Janet, I love the shape of your pool! I was torn between a more formal vs. lagoon shape.
Our coping is torreon tumbled travertine and the tile is a creamy beige brown ceramic 6" smooth tile. I think that I have decided to go with Blue Granite Pebblesheen and Desert Gold sheen on the steps, benches and sunshelf. I will take some more close up pictures this evening when the tile guys have left. This is day 2 of putting in that coping! The tile guys my builder uses have been doing great work so far. There was one piece of the travertine that looked kind of bad, so I asked them if they would replace that one and they were on it right away. I can't even tell where it was now! Very good at their trade!

Here is a close up of the tile and coping. The tile guys are here again today (day 3) working on the tile/coping and they brought the stone today for the wall. I can't wait to see it all come together. It is SO hard to make those choices/decisions!! I don't know about everyone else, but that part is really stressful because you are investing so much into your pool and scared that you are going to make one wrong choice and it will look bad!

Ooooo...love that combination. Will the stacked stone on the raised wall be travertine? Are you doing a saltwater pool?

you can stop worrying about your decisions because that is one gorgeous combo! what interior finish are you going with?

Nosabe- Thank You! The wall will actually be a much darker stacked flagstone (dark wister). I am using a tile on the spa spillover that is a noche travertine, honey onyx and glass combination. I wanted the stacked stone and the boulders to compliment the colors in the spillover tile. I am still looking for bowls for the fire features on the columns. Hoping I can find something in a walnut color or I will use concrete stain if I end up finding plain concrete bowls. They are working again today, so hopefully by this evening my "vision" will start coming together.
We opted to not go with saltwater.

lala...your pool is going to be GORGEOUS!! I wish I had a backyard that big...so nice to have a big pool. You're going to love your materials...we did the Durango travertine coping, and would do it again. Even tho you're not doing a SWG for now (you may decide to in the future, so maybe get your PB to plan an area to install if you want to later- I couldn't live without mine)...do yourself a HUGE favor and seal that coping before you add water. I used Dry Treat "Stain Proof" sealer. You can get it through your PB at Master Tile. We did it ourselves. It's expensive but worth it and goes a long way. We sealed every inch of all our natural stone. HTH. Can't wait for more pics!!

Pisces--thanks for the compliment! Your pool was what inspired me to go with my choices! It is a very impressive beautiful pool!! You should post pics of yours for the "Gardenwebbers" to see. Did you ever get your fire bowls going?

Okay, I searched a bit and it looks like you weren't joking about the sealer being pricey-wow! Can you tell me how much (quantity) it took to seal yours? I am also doing a travertine tile on the outside of the spa--thinking I should seal that too.

Thank you so much, lala!! I need to put up my pics..have just gotten lazy lately, and busy. Castlerock did a great job. OK...we sealed everything...travertine coping, the natural quarry stone 3x6's on the raised bond beam and outside of spa, travertine moldings. I think we spent around $300. We bought 3 quarts, I think..and still have a little left over. It goes a long way and we went over everything twice. Just for some peace of mind to protect that $$$$ material...so worth it! Yep..seal every bit of natural stone, sweetie, even outside of spa. You'll be glad in the long run you protected it from the elements and spills, etc...Dry Treat is really good stuff and well worth the price.

Haven't finished the fire bowls...have one up, but no guts in it. Next year...no hurry for this year..we've been landscaping and buying furniture, etc..and dang, we can hardly get outside right now because of the heat.

Pisces and Lala,

Can you give me some more info. on how to seal travertine? The tile guy said he would do it and give us a 3 yr. warranty for "X" amount of $$. We also saw a sealer at the tile store for a lot less. Is it worth doing yourself? Does it take that long?
I assume the process is brushing it on like paint??
Is there a special kind of sealer either of you used???
Any info. would be much appreciated!!!!! Thanks.

Pisces, arent you in Houston??? I think you have the color we are using...Aqua Blue PS???? I would love to see more pics of your pool. If I'm wrong.....sorry!

Lala, who's your builder?
Pisces, who's your builder? And another plea to post your pics!

Hi Janet...yes I used Aqua Blue Pebblesheen, and for my contemporary pool, it's great..I need to put my pics up and will do that in the next day or two.

