Since it is my job to clean off the hard water stains and calcium deposits from pool tile, I'll answer from that perspective. Grout lines are the most difficult part to clean. Since larger tiles have fewer grout lines they are usually easier to clean. My personal preference though is 1" irridescent glass tiles covering the entire pool, for the elegant look.
To replace the decorative tile border on a concrete pool, the pool will have to be drained. The old tile needs to be taken off and a new tile with waterproof grout or concrete can be installed. The pool should dry for a week or so, before it is refilled.
tile Definitely tile!
no
The glazing on tile happens at about 1400-2200 degrees, so only if you can get the pool up to a rather warm temp
No, it is not recommended.
You don't need to tile a pool, if you use a good waterproof concrete render and paint it using proper swimming pool paint. (don't use emulsion)
High pH
No the pool doesn't "have" to be drained. Are you replacing all the tile or just making a repair? Small repairs can easily be done by lowering the waterline to just below the tile. There are also new methods of cleaning tile to restore it to near it's original look. If you are changing the tile your tile setter will probably drain the water.
Buy a great product called Borderlines adhesive tile borders for swimming pool liners, you can find it at any pool and spa website.
No. The tile resisist a water line stain. While paint does not.
it depends on the size…but normally it would cost like 96¢ for a tile that would be the size of a 4 by 4 tile.
You can drill through tile, but doing so would most likely crack and break the entire tile. It is not recommended to drill through a tile, unless it is a soft tile, where the tile will not break if drilled through.