Building a Pool Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Hi: I am in Houston, TX and just met with one of the pool builders that I am intervewing for bids. He has a pool package that includes 350SF of SunDek. He explained that Sundek is supposed to be cooler than Pea Gravel but that it if it stains, you will see the stain more than if Pea Gravel were to stain. Since both are basically concrete and will probably crack in a few years anyway, should I stick with the lower cost Pea Gravel? I would rather spend the $$ on a Pentair EasyTouch system and salt chlroinator. Any opinions good or bad are appreciated! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff grotte Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Hi: I am in Houston, TX and just met with one of the pool builders that I am intervewing for bids. He has a pool package that includes 350SF of SunDek. He explained that Sundek is supposed to be cooler than Pea Gravel but that it if it stains, you will see the stain more than if Pea Gravel were to stain. Since both are basically concrete and will probably crack in a few years anyway, should I stick with the lower cost Pea Gravel? I would rather spend the $$ on a Pentair EasyTouch system and salt chlroinator. Any opinions good or bad are appreciated! Thanks If You want to save money on your pool look at WWW.ecosmarte.com instead of a salt chlroinator. over time you will save money and not swim in salt and chlorine which can ruin alot of things. Jeff Grotte with www.poolguy.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habajaba Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 If You want to save money on your pool look at WWW.ecosmarte.com instead of a salt chlroinator. over time you will save money and not swim in salt and chlorine which can ruin alot of things. Jeff Grotte with www.poolguy.com I haven't been able to find any independent info on the EcoSmarte product. It looks great in the marketing materials from the company and dealers, but is there any non-dealer out there who is using it on their pool? I'd love to hear about it because we will be having our pool done in about 3 weeks and I like the idea, just not sure it's legit enough vs. the tried and true chlorine (salt generated). I read some pretty nasty stuff about EcoSmarte at http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff155840.htm, so I'm not too sure what to think at this point... Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 I haven't been able to find any independent info on the EcoSmarte product. It looks great in the marketing materials from the company and dealers, but is there any non-dealer out there who is using it on their pool? I'd love to hear about it because we will be having our pool done in about 3 weeks and I like the idea, just not sure it's legit enough vs. the tried and true chlorine (salt generated). I read some pretty nasty stuff about EcoSmarte at http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff155840.htm, so I'm not too sure what to think at this point... Phil Salt water chlorine generators have been around for about 30 years now and are used in about 90% of all pools in Austrailia. They really do make maintenance much easier. Ionizers still require a residual chlorine level in the water for proper sanitation and, in fact, the Austrailian governtment has recently passed legislation requiring them to be used with NORMAL and not reduced chlorine levels in light of recent research on kill times for water borne pathogens. Ionizers work by putting metals (usually copper and silver) into the water. They can cause staining of pools and of peoples hair and skin (green hair from copper....that is what causes it, not chlorine) IF you want to read what the Austrailian government has to say about ionizers here are some links. http://www.apvma.gov.au/qa/poolspa_FAQ_May2005.shtml http://www.apvma.gov.au/qa/poolspa_recallupdate.shtml http://www.apvma.gov.au/qa/poolspa_Q&A.shtml http://www.apvma.gov.au/qa/spa_list_Oct_2005.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff grotte Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 If You want to save money on your pool look at WWW.ecosmarte.com instead of a salt chlroinator. over time you will save money and not swim in salt and chlorine which can ruin alot of things. Jeff Grotte with www.poolguy.com I haven't been able to find any independent info on the EcoSmarte product. It looks great in the marketing materials from the company and dealers, but is there any non-dealer out there who is using it on their pool? I'd love to hear about it because we will be having our pool done in about 3 weeks and I like the idea, just not sure it's legit enough vs. the tried and true chlorine (salt generated). I read some pretty nasty stuff about EcoSmarte at http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff155840.htm, so I'm not too sure what to think at this point... Phil Hi Phil How did your pool install go. My Background is 37 years in the pool bussiness started at 13 worked service, installation of stainless steel concrete pools then vinyl pools next as a Distributor of swimming pool Items, next my own pool company www.poolguy.com and now I am the trainer at ECOsmarte planet friendly Inc. Since my last posting we have sold at least 5000 more pool systems world wide and we came up with a replacement for ZEOlite in sand filters, now we have Crushed glass that is much easer for the