We got Dry Treat "Stain Proof" through out PB at Master Tile - the location on north 45 shipped it closer to us. We painted it on with a brush (before we put water in the pool)...it's thin and clear. We followed the directions...you wipe the excess off after a number of minutes. Applied 2 coats..wow, the water just beaded up after that. It's an impregnating sealer. You can Google "Dry Treat" and read about it on their website - developed in Australia for harsh salty conditions, etc. I knew I needed to seal everything, especially with the SWG. Stonetech makes good sealers, but after I read everything, I went with Dry Treat. It was also recommended by my tile guy.

If you don't like doing this kind of thing yourself (it's really easy - but wear a mask), you could get the tile guy to do it. It's a lot more expensive that way, and I didn't need a guarantee. I'll re-seal it myself in a few years anyway. HTH! BTW..your pool build is going GREAT!!

Thank you Pisces! This is great information! I will look into the Dry Treat.....I know my hubby wants to do it ourselves.....already way over budget!!!
Look forward to seeing your pics of your pool and the Aqua Blue.
Didnt you have them on here before? I know I've seen it before.....
LALA,
Keep those pics coming. Can't wait to see all the tile, coping and stone in place. Love the natural colors!!!
I'm doing travertine coping and I hope mine looks as good as yours. We are using 12 X 12 inch around the pool and 24X12 on the raised wall. What size are your coping pieces? 4inches??

My builder is Pearland Pools and they have been AWESOME!

Yesterday the tile guys finished the waterline tile, tiled the outside of the spa and finished the coping and scupper boxes on the wall. They are coming back tomorrow to grout, work on the stacked stone on the wall and hopefully put on the spa spillover tile. I will post some pics tomorrow after they finish up.
Janet, the coping is 4x12. I went with them because my pool is so curvy.
Pisces, did you seal before or after pebblesheen? I asked about this and was told that I would need to wait til after sheen because if any sealer got on the gunite it would cause a problem with the pebblesheen bonding to the gunite.

Lala...we sealed before the Pebblesheen just because it was easier without water in the pool, but we were pretty careful. I haven't had any problems with the pebblesheen bonding, but can see the logic of that if big amounts dripped down. You can always do it afterwards. You don't want to do anything to mess with a warranty. ;-)

Janet, I had put my pics on troublefreepool dot com last fall thru the end of the build this spring. Here they are until I get them on here. We've done more landscaping and have more furniture now, so I need to update the pics. One firebowl is up on a column now, and will get the other one up soon. You guys won't have any trouble sealing things yourself, and you'll want to re-seal in the future, too.

Nosabe...CastleRock Pools in Katy (Richmond) did our pool. Very happy. We're between Houston and Galveston, near Lala.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pisces Pool Build

Pisces...beautiful pool. Your finishes are really fine. How often have you sealed your travertine? How about the grout in your glass tiles?

Thank you nosabe! We've only sealed it once (2 coats). The pool was finished end of March this year...so it's really new. I'll probably reseal the coping in a couple years again. The raised bond beam and outer spa tiles get very little splash. We also put the same stuff on the glass tile grout. Made it a little darker, which was OK. HTH.

Lala....I know you're really happy with Pearland Pools...they do a realy great job!!

Any plans for a mosquito misting system. You can get one off the internet from PestPoolandlawn .com They have mosquito misting refills and if your in Houston they offer a discount on shipping so just call or email them for a coupon code. Mosquito Misting systems are very similar to irrigation system but spray a fine mist around the perimeter of the property.

Here are a couple of pics of the progress so far. The tile guys are working hard to get finished up today. Wall and spa should be done by this afternoon.They brought in the accent boulders and they will be going on today also.

What a goregous look. I love the browns and tans....so natural! The stacked stone looks great!
BTW my pool guy said to wait til after Pebble sheen to seal stone. You can seal before, but recommended after.
I honestly dont know if I would have time to seal before PS. It's going so fast now....do you know when you will get your decking poured and Pebble sheen?

Finished up tile/coping and stonework today...

That's awesome!! You know you're right up my alley with those beautiful materials..and that serpentine on the spa spillover...very unique (and I look for the unique ;-)...I love it! This is where it gets really exciting. The tile guys did a great job.

Thanks for your kind words Pisces! I can't wait for decking and plaster so I can start landscaping!

Your pool looks awesome!!!! They did a great job on the stacked wall and with the light travertine on top--it looks so formal---just amazing!
What are the dimensions of your pool?
What kind of decking are you doing?
Have you decided on a color for the interior yet?

