Make sure you check the BBB and AZ ROC websites. Especially the Registar of Contractors (ROC) website. A better company should have few or no complaints on there. I don't think going with the big guys like Shasta or Paddock is necessarily better. Our new pool will have Stonescapes mini pebble. Another builder we spoke with used Pebble Tec products which would have been a bit more money, but overall we just liked the builder we chose better. Good luck.

This is a pretty traditional option for pool coping, and you could easily update it without doing anything to the coping itself. Are you wanting to give it a more modern vibe or just update it? If you are wanting a more modern look, it could be as simple as adding modern planters with plants that are symmetrical like the black planters in the image below. Stick with neutral colors and straight lines if modern is the vibe you are going for. If you are just looking to update the look and feel, depending on what already surrounds the pool you could build out the deck around the pool, add new patio furniture and a few plants, and it will feel like a whole new space. One ofour projects had a similar coping to yours, we built out the deck using different size pavers and added the modern black planter (behind the umbrellas and pool chairs).

I went pretty far in the bid process with Sunset Pools but ultimately went with Liquid Extreme. I liked Sunset, but they were very expensive relative to the other 3 bids I received. I'm very happy with the quality of the work of Liquid Extreme, but the build has been longer than I anticipated (I'm not exactly known for being patient either). I will sacrifice speed for quality all day long...email me if you want my specific decision points on the companies I talked to- I'm not going to post them in a public forum.

I think if you try to match as good as you can with same pattern and color, given that you have a nice straight line that correlates with the pavilion, it will be fine. I also think you could separate it with a uniform band of different material -- like concrete colored brick/pavers -- and it would also be fine. Of course, get samples and mock it up first, in order to get the exact details and color right. I also think it's possible to transform to a completely different paving, but it should not visually compete with the original paving. It should be compatible ... like "white" space. You might explore ground/polished/acid-stained concrete as one option. It could look like a large, single slab of "stone" in the same color family as your existing paving. I would not do anything with much texture to it.