pool industry to copy us, which they always do. You can keep track of our dealer base at www.ecosmarte.com it grows almost every day. the reason you may not heard much about us from local pool company is that most of our dealers start after thier customers have have not been in for chemicals on a regular bases and the dealer will find that we will slowly erode thier customer base. The sharper Dealer will understand that not everybody wants chlorine/salt. for those pool people that still sell salt. wake up salt is just another name for chlorine. Thier is a better way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 So what you are saying is that you are an ecosmarte dealer. Hardly an unbiased opinion. Well, the ecosmarte website makes some pretty outragous claims that amount to nothing but pseudoscience and don't hold up if you have a basic understanding of chemistry. As far as copper and copper/silver as sanitizers, the biggest problem is the CT. A fast acting residual sanitizer is still needed which is why Australia has passed the legislation it has. If only the EPA were as watchful. I once addressed several of my concerns (theoretical atomic oxygen?, hydroxl ions?,copper not being toxic nor a chemical water treatment?, etc.) about the ecosmarte unit to a company rep named Wendy in an online forum hoping for a dialog and she out and out refused to answer any of them! All she wanted to do was bash chlorine and salt! That speaks a very clear message to me! I played around with magic as a hobby and one of the cardinal things you learn is to distract your audience and misdirect their attention so they don't see how you do the trick. Seems like much of the same going on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Backyard Pools Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Hi: I am in Houston, TX and just met with one of the pool builders that I am intervewing for bids. He has a pool package that includes 350SF of SunDek. He explained that Sundek is supposed to be cooler than Pea Gravel but that it if it stains, you will see the stain more than if Pea Gravel were to stain. Since both are basically concrete and will probably crack in a few years anyway, should I stick with the lower cost Pea Gravel? I would rather spend the $$ on a Pentair EasyTouch system and salt chlroinator. Any opinions good or bad are appreciated! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Backyard Pools Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Hi: I am in Houston, TX and just met with one of the pool builders that I am intervewing for bids. He has a pool package that includes 350SF of SunDek. He explained that Sundek is supposed to be cooler than Pea Gravel but that it if it stains, you will see the stain more than if Pea Gravel were to stain. Since both are basically concrete and will probably crack in a few years anyway, should I stick with the lower cost Pea Gravel? I would rather spend the $$ on a Pentair EasyTouch system and salt chlroinator. Any opinions good or bad are appreciated! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Backyard Pools Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 It looks like your question about pea gravel vs. SunDek was bypassed for a discussion about EcoSmarte. I don't like pea gravel personally. To me, it is old fashioned and rough on the feet. If I were you, I would go with SunDek or any of the other spray deck material. It will feel cool on your feet and yet be textured enough to reduce slipping. When I build pools, I always put a sealant on the spray decking. That should take care of any concerns regarding stains. You can lightly power wash the spray decking as well to get dirt and other material off. I would save the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kara Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 It looks like your question about pea gravel vs. SunDek was bypassed for a discussion about EcoSmarte. I don't like pea gravel personally. To me, it is old fashioned and rough on the feet. If I were you, I would go with SunDek or any of the other spray deck material. It will feel cool on your feet and yet be textured enough to reduce slipping. When I build pools, I always put a sealant on the spray decking. That should take care of any concerns regarding stains. You can lightly power wash the spray decking as well to get dirt and other material off. I would save the money. Basically, sundeck is a concrete coating. There are various grades of coating materials used. The main difference is what they mix in the coating. If you want long life and a reduced amount of stain potential you should make sure that the product is cement and acrylic. This is the most state of the art type of concrete coating (sometimes called overlayment) Sundek has a pretty good rep, but you could research an alternative that looks the same but has a higher amount of acrylic with no polybinds (those break down in sun) That Product is called Xcel Surfaces. They are in your market. You could ask your builder if they could install that product over the concrete as an alternative to Sundek. It is just an option that you can consider. The main benefit to the coating over the pebble in general is that it is smoother to walk on and tends to be cooler during the heat of the summer. Good Luck and Congrats on your new pool Kara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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