Pool surround finishes compared: honed, exposed aggregate or broom

Three concrete finishes do most of the work around pools on the coast: honed concrete, exposed aggregate and a broom finished plain slab. Honed gives the smooth, seamless surround the design magazines show; exposed aggregate gives the most grip and hides splash and stains; a broom finish does the job for the least money. Which one is right depends on how the surround will be used, how much sun it gets and what the rest of the outdoor area looks like.

Honed concrete

Honed concrete is poured, cured and then ground back so the top of the aggregate shows as a smooth, matte surface, then sealed. It is the finish behind the seamless pool decks that photograph so well, and it suits modern coastal homes where the pool surround runs into the alfresco as one floor. The honest caveat is grip: a honed surface is smoother than the other two, so the depth of the grind, the sealer and any slip resistant additive matter around water. Done properly it is a comfortable, cool, low glare surface. Done cheaply it is a skating rink.

Exposed aggregate

Exposed aggregate is washed back after placing to reveal the stone, then sealed. Around a pool it has two clear advantages: the stone texture gives more grip underfoot than any flat finish when wet, and the mottled surface hides the splash marks, sunscreen and leaf stains that a plain surround shows. Lighter blends, creams and buffs with white or pale stone, stay cooler in the sun and reflect less harshly than a bright white slab. It sits at the top of the price range, and like any sealed finish it needs resealing every few years, more often around chlorine and salt. The exposed aggregate page covers the blends.

Broom finished plain concrete

A plain slab with a broom drag is the practical option. The broom lines give grip, it costs the least of the three, and in a pale grey it stays reasonably cool. It shows stains and wear more than the others and it reads as functional rather than designed, which is fine for a surround that will be mostly covered by furniture, or for the back half of a yard where the budget is better spent on the alfresco.

Grip when wet

This is the test that matters most and the one that separates the finishes. Exposed aggregate grips best. A broom finish grips well. Honed concrete depends entirely on how it is done: a light hone with a matte sealer and a slip additive is fine; a deep polish with a glossy sealer is not a pool surround. Whatever the finish, the surround is formed to fall away from the coping so water sheds off the surface rather than sitting on it, because a wet film on any surface is slippery.

Heat and glare

Bare feet on a January afternoon are the other test. Dark surfaces, charcoal aggregate or dark coloured concrete, get uncomfortably hot; pale surfaces stay walkable. The flip side is glare: a bright white honed surround beside a pool in full sun can be hard on the eyes, which is why off white and soft stone tones are the usual choice rather than pure white.

Salt, chlorine and sealing

Pool water is hard on sealers. Chlorinated and salt water pools both attack the surface over time, and salt air on the beach side suburbs adds to it. All three finishes can be sealed; honed and exposed aggregate must be. The sealer is chosen for wet feet and chemical exposure rather than for gloss, and the reseal interval is shorter around a pool than on a driveway. Our guide to sealing concrete on the coast goes into when and how often.

Falls, drainage and the coping

Whichever finish, the surround is formed to fall away from the pool so splash and rain run to a drain or the garden, not back into the pool or against the house. Where the surround meets the coping, the levels are set so there is no lip to catch a toe. Where it meets the alfresco, the finish can continue as one floor or change at a formed joint. Those are forming decisions made at the site measure, and they matter more than the finish to how the surround lives day to day.

Where each one lands

Plain broom finish sits at the bottom of the pool surround range, exposed aggregate at the top, and honed with it. The rates guide publishes the current range for pool surrounds, supplied and laid per square metre, and a surround poured on the same visit as the alfresco slab costs less than one on its own.

Location pages this guide applies to: Mooloolaba, Kawana, Buderim, Coolum, Noosa.