This week, we made a good bit of progress on the deck: about 2/3s of the surface and the planting areas. If it was a traditional install, we'd have been done a while ago, but it's a very time-intensive install with a lot of in-between steps and the heat makes things tough to plow through.
But with progress comes questions. Directly around the pool, we need coping. This was originally planned to be wood to match the deck, but given how much moisture and wear it will see, we're considering an even more durable material like concrete or stone. The material needs to be 3/4in thick, so countertop-style granite (2cm) would be ideal, but expensive. Wood would be the cheapest and easiest to install. Custom concrete tiles would be interesting and potentially cost effective… Thoughts?
Edit: A stopped at a few countertop shops yesterday and today and piked up some samples. Here is the backside of a jet-black countertop granite (when polished) staged at the edge (with some water splashed on the bottom two pieces… but otherwise all the same stone). I think I like it! Some sealer will make it look more gray than white. It's amazing that on the other (polished) side, it's jet black.
seriously beautiful.