Was the 'blotchy' effect that you see maybe a 'concentration' of more pebbles in some areas???? We did have that and the problem was rectified after an additional acid wash and diligent brushing with the aliminum brush for a few weeks. But we didn't have any areas that were blotchy (or differences in shades of color) in the plaster of sort that is the base for the pebbles. Nor did I see any in the other pools we looked at. I felt VERY GOOD about the plaster company my pool builder used--be very leery of some 'inexperienced' plaster companies that attempt a pebble pool. The lack of experience with a pebble finish may be why a pool ends up 'blotchy'. I am not -- and do not claim to be an expert of pebble pools -- but did gain alot of info while talking to alot of people. Hopefully one of the pool builders on this forum could help you in what to look for. BUT...I see your plaster is being applied tomorrow--just ask them how often they put in a pebble finish. And remember to get all black drains, outflows, and pool cleaner--I've seen a few awesome dark plaster pools looking ridiculous with white fixtures. These are putin by the plaster company. Good Luck!!!! I'm sure your pool will look FANTASTIC!!! You'll have to post pictures for all to see...

We were going to go with the Stonescapes Tahoe Blue but I decided I'd rather have Wetedge Technologies and switched. The Wetedge Satin Matrix Northshore Caribbean was installed yesterday on our new pool and while it doesn't have water in it yet we absolutely love the color of the Northshore Caribbean. Stonescapes is very nice also and my pool builder likes it a lot. I have a neighbor with it but not 100% sure of the color but it looks great. If I find out the color I'll post.

Big edit for this post, you posted the Kerdi shot while I was typing. So... 1) The flex in the floor that is causing the grout to crack: It's possible that the Kerdi Tray was not properly bedded in thinset, so as the slightly flexible tray flexes, the inflexible grout is cracking. It's also possible that the small size of the penny rounds is resulting in point loading on the foam tray. The foam compresses ever-so-slightly, the tile moves, the grout cracks. The floor...Is your guy using thinset as grout? Grout as thinset? With the penny rounds, it almost looks like he's doing an all-at-once installation. Setting the tile, promoting between-the-tile-squeeze-through, then grouting. All at the same time. A negative with that is that he's grouting and cleaning the grout before the thinset has fully cured. When I grout I'm pretty aggressive with the grout float in order to get grout into every nook and cranny. I don't want to leave any voids. If your guy took it easy when grouting so as to not displace the unbonded sheets of penny rounds, he could have left a few voids beneath the surface. If he wanted to be gentle while cleaning the grout, he might have used too much water during cleanup, that can also weaken the grout. I don't know why the floor is being grouted piecemeal. That's an easy way to get uneven grout color on a floor. As he continues to tile, he'll have to chip out parts of the hardened thinset/grout at the edges fo the already installed sheets to get the subsequent sheets of tile to mesh with the already installed sheets. He'll need to be careful to not ding the Kerdi membrane. It's also a recipe for mismatched spacing at the edges resulting in being able to see the individual sheets of tile versus the floor being one harmonious surface of penny rounds. With him sliding the floor tile under the bottom course of wall tile, I do hope he's not leaving any unfilled voids in the floor-wall corners. 2) Bullnosing. He bullnosed the tile after they were on the wall? Yeah. Probably not going to get a good outcome. Should be an easy remove and replace. The bowed wall? The tiler tiles on what he gets. If he gets a bowed wall courtesy of the framers, he can put the blinders on and tile right over it...or he can address the bowed walls with whoever hired him...the GC? The homeowner? Then the tiler can either tile right over the bowed wall, OR he can have the contractor fix the wall before he tiles, OR he can repair the wall himself and then tile. One added item...I can't tell what exactly is going on int he bottom left corner of the already installed tile. Could simply be that the tile spacing is skewed and he lost the pattern. After this floor is done and everything cured, I'd recommend having the GC pull the drain grate, install a plug, and flood the floor. As the floor tile is covered with water, watch for air bubbles. They'll indicate voids under the tile or in the corners. Once flooded, pull the plug to see how the floor drains. Make sure it drains completely and that water is not held in the corners. With a Kerdi Tray, the slope of the floor and a properly draining floor should be a no-brainer. But based on what I'm seeing and what you described regarding the bullnose, this could be a "no brain" installation. Sorry for that. Remediation after-the-fact is always a tough spot to be in. Good luck.

I can understand your frustration. I'm not surprised the plaster manufacturer is blaming the service company. This however is usually the case in my experience. Believe me, I'm not taking any sides. Your service company sounds they are spot on. Cases like this though become a finger pointing duel. The plaster manufacturers carefully blend their materials and make them in batches. Like any other product, it's the way it's applied or installed. It's up to the end user or a service company to maintain water parameters to ensure longevity of the product.. Any chance there are trees overhead? I had a client who was certain the plaster had failed as there were black stains. Turned out to be caterpillar eggs (actually moth) from the tree above falling into the pool. Organic material can cause stains. I know you mentioned no black algae but... We've used a product called Yellow Out in extreme cases of black or green algae and it works great. You super chlorinate and follow up immediately with the Yellow Out. The water has to be balanced a certain way prior to adding. Read directions. We don't use it often but when we do, results are good. Black algae is tuff stuff. Is your pool salt a good quality? Free of iodine? A pure/food grade salt must be used. Not water softening salt. I hope these suggestions will help-tough call on something I can't put my eyes on.