anything off of the finish. The Day 2 crew for our acid wash and "buffing" were smoking in our pool. DoesnÂt that drop ashes on the finish?

Per instructions, we have yet to add chlorine. That starts tomorrow. The water is NOT cloudy. We are testing and brushing the pool daily. Will anything change? Is there hope?

Thanks for any help or input.

Comments (34)

  • ukmatt
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Take a deep breath and don't worry :-)

    Until you have fully balanced pool water and the finish is completely 'cured' (not sure of the correct terminology) you won't see your final water color.

    We have Blue Granite PS now and it's gorgeous... but when we first filled up we had almost no blue to the water and a lot of green tints.

    Obviously the installation quality issues need resolution but the water color should fix itself.

    UKMatt

  • whitetrash
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i agree with UKmatt! my sister installed a pool last summer and she chose blue granite after TORTURED deliberation. i was there the day the water trucks filled it up and it was, well, cloudy pond-water greenish in color. she's not a calm girl and to say she "freaked out" would be putting it mildly. a week or so later and the pool looked gorgeous and the green was GONE.

    you've paid a lot of money and i've seen how carefully you made your decision in your previous posts, so i totally understand how you could be upset. its not like you took this decision lightly :)

    that said, i am positive that you are not looking at the final color!

    post some pics of what it looks like now so we can compare to how it looks in a few days and a few weeks...

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you for your encouragement. I will try to remain calm. How do I post pics?

    Thanks!

  • mikethepoolguy
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yeah, dont freak out. The color of the surface may be hiding the fact that the water may be green. The water may need to be treated with chems to remove metals or other minerals. If this is the case the worst thing to do is shock the pool. You may want to get an independent professional opinion (in person).

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't think metal and minerals are the problem. We have tested it for two day and adding the appropriate metal free product and muratic acid. Everything tests great. Chlorine gets added tomorrow.

  • oakrunfarm
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree totally with the others. DON'T worry about it.

    The only color I did NOT want in my pool was green. When they added the water, my pool was green! Aaaaah! :C

    Once we were able to add chlorine, I had my beautiful blue Tropical Breeze.

    It will be OK. :)

  • jmcl
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have Tahoe Blue PebbleTech, and when we filled our pool last November it was green for nearly two weeks. The pool builder even made a joke asking me if I liked the color of the green pool, and then told me it would be blue like we expected.

  • sandiegolew
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    just curious...where are u located?

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OK, you are all making me feel a little better. WOW! What a difference on that PS Blue Granite!!! Did you just die or what? And, a green PT Tropical Breeze?

    My pool is not cloudy but green/gray in color. Gosh, I hate it. I have such buyer's remorse right now. I told myself to give it a week even BEFORE this happened, but I am just containing my anxiety right now. How do you post a picture?

    sandiegolew - I live in Orlando.

  • tresw
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Just to reiterate what the other said, ours was the same way. Ours is a quartz plaster finish rather than PT, but I was shocked at how green it was initially (was expecting grey-blue). Even after firing up the chlorinator it took a good week to 10 days for the pool to finally reach it's true (un-green) color! We too were upset over the initial color thinking it had come out wrong or we had picked wrong, but we took a deep breath and waited it out and it was fine. I'm sure yours will be too!

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yay! The good news is that my pool can be blue.....added chlorine and in less than 5 minutes it was blue...

    BEFORE Chlorine
    http://i44.tinypic.com/eikpr9.jpg

    AFTER Chlorine
    http://i41.tinypic.com/2ptxmpi.jpg

    The BAD news is that the installer just looked at the problem with our steps and determined that the pool has to be drained to fix them. Oh my gosh!

  • lala2874
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Color looks great! I hope you are feeling better about it now! I was worried for you!
    What a bummer it has to be drained when you finally get the color you want! At least now you know what to expect on the refill.
    May I ask what waterline tile you used? I can't see much of it in the pics, but from what I can see it is a light cream color? I'm looking for something similar to go with my torreon travertine coping.

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    lala
    Thanks!
    The tile is from http://www.tilesupplyinc.com/ and called PD Mocha under the Stone collection page 4...
    It is beige and shades of brown and taupe.

