kgolby- Can't comment on the cost of Rico Rock vs sheer descents for your part of the country. I'm in Louisiana and knew I wanted Rico Rock for the natural look I was after. After working closely with Rico Rock on the selection of boulders/waterfalls for my design, they provided a list of local builders that have experience with their products. Rico Rock only sells to distributors/PB's and the price of their products are region specific. What I like about Rico Rock is their natural look and exact dimensions so you can design the "look" of your poolscape on paper and know exactly what you are going to get. Also, their waterfalls work great and are designed to sheet perfectly at specified gpm's and drain down when off so there is no standing water. It all depends on the look you want. Personally, I think sheer descents look to contrived for a natural poolscape and they go better with symmetric roman style designs but to each his own. My experience was the Rico Rock product was about twice as much as natural boulders or other type of water features such as sheer descents. The PB told me that they double the price of the waterfall kit to account for installation, labor and materials for a structural kit. I did not have any modular kits, because I didn't like the look of them as much as the structural, but I would expect the labor to be less because they are easier to install than the structural kits. The structural kits require more concrete, rebar, shaping and custom mortar work. It took 3 guys plus me an entire month to finish all the Rico Rock waterfalls and boulder placement around the pool! They commented if the waterfalls were modular, it would have taken them 1 week tops to complete everything and move on to the next job. Hope this helps!

We had that problem with our previous pool. We noticed some water in our planter where our sheer descent was and contracted our PB. They came out and the problem for us was our main water pipe going to the sheer descent wasn't glued so the fitting came off. They just glued it properly and we never had a problem with it again. I would think if they have been out there 10 times that they would have checked all your pipes and fittings. Have you spoken with the construction manager?? That's crazy that you are still having a problem....

Our sheer descent is the highlight of the pool when we have guests over. All the kids love to jump in over it, or put their feet on it. The love it and we love it. That being said, while designing our pool, we had no idea, that it would only have enough flow when our dual speed pump was run at full speed (and full speed costs about 4x the price of running the pump at low speed). In addition (although I am no expert here, this is what I have read, and generally observed), it accelerates evaporation (cools the pool), and raises the PH faster. These aren't bad things, but reasons we don't run ours except when we specifically want to. That being said, I take care of my pool (not a pool service), and I watch my electric bills like a hawk (I have lots of nice graphs that can tell me how much electricity I am using over time, etc), so I am a little more particular in this regard, then others might be. Running a pool isn't free, and the pleasure of the sheer decent running all the time (or if I had some stone grotto/waterfall, I would probably want it running all the time, regardless of cost) may out weigh the other factors.

Thanks aprilneverends, I appreciate you looking into it! On another note, I was thinking that the technical specs must exist and found them on the Encore online catalogue, which states "Our tile is vitreous and frost resistant. It is suitable for indoor and outdoor applications , areas that experience freeze/thaw conditions, water applications (baths, pools, saunas, steam rooms, fountains, showers), fireplaces and light traffic floors......." Regarding sealing, they suggest the tile needs to be sealed before install (and then after so grout is sealed) and that you should then follow sealing manufacturer suggestions on any future sealing. I need to ask my tile guy about that. The good news is that they are safe for wet applications! And I would still love to see a post/pic from anyone who has installed these tiles :) https://issuu.com/encoreceramics/docs/2017_catalog/54