Choosing Material For Your Pool Deck Or Patio

Some of the factors that you should consider include complementing the surrounding landscape, space availability, people traffic, care and upkeep. Some materials are more flexible than others regarding maintenance and long-term life. Lighter colored surfaces will tend to be the most heat-reflective. Consider using two or more materials to achieve a desired look if your budget doesn’t allow for your entire pool deck to be created in one type of material.

While there are certain pool deck materials that are more conducive to the environment around pools (slip-resistant, heat-reflective, etc.), the pool deck surface you choose will need to match your design desires and your budget.

By Vic Brincat from Keswick, Ontario, Canada – 050730_021, CC BY 2.0, http://ift.tt/2ewsgpf

Natural Stone, flagstone is one of the most popular pool deck surfacing materials because it is organic looking, long-lasting, and provides a rough texture for a nonslip surface. Flagstone is large, flat stones in various shapes that encompass sandstone, limestone, and slate. Flagstone can be pricier than other pool deck materials because of the labor involved in placing each stone individually and because it is a natural material. Flagstone can also become uncomfortably warm to walk on in extreme heat.

Travertine has come down in cost over the past few years and it’s actually a pretty viable option on a lot of projects. Consider spending just a few dollars more upgrading to real stone for your patios. Travertine pavers are set on a gravel and sand base, just like any other concrete paver would be. When we’re on expansive clay soils, where they’re going to shift and move depending upon the amount of moisture that’s in the soil, kind of like building on top of a sponge, it’s a good idea to have a material that can move with it and not crack and heave.

Pavers are the darling of the surfacing world because of the rich texture and diversity they provide. Available in multiple patterns and colors, they can adapt to any design theme. They fit together creating a beautiful, strong and durable surface. Concrete technology has propelled concrete into a mainstream surface material that meets the demands of being durable with minimal maintenance, being budget-friendly, and being design-oriented. Some of the most popular designs in concrete include stamping (imprinting the surface in a pattern such as cobblestone or flagstone), stenciling (to imitate brick or other patterns), exposed aggregate, rock-salt finish, and colored concrete.

Spray-on coatings are usually a cement blended product that are sprayed onto the existing surface of a pool deck. One popular spray-on coating is Keystone Kool Deck, a concrete topping that provides a colored and textured cement surface. This product offers significantly lower surface temperatures, and is easy to maintain.

Natural brick has long been a mainstay of common pool deck surfaces. Brick pool decks offer a long life and have great aesthetic appeal. They can be costly to install because they require more intensive labor. They also can require more maintenance than other materials because the bricks can shift over time or break and need replacement. The biggest problem with brick pool decks is that they can become extremely hot under the hot sun. Bricks retain heat more than other materials and in hotter climates, they are usually not the best option.

While pool tiles are the most popular material at the water line of the pool, they, too, can retain heat when installed as the pool deck surface. Tile does last considerably long and requires little maintenance. Tile is also very adaptable to various design tastes and can be installed in a variety of patterns and colors. However, because of its propensity to retain heat, tiles are often not suited for extremely hot climates.

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