    Does this picture help?
    http://i43.tinypic.com/2l8uj34.jpg

  • drew09
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm TOTALLY with you on the color of PT. We have Tahoe (green) blue and are 1 month out with the pool. Our chemicals are off (slightly) and the pool is still very green. The PT reps are telling us to be patient...I don't see how this will instantly turn blue. I'm just glad we haven't paid our balance. I really don't have much hope at this point. I researched as you did.....we'll see

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    drew
    I will keep my fingers crossed!!!! Mine did turn blue within minutes of getting the pH, alkalinity, and CHLORINE correct.

    I will say this about out install problems...the installer came out today and they are being EXTREMELY professional about the install issues. They are handling it ASAP and will eat all the cost including the pool water refill bill. We are very impressed with how they are treating us and how apologetic they are being. So, tomorrow we drain the pool to redo the steps all over...and I mean ALL over. They have to retile the steps before they refinish them. We did not use bullnose, but I had them take my tile and cut it into long rectangles and border the step edges. I LOVE the look. And, now we get to do it again.

  • drew09
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I see your in Orlando. We're up 95 at Amelia Island (north of Jax). We used Classic Marcite with their office out of Orlando (has a branch in Jax). Do you use them as well ??? Drew

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I know where Amelia Island is...I used to live in Jax for work. Our PB is using Classic Marcite. Yesterday did not start out well at all with fixing the finish. It was horrendous. My husband had to leave work and come home. He has lost 2 days of work because of this. The evening went better and this morning went better. Someone else has to come back this afternoon to finish fixing and then acid wash. We should be able to refill the pool tonight. I will have to reserve judgment for later after it is all done and they reimburse us for water, chemicals, tile, etc. required to fix the problem.

    You said your pool is still green after a month? How are your chemical readings?

  • ptiassist
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    ucfknight,

    Pebble Technology is glad to hear that Classic Marcite is doing what is right and accommodating you through these issues. It appears the situation is being handled and in a short time you will be able to enjoy your swimming pool. If you have not already done so we would love to hear from you and ask if you could go to our website - http://www.pebbletec.com/register_warranty.aspx - and fill out a warranty form.

    If you need any further assistance our customer service team will do everything in its power to get you satisfied. Our office number in AZ is 800.937.5058.

    Thank you for your business and we are looking forward to your finished photos. It would be great to have an extra Slate Blue picture on the website. :)

  • drew09
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It's ironic that we're using the same company. I have spoken with Tom (the owner) about our "green" pool. The chemicals are off a bit (ph is 7.0) but the rep at Classic Marcite states it's not enough to change the color of the water. I really don't know what to do but have the PT rep come out again. This is really frustrating because of the $$$ factor and the project is perfect except the pool. I hope everythins turns out great with your pool !!!!!

  • sirsimoneaux
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i love the richness of the dark blue pool with granite that the granite color underneath gives off, we are installing a 75 foot lap pool with French Gray Plaster does anyone have a picture of their pool with this color plaster?

  • evh_pool
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm curious what happened with your steps... any pictures? We have a recently built pool and there are a few places where it is really rough. Particularly, in a few areas on one of the steps, it almost seems like there aren't enough pebbles. It feels smooth, and then all of a sudden you hit a spot where you can't feel any pebbles. This causes some roughness as you almost have some patches where it feels like just the plaster. Probably not describing it well, but bottom line is it is very rough to the touch... a little disappointing. Never had anything buffed either, so I agree with you on that one.

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    evh
    I will try and get pics. Our pool steps didn't have the same problem as you. We definitely had pebbles, but the installer who worked on the pool steps bullnosed them so much that each step had like a mini skateboard ramp...if you could envision walking out on each step and then stubbing your toes on a small hill as you reach the end of each step. They were severe and the "talk of the office apparently". They apparently knew they were bad before they left our home, but realized the finish was too hard to fix it. They did not say anything to us. Once we called to complain, they fessed up. They fixed it I think as best they could. They still have a few more areas to work on and they need to be fixed to make it acceptable to pay this kind of money! We are not happy with the "buffing" job or lack thereof. We also have two patches in the spa from holes they left that look awful just awful. They stick out so much. We are being told that they do something else to them next week to make them look better. And, there are some areas of finish that were great at the 1st full and now don't look good after sitting in crappy, stagnant water, etc. during the "fixing" stage. So, I still will reserve final judgment.

    The only thing I can say at this point is that I do like the PS much better than Diamond Brite. It is worth more money but not what we paid at this point.

