Susan, let me tell ya pools are a lot of work and money, we have already spent about 2000.00 on ours and it's that way every year with one thing or another needing replaced, repaired. Motors cost around 500 buck and up, skimmer 300 to 400 bucks on and on. Just for the maintenance guy to come out and do something it cost $292.00 in labor, this is even if it's to change out a 50 cents part if you can't do it yourself. I don't like missing with trying to fix anything on the pool cause there is so much to know about them. Pressure gauge has to be kept at a certain setting or you can do damage. I am so ready to have our inground pool filled in with dirt and make a really nice big patio. DH is the water baby, me I only get in it in the evening because I don't like the sun beating down on me. I've never had an above ground pool so I can't say anything about them. Well, as you can see everyone has an opinion and you'll have to make up your mind if it's worth having a pool. BTW, Don't get a big pool ours is 35,000 gal and it's a lot to clean, takes more salt, takes more money to keep up. From what I have learned watching HGTV most pools do not add value to a home so if you ever sell you may or may not get your money in return. Don't not ask anyone that your looking at pools if it adds value they'll mostly tell you yes, ask a real estate person. Now for the fun part, our inground does not get hot, it is nice and refreshing, the water is at least 20 degrees cooler than the outside temp. As for a fence I think that you would have to have a fence so no one can get to it, at least I would want it for my own state of mind knowing no one could get in and drowned and it would keep you from being liable should something like that happened. You do have teenagers and should you ever leave town and no ones at home kids find out even if it for the day they have gone to peoples home to swim, the temptation is there.

We are in Kansas City, where there aren't as many pools and pricing isn't as competetive, so your bids sound quite low. Our lot is wooded, steep and sloped away from the house, and we also are sitting on solid rock. Our first bid just for excavation and building a retaining wall to hold the pool was $35,000. That was for a 7 to 9 foot wall on the back side of the pool using 12" high natural rocks. Then a standard 16 x 32 kidney shaped pool (with deep end for diving) was going to be another $50 to $60,000 on top of that. That pricing included black plaster, the pool deck, SWG, in-floor cleaning and all equipment. No spa. The second bid (which we ended up going with) was just over $100,000 all-inclusive for a 500+ sq ft natural pool (3.5 - 5.5 ft depth) including a negative edge with waterfall into a smaller pool below that is convertible into a hot tub. In this contract, the cost of landscaping included $22,000 to build a series of stepped dry-stacked retaining walls with planter beds on the backside of the pool to blend with existing retaining walls on the property, and boulder landscaping for $12,000 to bridge between the two levels of pools. The boulders also continue under the water line into the lower pool in one corner to tie into the waterfall. The cost of landscaping also includes removing existing dry-stacked retaining walls that were in the construction area, but not tree removal. The third bid we got (just a general price with no detail) was $120 - $130,000 for a lagoon style pool with grotto, spa and waterfall, and included a large single retaining wall on the backside. These bids were from the top 3 (high-end) pool builders in Kansas City, all with great reputations and highly recommended. Unfortunately, the company we ended up going with (Sun & Swim Pools, in business since 1958) ended up going bankrupt in April during our pool build, and we have contracted with another PB to complete our pool. In comparison, your bid sounds very low, so be very careful in selecting your PB.

Are you talking about a cantilever deck? That is what I have on my pool. Mine is an older one and has cool deck.The biggest bonus for us is that it doesn't get hot, so sitting on it is pretty comfy no matter how hot it gets outside. I am sure there are a lot of newer pool builds here that have the stamped concrete run all the way to the pool edge. It seems to be very common (at least in our area) with the newer ones.

The most mold/mildew resistant products are the ones with the least wood fiber, so something like Azek (by TimberTech) might be preferable to Trex. Otherwise, as long as the structural engineering works out, a synthetic deck sounds like it would be a good choice. These materials get uncomfortably hot in direct sun, but if it’s a shaded location that shouldn’t be a problem.