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Interior Pool Surface Options

Interior Pool Surface Options in Essex County

Three Quality Surface Options to Suit Your Pool & Budget

With more than 40 years of on-ground pool experience and the number one market position in New England, Gibraltar Pools has helped homeowners throughout New England choose the right interior surface for how they swim, how they maintain, and what they want to spend. The comparison below isn’t a generic guide. It’s what we tell our own customers.

There are many interior pool surfaces used around the world. The three most common, and the three we recommend you consider, are plaster, quartz, and pebble. Quartz and pebble surfaces were developed to solve the shortcomings of plaster, and they deliver on that promise. Neither is perfect, and like most improvements, they cost more than plaster. Here’s how they compare so you can decide what’s right for your pool.

Not sure which surface fits your situation? Call us at (978) 759-4445. Our staff can walk you through the trade-offs without requiring an appointment or a sales visit.

Plaster

Plaster is still the most common interior pool surface, though it’s not the best. People choose plaster because they’re familiar with it, and it’s the least expensive of the three options.

Most traditional plaster is white cement mixed with limestone or marble sand. By its nature, plaster has certain limitations. Its porous surface is the most susceptible of the three to staining, bacteria growth, and breakdown by pool chemicals. Because plaster constantly reacts to water and chemicals, plaster pools need more chemicals to maintain balanced water chemistry. For these reasons, plaster usually doesn’t last as long as the other two surfaces. You can expect a new plaster surface to give you 7 to 10 years of good service with proper care.

Quartz

A quartz interior pool surface is a plaster surface with quartz aggregate mixed in. There are two key benefits. First, quartz is a very hard material, rated 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, compared to marble sand at 3 (diamond is 10). Because a percentage of your pool interior is covered with this hard, non-porous, stain-resistant material, you get a more durable and longer-lasting surface than plaster alone.

Second, quartz lets you introduce color into your pool interior. Gibraltar Pools uses 3M Colorquartz, generally regarded as a leading color quartz available. Quartz costs approximately 50% more than traditional plaster. You can expect a new quartz surface to give you 10 to 15 years of good service with proper care.

Pebble

A pebble interior pool surface is also a plaster surface with pebble aggregate mixed in. The pebbles make up the majority of the pool surface, providing clear advantages: it’s the most stain-resistant and most durable surface available, and it comes in many interesting colors.

However, pebble is a rough surface. It’s harder on feet and on automatic pool cleaners, as any parts in constant contact with pebble will wear out more quickly. A mini-pebble surface is available from most pool companies. It uses smaller pebbles and is polished smooth for a more comfortable finish. Pebble surfaces cost approximately double the price of traditional plaster. You can expect a new pebble surface to give you 12 to 20 years of good service with proper care.

Get the Right Surface for Your Pool

Every surface choice involves real trade-offs between upfront cost, long-term maintenance, water chemistry demands, and how the pool feels underfoot. Our office staff can answer your questions over the phone or in our Topsfield showroom. No appointment is needed. If you’re considering a new pool, our free, no-obligation backyard survey lets us evaluate your site and walk you through every option before you commit to anything.

Gibraltar Pools backs every pool with the strongest manufacturer’s warranties in the swimming pool industry, and financing options with low monthly payments are available for qualifying customers.

Call us at (978) 759-4445, and let’s find the right surface for your pool. We serve Essex County, MA, Rockingham, Hillsborough, and Strafford counties in NH, and the surrounding areas in New England.

Interior Pool Surfaces

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