Water is a hard client
A pool tile lives in treated water and full sun, year round.
It must hold colour against chlorine, hold its grip against water, and hold its face against a decade of light. Most tiles cannot. Glass mosaic can.
Why pools read blue
Water borrows its colour from what it sits in.
Blues and turquoise blends return the sky and make the water read clean and deep. Darker blends make a pool read still and expensive. Sand and white make it read shallow and bright.
There is no wrong answer, only the mood you want at three in the afternoon.
The unglamorous heroes
A pool finish is only as good as what holds it: the gum cement that fixes the sheets and the grout that closes the lines.
Pool-grade adhesive is not a place to save. It is the difference between a finish and a repair.
Renovating an old pool
Old pools come back. The shell is inspected, the tired finish comes off, the surface is trued, and new mosaic goes on.
A renovation is measured like a new finish: the surface area decides the sheets, the condition decides the preparation.
Asked every week
What is the best tile for a swimming pool?
Glass mosaic. It is colourfast against treated water and sun, and it is what we put in our own projects.
How long does a pool finish last?
A glass mosaic finish laid on sound preparation is a decade-plus finish. The preparation is most of the answer.
Can you re-tile an existing pool?
Yes. Renovations and mosaic replacement are half the work we do. Send photos of the pool as it stands.
What is gum cement?
The adhesive that fixes mosaic sheets to the pool shell. We stock pool-grade gum cement beside the tiles.