Your trying to put a square peg into a round hole. The joints at the front and back will vary as will the cantilever over the tile and how it matches up to the patio.
There are also coping thickness issues to consider. Installing new coping is a task best left to professionals. There are way too many wrong ways to do it.

If that case here is another reply.

Lay out the coping and decide how much variance you can live with in the grout joints and gap between the coping and deck. Cut the pieces to suit your tolerance level. You might consider cutting the 1x2s in half for the curves.

Sunkid - I did my coping myself, using 12"x12" Bullnose Travertine. About 150 feet on the pool. I did 4"x12" on the 7' round spa, with 2 pieces back to back. This left a bullnose facing the inside as well as the outside.

It was a really tough job (man do I hate mixing mortar by hand) and I probably wouldn't do it again. After doing it I went ahead and hired tile guys - I was going to do that, but just pooped out after coping.

One thing - be sure it is perfectly level. They usually use concrete nails to set 6" wide strips of masonite to the walls, with the top edge set level to the high spot all the way around the pool. They use a water level to mark the line. Then the bottom of the coping will sit on top of the masonite.

One thing for sure, you will be sore, and quite proud of yourself. Most people can't believe I did the work all by myself. Good Luck!

Sunkid, sorry for my arrogance in the previous post. I just realized your the same guy asking about the jet. If you have the determination to chip out the jets you can probably do the coping.

Sun, I don't have any trade secrets but some tips. Tfons is right, start with level all around the pool. Dry set the entire project first, it will save aggravation later and give a more finished look. Most contractors don't do this because time is money and experience counts for something, but as a first timer, its worth it. Then you can cut each block as needed, they most likely are not perfectly even. Pull off separate pallets to blend colors as you go. Sandstone is easy to work, a good grinder for minor touchups on edges and bullnose will help too. DH will on some jobs grind every edge, again time is money, but it gives a finished look and is a bit smoother to sit on the pool edge. Depending on weather, don't mix too much mortar ahead either, it works better wet (but we are in Vegas and must fight dryness factors). Check as you go with a level as well as your preset level line. Just remember its not a race, but the quality of the finished job that counts. Sandstone around a pool may need a sealer, ask the pool builders, but as hardscape contractors, we would recommend it. Hope this helps, be sure to post pix. Barb

Sunkid, If you give me an email address I can send you photos of a 7ft spa that we used 2 rows of 1x1 bullnose on. Every piece is cut 60+-. I can also send you a photo of the jet that might fit into the body you have with some creative manipulation. No trade secrets here. Or you can tell me to simplest way to post a photo.

Thanks for all the input! I had already read about the leveling method before and am glad to see it confirmed here. I probably will have to play with the mortar thickness in places, because the coping pieces are not all of uniform thickness. We dragged them into the backyard this past Saturday and layed out a couple of pieces in the most curviest part of the pool. My pool is of an odd shape but actually somewhat rectangular, if that makes any sense without drawing...

Is a heavy-duty tile saw something I could use to cut the stone? I have cut both cement and tile with both a circular saw as well as a tile saw respectively before and I would love to be able to avoid dust or getting shocked or cut while trying to use the circular saw with a wet sponge ;)

@renovxpt: no worries about your first response! I am both determined and foolish enough to tackle this myself and I really appreciate the feedback. You can email me at sunkid @ iminurnetz . com (no spaces, obviously) and I would be happy to post the images here. If you want to post them yourself, upload them to a free hosting service (e.g. imgur.com or Google's picasa) and then add a link to your post's text like so: <img src="url of your image">

You can use a diamond blade on a circular saw to cut stone. Very dusty. Some blades are "dry" blades, no water required like with a wet saw.

It's sometimes best to make several passes until you get the hang of it, setting the depth of cut deeper by 1/2" each time.

Goggles, ear muffs and a dust mask might prove helpful.

Get a continuous rim blade like this.

While it might be obvious, the blade can be installed backwards, so pay attention to the directional arrow printed on the blade.

They also have them for angle grinders.

Sun if you lay it all out and all are marked for cuts, go rent a wet saw, please. It is much safer and faster. You can probably get one for $50 a day, use it for 2 days and save a finger. Or stick an ad on your local craigslist, you may find a tile/stone mason who needs a days work for cash. I get calls all the time for guys with tools needing a bit of work, its worth a try. Hope this helps, Barb

I bought a pretty heavy duty wet saw from HD for about $150 - then no rush to finish with a rental at $50 a day, plus now I have one for future jobs. It cut 1 1/2" Travertine with no problem.

Mixing palets = really good idea.
Don't mix too much mortar at once = really good idea.
Dry lay out = really good idea.

If using sandstone, you can ease all the edges with a belt sander - makes a mess but also a nice smooth edge. I did this after install and mortar hardening. Then seal.

Thanks for all the good advice so far! I posted some pictures that renovxpt sent me to the Picasa album linked to below. Very much appreciated!

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I finished the removal of the old thinset, repair of the jacuzzi wall and beam edges, as well as the "adjustment" of the new retaining wall topping the beam toward the back of the pool. Last night I marked the level line using a frigging laser beam:

The next couple of days, I'll start laying out the coping dry (only had one pallet full but will have to do some color matching nonetheless) and then hopefully start laying it over the weekend. I will go rent a masonry saw for that.

I am really looking forward to being done with all the heavy lifting and grinding and get to the tiling part :)

Here is a link that might be useful: coping pictures sent by renovxpt

More progress, albeit not quite as fast as I had hoped: All the stones are cut and laid out dry. It took me a full day to just do that and after I only had a few hours on Saturday, this is what it's at:

I did not fix the exposure of the photo on purpose to highlight the gray and depressive weather we have had over the weekend. However, the rock, when sealed, will look great with the tile! :)

Well, almost a year later, we finally filled up the pool. Most of the story is told here, but this is the way it looks now:

{{!gwi}}

Once we don't need the pool fence anymore, I will have to tackle the patio.

THANK YOU to everyone for their helpful input!

Not sure why the picture above doesn't show... trying again:

Wow, kudos to you sir! The tile is fantastic and the whole thing looks great! Can't imagine the hours and hard work you put into this. Looks like you have some pretty good reasons though for your hard work. Enjoy!

Nice job for sure, props on all the hard work you did ! Looks like you also did something to the deck surface. You should be proud of yourself. Barb