I wish I had gone with my gut and used what we‘ve always used in the past. we went on the contractors recommendation. We used this on a newly tiled shower floor as well as the walls. I noticed a bad smell (not sewer gas) every night the contractors left. Its hard to describe. i assumed it was something in the mortar? We let this cure for 4 days. The smell was on and off and didnt have to do with a dry shower. Big thing I noticed was that the grout seemed to absorb the water. It turned from a light to a dark grey when wet. You shouldnt have to seal this Read the bag. Sealant not needed Same with our ceramic tiles our other grout does NOT turn color nor does the caulk This worried me then that the water is going through and under the tiles How would this NOT cause mildew and mold down the line? i just looked on Menards site and thought it very odd they dont gave reviews by their products. How many of us read and rely on those? I talked to a seasoned tiler now retired and working at Menards who insisted that yes, it is sealed. What i see and what Im hearing seem to be two different things This morning, 11 hours after the last shower, there was still some darkening around the drain Standing water underneath? Who knows. This shower is just over a week in use and I dont see a good outcome. I highly recommend using something else. For the floor, especially. Note in the picture the darker grout near the drain. When wet, it all turns this dark grey. My big question - why does it seem to be absorbing water if its a sealed product? And what is the ’stale’ smell that comes and goes? Yes, I always leave the bathroom fan running after a shower And again, this is 11 hours after using the shower

This is an interesting topic. I liken it to the Corian scam. Corian has to be measured and installed by an approved manufacturer install person and therefore very costly and and annoying for DIY-people like us because you can't get the materials. Now, presumably because the patent has run out, there are dozens of solid surfaces available that are just as good. But, if you talk to the Corian people, those are cheap knockoffs and aren't as good because of this or that. I may be completely off-base, but this is how it looks to me, consumer. (I was able to find two sheets of 4'x8' discarded solid surface from a kitchen design place for $75 each, but they couldn't give me the proprietary glue - only qualified installers can use it - ugh. The color is weird, but the price is right - I had bids for $600+ to install the countertop) Anyway, one of my pool bids is from a PB offering Marquis quartz finish, and it has a 10 year warranty. I can't find the PebbleTec warranty anywhere - it's not on their website (that I can find) or in any of the literature that I've gotten my hands on. One PB I'm considering has two pools at their HQ, and it's nice to see how they are holding up. I was able to stand on both Tec and Sheen and Fina and feel the difference (you want to put your weight on in and scuff around). Unfortunately it's January and the water was something like 55 degrees, but I stayed in just long enough to get the idea. Everyone we know with pools loves their Pebble, and that's a lot of people (living in Florida).

We are also in the NE and have professional pool service weekly. Our pool builder referred our complaints to the Pebble Fina installer (David Cooke Plaster). (We had problems the first season with the finish.) That was a dead end and David Cooke was not interested in helping. I called the PebbleTec corporate office who referred me back to David Cooke. I would never put this finish on my pool again. The only thing we found to work was having our pool service company drain and acid wash the pool. We are coming up on 3 year since installation. I’m guessing we will have to replace the entire pool surface in less than half the time we were told from the manufacturer. It’s been a very frustrating and costly mistake putting this finish on our pool. They have not stood behind their work and just stopped returning our calls. Hopefully a full drain and acid wash will help. Best of luck to you!

We went with Aqua Blue Pebblesheen...the water is blue..Windex blue. No green at all, which is what I wanted. I had to see it in person first though, before I decided. The finishes can look very different on an actual pool than in a picture or on the website (also, computer monitors vary so much as far as giving you a "true" color..so it's best to always see the finish in person. On my PebbleTec brochure with the color samples, the Tahoe Blue water has a slightly more greenish representation. Hope you get this straightened out...and enjoy your new pool! You may just have to let your eyes get used to it..I know when I first got my pool finished, I saw every tiny little flaw because it was so new..now..I don't see anything but beautiful pool,backyard and relaxation!!