I have noticed that pebble finishes seem to increase the evaporation rate of water due to an observable "wicking" action. The wall of the pool will be wetter above the water level of the pool due to the increased smooth and curved surface area of the pebbles (as opposed to a flatter, rougher plaster finish). On a plaster pool, a close examination at the water level will show that the wetted plaster above the water level of the pool is very small, maybe .125 inches. On a pebble pool, the wetted pebble above the water level of the pool is noticeably higher, perhaps .5 inches or more. (I have not done any empirical studes, merely observations.) I am not suggesting that this is a problem. I have noticed this repeatedly over many years and am curious to see if the pebble people have any comment on this, or if they have performed any studies on it.

We are having our pool re-plastered and upgrading from the previous plaster to pebblesheen. We initially were looking at pebbletec and when we opted for sheen instead it was the same cost, no upgrade. I'm thinking you might want to check with a different company. There should not be an upsale cost between tec and sheen unless you are including additives that were not present in the tec.

neilaz, I saw a pool we built in 1986 last week that still has the original plaster and is in good shape with exception to some bleached out spots that resulted from a floater that sunk during the winter 10plus years ago while it was covered with a Loop-lok. I have no knowledge of asbestos as an admix. We used black marble from Georgia Marble, gray portland type 1 cement and probably used 50% acryl 60 in the scratch coat. We could have used some acryl 60 in the final coat as we were experimenting with different mixes at the time. We also added a liquid dye Tamms? It was the first black pool we did. That is the oldest that I have seen recently and honestly can't think of any that are 30 years old but this one will easily last another 7 if the same owner continues to care for it. He uses an erosion feeder as a primary sanitizer and shocks with calcium hypoclorite. He had an ozone generator for about 5-10 years. His current CY level is only 30 and he says that he has never dumped water from the pool with exception to draining below the skimmers every winter. I can think of many plaster pools that are 15-20 years old with the original plaster and in very good shape. I cannot think of any that we have built that lasted less than 12. I saw a diamond brite pool we did in 1998 that is still in very good shape and shows no signs of deterioration. They use ozone assisted by bromine as a sanitizer. As stated in a previous post we have been using a silicone admixture to the marble for the last 8-10 years.

jmck_nc, It's been several weeks since you posted. What is the status? Couple of points: - do not sign a contract until you hammer out all costs - get several bids and make sure each PB knows they are in a competition to get your business - it appears you have a "wish list" of a pool. And by that, I mean waterfall, in-floor system, pebble-tec, and vanishing edge. All "very very nice to haves," but with a very high cost associated with them compared to their alternatives. You can nickle and dime yourself and be disappointed... for instance, you scaled down the waterfall to save money and that's fine... but if not careful, you may end up with a pool that has a vanishing edge, pebble-tec, and a bunch of other features that are either missing, or inadequate. We priced pebble-tec (some whites and the caribbean blue). It was a $4100 upgrade. The caribbean blue would have given the water a warm and inviting color. So we went with a Quartz Aggregate for an aqua colored water instead, and put the $4100 into something that would provide more bang for the buck... like LEDs so we can make the water any color we want (at night anyway), larger decking, and IntelliFlo. If it were me: - the in-floor system would be the first to go... costs several thousands of dollars, and a $300 suction-based pump will get the job done - pebble-tec would be the second thing to go. Quartz Arrgregate is just as good. Read up on both on this forum. - get LEDs as a compromise for giving up pebble-tec -Gorilla