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Deck Options History and Now

The swimming pool design and back yard deck types have changed over the years. I have seen a lot of changes in the industry. The original pool deck was either broom finished concrete or some type of wood decking. The concrete deck went from broom texture to fancy designs cut in with stencil tools to broom stipple and rock salt pock hole textures. The next wave of pool deck selections was the introduction of Kool Deck. Kool Deck is compromised from ground marble , white cement, and color. It could be installed with various texture such as splash deck to trown and stipple along with stencil cut with patterns. The one great  trait it did have is that it actually kept cooler than the typical pool deck before. The secret was the Marble aggregate. The marble stone had the traits you find with all natural marble. Its cooler. It had allot of downfalls also. The ground marble is now hard to find and it was very porous and subject to becoming dirty. There are people also installing it with mason sand and calling it Kool Deck without the cool characteristic because it’s less expensive than marble. Most of the builders and swimming pool deck remodelers are now installing a coating over concrete decks that is compromised from polymer modified cements. These products are either colored then clear coated or painted with a concrete stain at the final stages. You can stamp fancy patterns, stencil shapes, and create custom designs with these. The end coating is better stain resistant than the Kool Deck . Some are easier to repair down the road. Concrete does crack. You will generally have repairs with any coating. There are a few brand names in this segment. Uro-Tile, Sun Deck, Spray Deck, Knock Down Deck, Stamped Concrete, ect. The art of controlling cracks is not exhibited by a lot of pool companies with heavy work loads.Controlling cracks is an art in itself and there are formulas set in stone by the concrete industry. This leads me into the next segment of deck options. Concrete pavers. They come in thick (2.5 ish) and thin (1 inch ) . The thick pavers are used generally for New Pool Construction and the Thin Concrete Pavers are used generally for pool deck remodeling. There is also a vast array of coping available in concrete to go with pavers. You would use the thin pavers as a floating deck system for pool decks that have cracked. With this system I can guarantee your deck for a lifetime against cracks because the pavers do not transfer the cracks from the existing deck to the final product. In the thin paver line we also have a segment of natural stone to choose from. Travertine Marble comes in many shapes and patterns for another blog. These tiles exhibit the coolness you found in Kool-Deck. They look great and is now cost-effective.  There is also sand set porcelain tiles available to go over existing decks and for new construction. The last deck option for now is the pre cast stone option. These are stone decks custom made with any texture, shape, or color with mold guard additives.This is a great option for the high end project. Please do not hesitate to call us if you have any questions. I will post Blogs on each segment individually in due time.