laurieblu,
Pebble-Tec installers in your local area can be found at the Pebble-Tec website. You can google it.
Pebble sheen has smaller stone than the original pebble-tec. IMO pebble sheen may have better longevity because of the size of the stone. Smaller stone should be better held by the plaster around it. Good luck.

Both are great products. We wound up going with Blue Granite Pebblesheen with the Shimmering Sea additive - crushed abalone shell that really sparkles in the sun.

The Pebblesheen has a smoother texture than the Pebbletec due to it's smaller aggregate size.

Linky Thing: Blue Grainite Pebblesheen

Here's the whole build ...

Linky Thing: Leonardsmalls' Pool Build

Sorry, bad link above ..

Linky Thing: Blue Granite Pebblesheen

Hey there, just run a search here on pebbletec (also try pebble tec) and you'll get tons of great posts about pebbletec. i am VERY happy with ours (installed in july) and can't say enough about the quality control and customer service with pebbletec. we're getting ready to renovate the house, i only wish i could find a building contractor with the level of commitment to quality as pebbletec!

and try out the pebbletec in person, on your feet.....we thought we wanted pebblesheen, but in person we actually liked preferred the way the pebbletec felt over the pebblesheen, and we really loved the more rustic look. but that's the look of our pool, you might be looking for something different.

enjoy, have fun, and don't be afraid to choose a less common color! it's fun to have something a little different!

Here is a link that might be useful: Majestic Plum Pebble Tec

I don't know if you have children, but both Pebble tec products create painful sores on the bottom of our children's feet when they play at their Grandparents pool. It looks great but it's not kid friendly. We are using Ultra Poz which is a white quartz for our pool remodel. Just something to consider if you have kids.

Not an extreme example at all.

My kids (14 and 11) were the ones whao asked us not to get a pebble surface. Their feet were frequently raw after playing in pebble pools. Several friends who I spoke with that owned pebble finished pools shared similar stories.

but both Pebble tec products create painful sores on the bottom of our children's feet when they play at their Grandparents pool

Obviously their Grandparents pool isn't finished with multiple products. Which exposed aggregate product, specifically, is it finished with. Pebbletec .. Pebblesheen ... Gemstone .. Diamond Brite ... Wet Edge.

Could you be more specific with your indictment.

We have Pebblesheen and have NO problems.

pebbletec vs. pebble finish.....apples and oranges.

painful sores?...that is beyond an extreme example, and again, i really doubt it was pebbletec or pebblesheen. both of those products use smooth, tumbled pebbles, there are no sharp edges (especially pebblesheen....pebblesheen feels like a the surface of a basketball).

there are other (less expensive) pebble products out there -- a lot of other companies decided to mix plaster and pebbles to cash in on the pebble trend -- but go look at their samples and their websites...you can even see in the photos that the pebbles are not rounded or tumbled, and they often have a more plaster (which is rough) exposed than the pebbletec products.

i have a 16 year old and a 13 year old, both with a boatload of male and female friends who spend a hours upon hours playing and roughhousing in our pool. no torn up feet. no sore feet. no complaints.

ask your pb. read a bunch of the pebbletec threads here and learn from pebbletec owners. go try the pools yourself.

Absent the water, a pool's finish, be it traditional plaster or any of the pebble/pebble-like types, is still fundamentally a very hard surface. Kids playing for hours on a concrete playground in bare feet are going to chew up their feet, same goes for a swimming pool.

The pebble finishes (properly done) do provide more smooth surfaces so damage to feet should be less, but hours of wet feet against a hard surface is still going to take it's toll.

That said, my pool is finished in PebbleSheen, and in four years there have been no complaints. If there is a real concern, get AquaSocks or other foot protection...