4 Natural Stones to Use On Your Pool Deck Remodeling
Sunny South Florida is notoriously know for its warm temperatures almost all year long and a very hot summer. As such, most Floridians have the dream of living in a house with a pool built-in on the back yard.
Just a place where you can cool down, relax and host your parties during the warmer months.
If you don’t have a pool already, installing a new one might be very expensive, but doable. Alternatively, you might already have a pool built-in your back yard, but you don’t like how it looks like and is eager for a remodel, the entire process can be a lot more expensive if you cut corners and don’t pick the right materials.
But if you do it right the first time, a pool can become your best home investment and accessory.
Getting Started
Firstly, when creating your dream pool, you want to examine everything from shape and size to aesthetics and practicalities. Here are examples of questions to think about:
– What is your main purpose for the pool?
– How much space do you need around it?
– How will you access it?
– What costs are associated with building it? How much time and money will you need to spend on maintenance?
– What are the right pool paver materials?
As you can see, building the dream pool requires a lot more than just an idea and desire. At ASE Pools, we want to make sure that you invest your time and money wisely.
Below we will review how to choose the right pavers for your pool and the 4 natural stones we recommend for landscaping around your pool.
Choosing the Right Pavers
Regardless of your chosen pool design, deciding which natural stone pavers to use for your pool surrounding will make a very powerful statement about your taste, status and success. Some factors to consider include: appearance, durability, non-slip finish, environmental factors like weather conditions and finally, the sealant.
APPEARANCE
As a general rule of thumb, you want to choose pool pavers whose colors compliment your house and garden.
For example, if you have a dark timber deck, a bluestone paver will clash with the dark timber. As both are aesthetically beautiful on their own, together they will wash each other out. Instead, a lighter colored marble or limestone paver will complement a darker timber deck very nicely.
The same concept applies when choosing the colors and materials for your home! Unless you want to make a statement with a deliberate clash and contrast, whether it’s glass, cladding, render or brick, you want your pool pavers to blend seamlessly with your surrounds.
When it comes to appearance, it’s also important to consider the paver style against the aesthetic of your house’s general architecture. If you want to match the style of your home to your pool, choosing the right profile of the pool coping is very important.
If you want to be more arty and creative, you can use crazy paving to break up spaces and add a unique style to your home or garden.
DURABILITY
The pool surrounding is a high-traffic area, especially in summer. So it goes without saying that whatever stone pavers you choose, they simply must be durable!
On the topic of durability, remember that the pavers will have chlorine or salt-water splashed on them regularly so it’s important to choose natural stone pavers that won’t deteriorate from such splashes.
Next, there will be occasions when food or leafs from trees will drop on them, or even sunscreen or pool chemicals will be spilled on them. As such, you want to select stone pavers that can withstand such circumstances: pavers that will remain sturdy, untarnished and will stand the test of time.
NON-SLIP FINISH
All that water in the pool tends to find its way out, whether it’s from people jumping in or out, or just splashes from the pool due to wind and changes in the weather. Undoubtedly, having slippery pavers is exceptionally dangerous, so make sure you check the paver’s non-slip rating before making your investment. This is usually identified with a P in front of it. For example, P3 is very slippery. You want to aim for pavers with ratings of P4 and P5 for pool surroundings.
WEATHER CONDITIONS
As they are installed outside, Natural Stone Pavers will experience all weather conditions. As such, you want to consider how they’ll cope with rain, storms, extreme heat and so forth. For instance, will the paver get too hot on a 35-40 degree summer day? Will it be unbearable to walk on? Will it reflect too much of the sun’s glare and make the eyes sore? Maybe the stone is extra porous and not ideal for pool surroundings because it will dissolve over time?
Some of these seem a bit far-fetched, just trust us when we say that we’ve seen people install the wrong pavers around their pools and watched them spend a fortune in fixing a problem that should never have been a problem, to begin with!
So it’s best to ask even the most ludicrous question now, rather than patch-work the problem later.
SEAL THE DEAL
Finally, natural stones can be porous and sensitive. This is why it’s important to protect them with the right sealer. Your pool is an investment, and an expensive one at that. You want to ensure that it stands the test of time so that you can enjoy it for many, many years to come!
The Types of Stone to Use
Now that we’ve reviewed a few vital considerations, there are several options of natural stone that are best suited for pool surroundings. These are: marble pavers, limestone pavers, granite pavers and bluestone pavers.
Let’s look at them individually below:
1. MARBLE PAVERS
A beautiful, light colored stone, marble has many advantages as a pool paver. Though it’s popular for its aesthetic, it is a very hard-wearing stone which means that it will last for years! It also doesn’t absorb a lot of heat, making it an ideal paver for harsh hot summers where the stone will be a cool welcome for your feet.
2. LIMESTONE PAVERS
As one of the world’s go-to building materials, limestone is known to retain its form regardless of the conditions that come its way. It has an earthy coloring which makes it suitable for an outdoor environment. Limestone pavers can withstand heavy foot traffic and extreme weather conditions and are available in a variety of colors and textures! It’s no wonder that they are such a popular pool paver.
3. BLUESTONE PAVERS
Dense and hard-wearing, bluestone (also known as basalt) is a practical option for pool paving because it is salt resistant. Besides being very durable, bluestone is available in a variety of shapes and styles ranging from tiles to cobblestones! As such, it’s a very versatile paver for your home and garden. In the photo above, the paver has been laid in a ‘crazy’ paving style making it a feature for the pool surrounding.
4. GRANITE PAVERS
Non-slip and with a flamed finish, granite is ideal for pool settings. It’s elegant and works very well with contemporary architecture. It’s one of the densest natural stones which is why it’s so popular as a pool paver. Granite sports a speckled finish which makes it an appealing stone for pool pavers because it hides stains. In the case that an accidental spill or stain occurs, you can easily hose down this paver because it has a low-porous rating.
Take Your Pick
At the end of the day, remember that building a pool is an investment for your home. So it’s vital to choose a stone paver that has the best aesthetics, durability and longevity for your lifestyle.
If you need some help deciding which natural stone best suits your lifestyle and home, contact us for information and expert consultation.
