Is Pebble tech a good surface?

[JohnGraham]

I like the look of Pebble tech and have seen it in a couple different pools. A friend of mine who specialized in pool modernization said to stay away from Pebble tech?

Please advise.

Thanks!

John

[Pool Help]

Hi John

I wonder what reason your friend gave for avoiding Pebble Tec. A lot of the pools we look after have a Pebble Tec finish and I find it superior to marcite or plaster.

The problems I have come across, and which would have been more noticeable in plaster pools are:
1- scale causing rough surfaces
2- erosion of the cement causing localised pebble "loss"
3- staining between the pebble finish

Each of the above problems were caused by poor pool maintenance or bad pool water balance.
1- high total alk/ high pH/ high hardness level
2- low pH/ low total alk/ soft water
3- misuse of ionizers/ overuse of copper-based algicides/ poor quality fill water

Please elaborate on why Pebble Tec was not advised.

[mrede]

I have a pebble-tec pool. I have maintained it for the last 2 years with occasional help from local pool supply store.

Recently I put in Algaecide (liquid) agent in the jacuzzi. And I added chlorine. Somehow the combination bleached the bottom of the jacuzzi. So now my pebble-tec looks whitened on the bottom of the jacuzzi.

I tried a rubber brush to see if I could scrape it off. No success.

Anyone have any ideas how to fix this?

[geeman]

walk on it before making a decision

[CarolASig]

We are struggling with a wide swath or mark in our Pebble Tec finish that has been apparent since the installation of our midnight blue finish. We have contacted the manufacturer who did come out and acid wash the pool early on. That helped slightly for a short time but the problem reappeared quickly.

The company has refused to honor its warranty and will not help us with the problem. They claim that we have a water chemistry problem inspite of the fact that we maintain our water chemistery religiously, and that they never tested our water chemistry or advised us of any precautions we should take.

We have reason to believe that the company has told other Pebble Tec installers in our area not to talk to us. We would not recommend this company to anyone at this point.

[yumabrad]

Pebble tech is the worst , i spent the weekend in my pool and my toes are all cut up , kids are even worst. do get it .

[Vinny S]

We installed a new Pebble finish and we are experiencing staining/fading. Our expert says it's metal in the water despite the fact we he used a chemical to reduce the metal when we refilled the pool. The water chemistry is checked constantly. He is now increasing the amount of Jack's Black Magic (Blue Stuff and Purple Stuff). After two days it looks worse.
About 3 years ago we had our first acid wash and installed a salt system. After severe rains our pool turnrd water turned green and we expierienced brown staining. We acid washed it again and turned off the salt system and the stains came back. Could acid from the washing get into the equipment?

[Guest]

hey i have pebble tec and ever since i got it my pool has been 95 degrees or higher is it the pebble tec or is it the salt water system

plyz help me

[Guest]

pebble finishes suk

[vicki]

Ok to update some of all of your issues:

To the person getting their toes cut up. What the pebble surface is first installed you should have been notified to brush your pool (sides and bottom) 3-4 times a day for a week or so. This removes many (most?) of the pebbles that stick up high and may cut your toes. I went with the smoother version which is the pebble sheen. The stones are smaller and therefore much much smoother.

To those of you having issues such as scale, algae etc. Just because pebble tec can hide some dirt does not mean you are supposed to neglect your pool. You spent extra money to put in pebble tec instead of white plaster. So protect your investment. Keep the pool clean, backwash or change filters when you are supposed to, brush the sized and bottom regularly (the pool cleaners are great at picking up debris or some dirt, but only a few brand scrub the sides). Run the filtration system as long as you are supposed to each day (do not try to save electricity and cause problems in your pool). Check baskets in the ground and at the pump daily (at this time also check to make sure the pump is actually running). etc etc. Get all the tests done regularly and keep your levels where they should be (you can do most of them yourself easily) This includes
Free chlorine
Ph
Combined Chlorine

Total Alkalinity
Calcium Hardness
Total Dissolved Solids
Stabilizer
Go to a good independent pool supplier (preferably one that also does repairs to equipment or will go out to your house for repairs) and get to know them.
(Personally I find places like Leslies and Paddock will sell you everything under the sun and still never get at the real issue. They also do not always have the best product but only the one or two brands that they carry.) At the independent pool supplier, They do not have the shelf space to carry product that do not work well, and they want to you to be a repeat customer so they tend to give sound advice. And many are mo and pop businesses and have been working in pools for years and really know their stuff.
(Whereas the "Big" pool suppliers sell by volume (not neccessarily caring if you return or not, Also the turn around on employees can be rather fast...so how knowledgeable are they?

Bring in some freshly collected pool water...most independent suppliers will test your water for a whole list of issues if you ask, (not just ph and chlorine) They can also detect metals incase of odd staining that may be occurring.

I have a good relationship with my pool supplier, they have a computer system and know exactly what pool equipment I have and the size pool etc. Even though they did not install it. This way if I need parts they can look it up on their computer and get me the right part the first time.

So basically get involved. Or pay someone and keep tabs on them to make sure they are doing their job. If you are getting scale, algae etc. then something is out of whack and it is not the pebble tec, it is either the water or the equipment.