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How do I get your product to me?
Answer-Since we ship FOB THURMONT, all shipping costs are at the expense of the customer. We have four options for "getting the material". 1. Going to a Distributor and seeing if they have or can order what you need. We have several in the metro area, please call for details. 2. Picking up at our plant in Thurmont, Maryland. Many customers choose this option if the job is within a few hours. 3. We can ship your order via a number of different LTL haulers. We work very closely with several major carriers to get the best discounts for our customers. Carries such as: Pitt Ohio, R & L Trucking, Yellow Freight, Estes are all in and out of our plant daily. 4. If your order is such that you need a private hauler, we have several to choose from. With the convenience of a flatbed, it often pays to add some additional pallets since the cost is for the truck, you might as well fill it up.What is the cost associated with shipping?
Answer-To answer this question exactly, you'll need to contact us directly. We'll need your shipping Zip Code and how much weight you'll be shipping. Generally, shipping anywhere within a few hundred miles will cost about $400.00Are there any additional charges?
Answer-No, some companies might charge a palletizing fee or additional handling charges. We do not have any additional shipping charges. When in doubt, please call for further information.How can I determine which Coping Stones are best for me?
Answer- First of all you need to know if you are doing a new project or a renovation. With New projects the sky's the limit. Because, nothing has been decided yet. Thickness of bond beam, type of coping, color, texture, are all up for discussion. If your project is a standard renovation your choices are reduced to what you already have on the pool (unless of course you are doing a major renovation). You may decide to change from brick to coping or vise-versa. The determining factor will be your original thickness of your edging and the condition of your deck. You don't want your new coping or brick work to be above the deck. This is what we call a "toe-stub" which is unsafe.How do I best handle the curves in my pool?
Answer- We refer to the "curves" as radii, more commonly known as radius. With radius we have two types. Standard and Reverse. Since a radius is nothing more than a curved line, it is very important to note how it relates to the water! Click on this link to go to our COPING LAYOUT TERMS CHART. If you have a complex project, scaled drawings are always best to send us. 1/4"=1' are perfect. Larger commercial projects will most likely be 1/8"=1' which will be fine. A good rule of thumb, the greater the detail, the bigger the scale! In any case, even a hand sketch is worth a thousand words. We're happy to read any drawings and give you our opinions. Either fax to 301-271-1870 or e-mail to fscoping@msn.What is a Radiuschart and how do I get one?
Answer- A Radiuschart is a tool for the Pool Professional. This tool is used to determine a radius of a pool wall. It offers, at a glance, many of the common radius that are used in pool building. Once a pool is "shot" (if you are working with a gunite or shotcrete) you lay the Radiuschart on the beam and move the chart until the beam radius matches a radius line on the chart. We have Radiuscharts available for sale. Please order yours today; ask for Carol, David or Gus to get more details.
Below is a typical wall detail. Please note the angle of the expansion joint. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. This angle will prevent the deck slab from pinching the bond beam and / or coping during a freeze/thaw cycle, which is when most decks are going to heave. Remember, the back of the coping is the front form of your deck. Keep it clean and true, no voids or pockets.
Do you recommend any type of additives while making the mortar bed?
Answer- Yes, an additive will improve the "stickiness" of you mortar. The problem is trying to get a cured coping stone (or brick) to "stick" to an already cured bond beam! Click on the link to read more about Acryl 60. Other additives are available such as Sure Bond. Any questions or concern contact your chemical manufacture of choice.
Any recommendation for mortar beds and/or grout joints?
Answer- First timers... Use White Sand and White Cement. Keep you, and your work clean. Wipe up any cement spills and / or splashes quickly. General ratios for mortar bed- 1 part White Portland Cement to 2 White Sand. Ratios for Grout Joints- 1 part White Portland Cement to 3 parts White Sand Experience Coping installers... generally by the 3rd pool you'll have gather enough experience that you can switch to the Grey, less expensive cement. Still stay with the Portland Type I. Use white Portland Cement for grout joints. Again a 1:3 ratio works well. Watch the air temperature as well as sunshine, both can effect the workability of cement. DO NOT MAKE MORE THAN YOU CAN USE IN A 15 MINUTE PERIOD. Make less, more often!
What happened to this coping, what could have been done differently?
Answer- This coping was holding a track for the Auto Cover. The water level was lowered during winterization and the cover wasn't "pumped off". The weight of the water on the cover was no longer being supported by the water in the pool and all the weight was now transferred to the plastic wall anchors under the coping. Since the cover was being pulled taunt toward the center of the cover, that energy caused the anchors to exert side pressure and eventually a failure. What should have been done differently? First, never drop your water level in the pool with the auto cover over the water. Secondly, regularly pump off cover. Third, DO NOT USE the auto cover as a "winter cover". Lastly, a wider coping stone (14") is generally used. The track should be installed as far back (toward tile-line) as possible. Anchors should be installed closer to the center of the stone, NOT toward the grout joints.
Keep checking back with us as more and more questions are asked,
and we hope... Answered!