Thanks Janet! It is 38x23. We are going to have "tea and cream" colored acrylic spray/kool deck. As far as the interior...think I am going to stick with my original choice of blue granite pebblesheen with desert gold on the steps, benches and the sunshelf. I still want to see a BG in person though before the Pebbletec people show up!

I love the tile work! Can't wait to see it all finished.

WooHoo, lala!! Sounds like you've carefully gone through the thought process and come up with a great look! I'll bet you'll be really happy with that combo. And yes...you'll love doing the landscaping. Very happy for you! Keep the pics coming....

Really beautiful! I LOVE the dry stack stone and the tile is divine!

lala....any progress? I'm in love with that serpentine glass tile SPA!! I know you'll be happy with your Pebblesheen choices.

Pebble Tec trucks are here!!! Pics soon! Wooo Hooo!

Yaaay!! It's a fun process to watch....

Here are the Pebblesheen pics...acid wash tomorrow so the pebbles and shimmering sea will be exposed...can't wait to see it with water!! VERY HAPPY with the wave between the two colors!!

Pisces, I fall in love with your pool. It's very impressive. If you don't mind, may I ask how much does it cost?

WOW, it looks awesome. I've never seen a wave separating the colors, that is too cool!!! Can't wait to see pics of it full!!!

That is an awesome wave. I've never seen that done before, but what a cool idea to seperate the colors!
They did a great job on your interior!
Looking forward to seeing it full!

You must have water by now, we need pics!!!!!! I can't wait to see this gorgeous pool of yours full! I'm so in love with the gorgeous spa spillway and love love love the stacked rock beam.............

We have water!! It is a striking shade of green (very lagoon like) until tomorrow when we add chemicals. It took almost 29 hours with two hoses! WoW!! I figured it to be right under 25,000 gallons... if my figures are correct. I will post pics tomorrow after we're balanced. Funny thing is though, that the pictures I've already taken show the water to be more blue than it appears to be in real life. It will be interesting to see how they turn out tomorrow!

Still no chemicals and green water but thought I'd go ahead and post a pic...

Beautiful pool! Just in time to get some enjoyment out of it while it's still hot!

Here is a link that might be useful: My Pool Build - completed june 09

Got some chemicals!!!

Wow, that is amazing lala!!! Your pool is absolutely beautiful. The color change is so dramatic....I was going to post earlier and tell you it looked great withOUT chemicals....but now with.....it's stunning!
I think you did an amazing job with the color choices on the spa, beach entry and bench area....it looks just like sand and the transition is perfect into the pool.
That's Blue Granite, right? That was our 2nd choice.....love the color!

Enjoy your masterpiece!!!

Thank you Janet and duderino! We still have to have the deck finished with spray deck (Monday)and do some final touches before we put out the furniture, plants and stuff. Definitely gonna need some landscaping too!!
I will post more pics in a few days as we progress. Again, thanks for the kind words!

Oops...sorry. Yes it's blue granite and desert gold. It looks great up close. The shimmering sea is beautiful. At night the bottom looks like the night sky with the sparkles! I will try to get some good close up pics in the sun.

So pretty!! The Pebblesheen combo looks great with your pool...very nice transition. I know you're thrilled...enjoy!!

Most definitely one of the most interesting looking spa/ledge/step combinations! You incorporated a lot of great ideas like the stone/glass tile, the stone coping bricks, accent rocks on the bond beam and the dual color pebble wavy line edging. Its a nice combination of natural materials with a somewhat cutting-edge modern look. Congrats!

LOOKS WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought I might post a few more pics since we are about 98% complete. We still have to do some landscaping/planting and such and the "rock guys" are supposed to be putting a larger stone(boulder) on top of the jump rock. We are happy with our spray deck and the color looks great with our coping/tile choices. The water color really "Pops" with the natural colors around it! Again I would like to say how pleased I am with the Blue Granite! It truly makes a beautiful water color.

That is so lovely! I will look forward for the next photo to be posted here. Thanks for sharing them.

That is the most beautiful tilework I have ever seen in the spa/cascading area! Im so jealous! I would have never thought to do that, it just looks AMAZING!!

Gorgeous~ !!!!!!! Blue Granite is now officially my favorite PS/PT color!!!!!!

I absolutely love your pool and it has inspired our pool build! Can I ask where you bought the glass tile for the front of the spa? Also what is your waterline tile? We are doing a similar pool with a raised ledgerstone wall, spa and travertine deck. Thank you!!!!!