When designing and planning your new gunite pool, choosing the right finish is key to ensuring you get a comfortable surface and achieve a beautiful look. Marble dust, PebbleTec, and tiles are popular finishes for gunite pools, each offering unique aesthetic appeal and distinct features. Understanding these finishing materials will help you choose the right one for your pool in New York.

1. Marble Dust

Wooden deck beside a pool in Bridgehampton, NY.

Marble dust is a smooth plaster finish made from a mixture of refined white cement and crushed marble. The bright and clean look of white cement provides great contrast to the marble, which can come in various colors, depending on your preference. One of the biggest advantages of marble dust is its smooth texture, which is perfect for creating a comfortable surface for swimmers. The white cement finish reflects sunlight well, making the water look crisp, clear, and clean.

What's more, a marble dust finish allows homeowners to easily see the bottom of the pool with its white, even surface, improving safety, especially around kids. Beyond its aesthetic advantages, this finish is also a great option because its fine texture sticks well to the gunite shell. This ensures a sealed and protected surface that prevents leakage! Marble dust needs some maintenance because it can be porous, which is where keeping a balanced water chemistry comes in.

2. PebbleTec

Pool in Bridgehampton, NY, with a pebble finish.

PebbleTec finishes for gunite pools are another great option as they boast a naturally luxurious appearance. They provide pebble finishes that come in various options, from smaller and finely ground pebbles to glass beads and stone aggregates, offering depth, dimension, and captivating water colors in your pool. Different pebble sizes also create different textures in pool surfaces, allowing you to achieve an organic and textured look. Pebble finishes, especially glass beads, add a dazzling touch of sparkle that changes when hit with sunlight.

While pebble finishes provide a stunning look for your gunite pool, they are also designed for comfort and safety. The textured surface of pebble finishes provides your pool with more traction, ensuring secure footing for swimmers, especially on steps and slopes. Meanwhile, those with smaller pebble options offer a more comfortable feel underfoot.

The textured surface of pebble finishes provides good traction for pools.

3. Tiles

Pool in Bridgehampton, NY, with a tile finish.

Another great finish for a gunite pool is tiles. They give gunite pools a refined and custom appearance while offering unlimited design options for colors, sizes, and patterns. Here are popular tile options for gunite pools:

  • Porcelain tiles: Porcelain tiles offer a sophisticated look for your gunite pool. They absorb almost no water, making them a great option for submersion. What's more, porcelain tiles resist chemicals and stains well, which means your pool finish won't react to chlorine and other pool chemicals.
  • Glass pool tiles: This tile option is a highly sought-after material because of its outstanding brilliance and performance. Glass pool tiles boast a vibrant color and depth that reflect natural light well, creating a luminous and crisp appearance on your pool water. There are various glass tiles that do not stain or fade easily, maintaining their stunning appearance for longer.
  • Ceramic tiles: Ceramic tiles are great if you want to create a decorative design for your gunite pool. They can be cut into smaller pieces to form a mosaic, so you can achieve unique patterns and color combinations for your pool.

Call our team today to sign up for our pool installation service!

Are you looking to add a gunite pool to your property? If so, you've come to the right place! Here at Elite Pools, we offer a pool installation service to homeowners in Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, East Hampton, NY, and neighboring areas. This service ensures your pool is built to last with a thorough installation process that includes everything from obtaining the permit and preparing the foundation to applying the pool finish and filling it with water. We'll work with you to determine the best material for your gunite pool's finish! Call us today at (631) 537-5055 to sign up for this service.