  • huskyridor
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    quote" It is worth more money but not what we paid at this point. "quote

    I completely DISAGREE, just ask some disgruntled SGM pool customers what kind of after the fact customer service response they had. I doubt if they even got a return phone call or reply from the Mfg.
    I'm not knocking Diamond Brite, it's great looking product when placed into service by a good applicator.

    See ya,
    Kelly

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The customer service I received when I called PT on the 2nd day of install was "non" customer service. They were defensive of the installer only.

  • tfons1219
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think the most important things - with any finish - is 1) see the finish on a completed pool in person, not web or photo and 2) quality application crew. Not surprising all the manufacturers blame the installers, as it probably is where the problem lies.

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    tfons
    I agree. However, the installer took WEEKS to get back to me on any requests to see pools in person. I did not get to see my pool color in person since it is rare. In the end, the water color is fine after chlorine.

    PT did not blame the manufacturer...they DEFENDED them. Big difference.

  • loves2read
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    regarding the problem with the steps that required having the pool drained--
    make them pay for BOTH your water fillups...

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Update:
    Holes in the spa are looking much better. Service guy came out today and worked on them again. I think the end result when finished will be great. My concern would be will the fix chip off later since it is not the original finish.

    Steps are so much better. First, because I started buffing them MYSELF today with the buffing pad they left my husband the first day my pool was supposed to be "buffed" as advertised. Anyway, the installer came out today and started "buffing" them more...they needed it. There is a huge difference between a buffed area and a non-buffed area in your pool even if the installer of PT tries to tell you it is smooth enough.

    The steps are a slightly different color because they were redone. The only thing that I am not sure how to fix is the deep end....the finish there looked amazing the first time. After they drained the pool to redo the steps, and the pool is now filled up and balanced, the deep end looks splotchy. I repeatedly raised concerns about them leaving crappy, non-chemically balanced, stagnant water sitting in the deep end and in the spa in the hot sun for 2 days while they worked to correct the steps. I was told not to worry...well now I am very worried. We were told today to let the pool cure....I don't buy that BS....the deep end looked perfect after the initial fill and through 3 days of meticulously brushing and keeping the chems balanced.

    They let the spa sit stagnant and partially drained my pool. All kinds of crap was sitting in that nasty water.

  • evh_pool
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    With respect to the comment about blaming the installers... and with all due respect to the poster of that comment, one of the reasons I chose PT was that I was repeatedly told by several builders that PT has a strict training program and you have to be certified to install PT. They also said there is a strong program of follow up and random audits/inspections of a certain percentage of pools each installer completes each year.

    You can't control everyone or everything, but given this type of program (assuming it is accurate as I described), it would seem tough for the mfg. to blame the installer. Even if the installer made a mistake, part of what I would hope I am paying is for in the PT premium is for the mfg. to then step in and make it right when this does happen. Sounds like they are trying to here, but just not being so successful at it.

    To ucfknight, I didn't even get a buffing pad, much less a crew to buff it after the initial acid washing. Where can I get one, and does it really make that much of a difference? Maybe that is all I need in the several "rough" areas I have.

    Thanks.

  • ucfknight
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    evh
    Buffing (well, supposedly buffing) is only with Pebble Sheen, not Pebble Tec. Pebble Tec does not get buffed. When I had considered a PT color, I did ask if it can be buffed. I was told that it would ruin the larger pebbles and put a small flat top to them and make them rough. The larger pebbles are rounded.

  • PRO
    Specialized Pools, Inc
    7 years ago

    I am a custom pool builder in NJ. We use Pebbletec products exclusively. Please don't worry; the curing process can take up to a month of circulating properly balanced water (this is key) to see the true color of your pool finish. We have done Slate Blue Pebble Sheen. This finish gives the water a beautiful gray blue color when fully cured slightly bluer than the Blue Granite. Best of luck with your new house and pool!

  • Happy Home
    5 years ago
    it's beautiful! I don't understand why you don't like it. I love it
  • HU-738884062
    5 years ago

    Peble tec is nightmare, double the cost: acid , wearing out of nets, brushes, your kids and adult feet, and micro pockets for algea to form and grow. Once the algae gets under the surface it will cost endless bank in chemicals and time to get it back to nonormal. DONT GO WITH THIS TYPE OF SURFACE.