Glass Bead Pool Finishes in Killeen, Texas
Killeen Pool Resurfacing installs glass bead pool finishes in Killeen, Texas: cement-based pool interiors in which smooth glass beads, on their own or blended with pebble, are exposed at the surface for sparkle and water color. Designer Concrete Coatings, which makes Designer Beadcrete, calls its product a patented exposed reflective aggregate with a texture that resists slipping without being coarse.
Glass also works as an accent. Pebble Technology International adds glass beads to some of its pebble pool finishes, and NPT lets an owner add colored glass beads to any StoneScapes pebble finish in a 1, 2 or 3 bag formula, depending on how much sparkle is wanted. At a free estimate we'll talk through all-glass and blended options and how each one is exposed and started up.
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Glass bead finishes and glass-pebble blends
All-glass bead finishes
NPT's glass bead line is JewelScapes, and its Classic series contains no stone at all: glass beads set in white cement with colored pigment. Designer Beadcrete has to go on at least 8 mm thick, and Designer Concrete Coatings says thinner coverage voids its warranty. Glass is uncovered differently from stone, too; Pebble Technology International says glass finishes usually need different exposure methods from its pebble finishes, so each maker's own instructions decide how the beads are brought to the surface.
Glass beads blended with pebble
Most glass reaches pools mixed with stone. Pebble Technology International's PebbleBrilliance blends glass beads with natural stone, and the company says the smooth beads add foot comfort along with sparkle and color in the water; its PebbleEssence is the PebbleSheen texture with smooth glass beads added for extra water color, and its buff-polished PebbleBreeze combines pebble with glass beads and shell. Wet Edge Technologies blends its small and medium pebbles with glass beads in Prism Matrix, saying the glass brings sparkle and colors natural stone alone can't, and it hand-polishes the whole surface of its Primera Stone with diamond-grit pads to bring out the color of the stones and the glass accents.
How the glass changes color and feel
CL Industries, a finish maker, says the more direct the sunlight, the lighter pool water looks, and the more polished the finish, the smoother it feels, while shell and quartz accents add texture; quartz-based surfaces are covered under quartz pool finishes. The National Plasterers Council adds that every finish changes in appearance over its life under constantly treated water, and that the choice made at the planning stage strongly affects how well a pool keeps its looks.
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How a glass bead finish is applied and exposed
Stop seepage and clear the shell
SGM, a plaster maker, has any groundwater seeping through the shell plugged with hydraulic cement before plastering, and loose material, old patching and paint removed and algae killed with a chlorine wash, since leftover algae causes discoloration and bond failure.
Apply the finish at full thickness
The National Plasterers Council puts the average thickness of a cementitious pool finish at no less than 3/8 inch and no more than 3/4 inch. Designer Beadcrete's own minimum is 8 mm.
Expose the glass by the maker's method
Glass usually needs a different exposure method from pebble. Designer Concrete Coatings waits for a hard set, at least 24 to 48 hours after the work is finished, before the final acid wash of Beadcrete, later than the same-day or next-day exposure US makers describe.
Keep the surface evenly dry until the fill
For its smoother PebbleFina and PebbleBreeze surfaces, Pebble Technology International has plumbing lines drained or plugged and lets no water drip, spill or puddle on the finish between application and filling. The National Plasterers Council keeps sprinkler water and rain runoff off any new finish until the pool is full.
Fill without stopping
The Council wants the fill to run continuously and as fast as possible to the middle of the skimmer, because a pause can leave a discolored ring, and it recommends having the finish fully underwater as soon as practical.
Start up over 28 days
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance applies the same basic 28-day start-up to glass-bead finishes and blends as to marble, quartz and pebble, noting that makers of high-performance finishes may give their own instructions. The Council calls those first 28 days the time a new finish is most open to staining, scaling and discoloration.
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Get free estimatesTiming a glass bead finish around Killeen's weather
Cold days and late freezes
Pebble Technology International's submittal packet for PebbleTec allows cold-weather installation only when the day's average temperature is above 40°F and the shell isn't frozen, and the finish must not freeze before the pool is filled. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for its Killeen station put the median last hard freeze of spring, 28°F, on March 2, and the first of autumn on November 30. Spring cold can come later than that: on April 7, 2007, spotters reported 4.50 inches of snow in Killeen.
Hot days and drying
In hot weather the same packet has absorbent shells evenly wetted first, and Designer Concrete Coatings warns that acid must never go on a dry "green" surface, one that hasn't hardened yet.
Killeen Pool Resurfacing plans glass bead work around the season at the free estimate.
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Get free estimatesGlass bead pool finish questions
How much does a glass bead pool finish cost?
National averages reported in 2024 put name-brand aggregate finishes such as BeadCrete, a glass-bead product, at about $9,000 to $13,000 to install, the same bracket as Pebble Tec and PebbleSheen, against around $5,000 per project for Diamond Brite. That range groups the brands together rather than pricing glass bead alone, and it is a published national figure rather than our price; a firm price starts with seeing the pool.
Is a glass bead pool finish smooth underfoot?
Generally, yes. NPT describes its all-glass JewelScapes finish as smooth to the touch, and Pebble Technology International says the smooth glass beads in PebbleBrilliance add foot comfort to a stone blend. Designer Concrete Coatings calls Beadcrete slip resistant but not coarse, and CL Industries notes that polishing makes any finish feel smoother, while shell and quartz accents add texture.
Is it normal for glass beads to come loose after resurfacing?
A little, at first. Pebble Technology International says a small loss of pebbles or glass beads during start-up is normal, and it suggests allowing about 28 days before judging the final water and finish color. The National Plasterers Council treats the same 28 days as the period when a new finish is most likely to stain, scale or discolor.
Can stains on a glass bead finish be torched?
No. Torching is the National Plasterers Council's treatment for abnormal discoloration, in which a propane flame works slowly across a drained, lightly acid-washed surface over several days. The Council's article on it rules out glass-bead surfaces as unsafe to torch, allows pebble only with great care, and names flat plaster and white quartz as the best candidates; the homeowner stays away from the pool while it is done.
Does a glass bead finish need a special start-up?
The basic process is the same 28-day start-up the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance gives other cement finishes, unless the finish maker's own instructions differ. Under the National Plasterers Council's procedure, the pumps and filter run nonstop for seven days, or until the plaster dust is gone and the water is clear, and never less than 72 hours; no chlorine goes in for the first 48 hours, the whole pool is brushed at least twice a day, and wheeled cleaners stay out until after day 28. Salt-water pools get no salt in the first 30 days.
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Killeen Pool Resurfacing answers calls and estimate requests about glass bead and glass-pebble finishes 24/7, in Killeen and the towns around it.