Flagstone Coping

[SPitz]

We're in the process of having our IG pool built. Site was dug this past Wednesday, Rebar installed on Thursday, Initial plumbing on Friday and gunite is scheduled for Monday. We're obviously not ready for coping yet, but wanted some input while we're deciding on coping.

We're planning on having Flagstone coping. My question is does flagstone hold up well with a salt water system and are there any issues we should be aware of regarding Flagstone.

Thanks in advance!

Steve

[dep78737]

Flagstone is a very generic term. Some are hard & durable, some soft & sandy and others are flaky. Ours is a little flaky, much less so now that it's about 2 years old. Salt has not been an issue but you occasionally see warnings floating around. The concentration in the water is low but you could potentially have a build up where it splashes out and evaporates repeatedly. I personally doubt it will have any long term effect so we went with stone.

[sunofthebeach]

My flagstone is soft and flaky. Over the past 3 years, my flagstone went from flat on top to having pits and holes. It doesn't look bad, just weathered. My flagstone has corners and it is tough on your back if you lean against it.

If I could do it over I would get the regular grey or white brick bull nose coping.

[KT]

Our flagstone was installed last June, so it's coming up on 1yr. We also have a SWG system. The 'type' of flagstone we have is an "Oklahoma Wister". It is not flaky, but it does tend to generate sand and has really obtained a weathered look to it. There are a few locations that have some pitting, where others have actually worn in a very smooth pattern. Something that our builder/contractor did was to bevel the bottom corner near the water, so there is not a sharp edge to hit your head on.

KT

[Theusla]

I have the Arizona flagstone which is both flakey and sandy. If I could do it over I would stay from it.