I like pavers - they don't crack, you have more flexibility in terms of making changes later on, and I think they look a whole lot nicer than concrete.

Our pavers are wonderful. We love them and our boxer's pawprints wash right off with the pool water (or even blend in, since we have cream/beige/charcoal blended pavers). This was only a problem when the sod was still new. Now that it has taken root, no more muddy pawprints! But anyway, what arielitas mom said before is correct. They are easy to make changes and they don't get settling cracks, keeping your deck always looking new.

If you go with concrete make sure that it is a very textured finish...my English Mastiff is going in for surgery on Monday due to the fact that my deck is too slippery. I have salt finish with acid stain but I found out after the fact that if you do a broom finish as well that really improves the slip factor. The up side is the concrete is very easy to clean.

We like our Sundek. No cracks after 10 months and it was easy to powerwash off the winter's green slime.

We're getting C & D pavers just a few feet around our yet-to-be-built pool, which is also going to be free form. They're very elegant and go well with existing red brick decor. Our pool consultant seems to build a lot of these free form pools with pavers, so if you want to get an idea, check out this link...

Here is a link that might be useful: pavers around pools

Oh no, Tess, what happened?

Hi Dischnell...we knew early on that the deck was way too slippery and asked the PB to do something, they came out with another type of sealant with texture but that didn't do any good so we've been trying to find an alternative we could live with. Rip the whole thing out and do pavers? spraydeck? but having just spent 55k on a pool we really didn't want to go with any of those options and basically we dilly dallied too long and Quinn slipped one too many times and tore his cruciate ligament and will need to have TPLO surgery...at about 3 grand not to mention he's going to have to be basically crate bound for 8 weeks! It's horrible and I feel like a jerk for not fixing it earlier.

We spent last weekend removing the high gloss sealant and that did wonders...we are going to leave the decking exposed for the summer season hoping to get some breakdown in the concrete and more texture then seal it PROPERLY in the fall.

Oh Lordy! Our dog had the TPLO surgery several years ago. Sorry to hear you have to go through that. Be careful, careful, careful afterward that he doesn't tear the other one while compensating for the repaired leg. Good luck. Quinn's such a cute dog.

Thanks Padrefan...any words of wisdom for the recovery? I can't imagine keeping him off the bed, couch, outta the pool for 8 weeks! He outweighs me by a good 50lbs! and I'm a sucker for sad eyes but I know that's exactly what i have to do...

Sorry for hyjacking your thread new2poolstx

Awww, poor Quinn. Hopefully he'll have a speedy recovery and be back to swimming in no time!

I hope!

Tess, just make sure you crate him and keep him as calm as possible for as long as possible. My poor dog was so drugged out at first, but then it got harder. We couldn't keep her from running around and she did end up hurting her other leg, though not as bad. The surgery works great though. Of course it should considering how much it costs, huh?

We are in NJ and are using Travertine pavers. They are beautiful! Advantages:1) Precision cut, no need to sand the joints, so no sand in the pool! 2) Cool to the feet, the NEVER get hot (like pavers and concrete)3) Twice as strong as concrete pavers. 4) NEVER need sealing 5) Not slippery, even when wet. Got ours from Gothicstone Collections in PA, www.gothicstone.com. Disadvantages? Can't think of any! They will start laying pavers in the next week or so, will post pictures when they do. See pictures of the 7 skids of pavers in our driveway on our site below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pool Project Photos

Tess, Does that big boy sink without the life vest on? ;)

Jim(bar)

Will your travertine pavers be laid over gravel/sand or over concrete?
Where did you get them? It sounds like you are very happy with the quality of the stone.

Thanks,

Rob

dischnell...he does ok as long as he isn't distracted...or tired...or who am I kidding? poor dork sinks like a stone if he has to go more than a few feet. Luckily he doesn't have too. He's fallen off his step before and his back feet can still touch bottom. I have him practice with the life vest in case he can improve but mostly he just floats when he's wearing it.

Tess, what a cutie! Hope he recovers well. I would think swimming would be good therapy once he's healed.

Re OT, we went round and round with this decision. We finally decided on an acrylic overlay. It hasn't been installed yet, but we will be using a roman slate texture. We have a brick paver patio in our front yard and it's much hotter than even concrete. There is no way we could ensure that everyone would keep shoes on and the dog also likes to lay on the deck while we swim. Everything else would just be way too hot here (Phoenix). The other deciding factor was the keeping it clean. I actually love concrete, but it doesn't look so nice after awhiel :( We will be using natural stone in other areas of the yard for walkways, but didn't want to take a chance around the pool.

If you do decide to go with an overlay, make sure interview several companies and go see their work in person. Some overlays are too one-dimensional, especially the grout lines.

Check with others in your area that have overlay to see if they are happy. My current patio has acrylic overlay and it cracked within months. It stains VERY easily and we have to bleach it to keep it clean. We used a very light color as we're in Florida.

On our new house & pool that is under construction we opted for pavers. They are loght colored and made from white concrete. I set some out and walked barefoot after a bright sunny day to make sure they wouldn't get too hot. They were fine in our 90 degree temps.

Rob: Our Travertine pavers will be laid over compacted crushed stone topped with concrete, then compacted sand and then the pavers. www.goticstone.com

Yea I am following this thread as we are re-doing our pool deck soon.
Jim I love the gothic stone, as does DH. Price is a big factor, we can get it from NPT here in Vegas, contractor price is over $7 a sq ft.
Ventura, is that acrylic overlay hot? There are so many brands to choose from and I agree. look at the installers technique. I personally like elite crete, but haven't had the opportunity to put it out in the sun to check heat factor.
To zarbiya123, I love the C & D pavers, the lighter colors are cool enough to walk on in 110 degree heat here, just a little too busy for our small yard/deck. I was thinking of doing the boca style, not the brick. I wish they made the boca in bigger sizes. I put out all their colors and can say after a few days in Vegas heat, the lighter colors were tolerable to walk on. Stay away from the darker tans and greys if you are in the desert and like bare feet. Enjoy.
We are supposed to get into the 80's - 90's this week so I asked DH to bring home sample boards of acrylic overlay to see how hot it gets. I will report on that soon. The overlay can be done in so many patterns that we can mimic a stone look. As someone said, look at the installers technique. For it to look nice, you need to add accent colors and sealer, I am really fussy as to how "grout" joints are done. Sealer can be slippery as Tess said. I like the wet sealer look, but too dangerous around a pool. If I do an overlay I would do a penetrating sealer, not a high shine one. And I like saw cuts, not the grout joint look. Too many choices and not enough money : ) Barb