Robin0919....while your statement below might be true on many occasions it is not in my case. I am an owner/builder and getting General Contractor pricing from the vendors and contractors. Even if I wasn't getting GC prices the 30-50% more is unheard of in my area. " I do know for a fact that if you're on O/B and getting prices from subs they will 'try' to charge you consumer price instead of GC's price even thou someone is building a whole house and not just a small project. Their price for consumers is usually around 30-50% higher than the GC price."

Definitely go with an installer that does high quality work. Find one that is certified and has good references. A hardwood floor will last the life of the home and it needs to be done right the first time. Probably the most overlooked aspect of installing any hard surface floor is the often tedious job of leveling the subfloor. Even though this is time consuming work required in almost all homes, the subject is glossed over in the DIY shows and install literature. It was the most difficult part of my DIY install. Flooring suppliers- your installer will likely have wood suppliers they have experience with and trust. They also have the option of marking up the price they pay by whatever they like. That's just the way it works. For example, our auto mechanic charged us $20 for new lug nuts that retail online for $8. The Graf Brothers random width (3",4",5", 7") red oak #1 common flooring I purchased directly was not as high in quality as I would have liked. There were too many boards high/low on width and too many high on moisture content. It made my install a PAIN having to work around this. If I did it over again, I would spend more (I paid $3.30/sf delivered) and go with a supplier that offered higher milling standards and better moisture control. Saving money- white oak and black walnut are the hot American hardwoods right now. The price of both has gone up significantly in the last few years. Red oak, on the other hand, has not been popular and the price has dropped significantly. Stained, red oak and white oak are almost identical. Red oak tends to have slightly more color variability in the natural form and also more variability in growth rates (ring spacing). It's not quite as hard as white oak, but hard enough for any active family. Finishes- your installer will recommend a finish for the wear your floor will encounter. I went with a tung/oil resin mixture, but this has a MAJOR disadvantage of slow dry time and smell. The commercial water-based finishes are probably the best choice for most people. A random width hardwood floor is unique looking and very beautiful. We are still happy with ours after 2 1/2 years: Here is a link that might be useful: Random width R&Q red oak floor

Hi, Trhought-- Glad you saw my post and were kind enough to respond. I see you often contribute to the discussion on this board even though you have completed your pool build and that is so great. I think if more pool owners would be willing to share and communicate with each other it would take a lot of the mystery out of this whole process and ultimately I think PBs would benefit because it would make it easier to make informed decisions. I have heard more than one person tell me they wouldn't mind having a pool or buying a house with already with one (that has stood the test of time) but the are so fearful of the whole pool building process. We all know when it comes to cars some people can or want different models with different features in different price ranges. Don't get me wrong, I don't know much about cars so DH always did the pre-shopping for that major expense (I ususally pick the color and a few options ;) so anyway, I hope people get what I am saying. It is hard to compare a PB who is an exclusive dealer for one manufacturer with another PB who is an exclusive dealer for someone else's product especially when there are alot of other factors to consider as well. What happens if I really prefer one PB but he doesn't sell or represent a particular product? Anyhow, again probably this process might be more difficult in my area where costs are higher in general and their is a more limited choice of PBs within a reasonable distance. Also, with pools not being a common homeowner amenity (yet)I found my fellow neighbors tend to be people who want to go as low as possible or others for whom money is no object. I appreciate quality, I am trying to understand value (price vs. durability, safety, economics of operation of equipement etc.) and understand contractors and other professionals need to be paid fairly. Just trying to put priorities on different components and understand their relative prices because excessive costs or markups on some items will mean postponing (if not forgoing) others. I will look again at your post with your pool information later because perhaps the Paramount system may be something to look into if it works better or equal and might possibly cost less to install--but then I would have to probably look at different PBs (as other ones did Polaris). As I know from the industry I used to work in sometimes the final cost has nothing to do with the quality or cost even of the product, but more to do with distribution channels and the volume of sales, market share, dealer incentives, etc. I actually don't want to unjustly rule out the good, quality builder because of unfair comparisions (not knowing what makes some things cost more, quality plumbing, amount and quality of gunite, etc.) If I can understand what and why I am paying more for something I will have more confidence that I can might the right decision for my personal circumstances. Yes, any and all information helps. Gee--at your price it sounds like a reasonable option, however that might depend on how your PB charged for your whole build. (yes, as someone else said in a recent post--after numbers getting so high it becomes relative--but it still is a lot of money for everthing all considered. Do you use a gmail to correspond off forum? Thanks so much again.

Sounds expensive. I'm in the middle of pricing for a San Francisco Victorian and looking at Marvin wood double hung (or wood with exterior Al cladding) and for 36x77, low-E 366, they are retailing at $730 a window (and qualify in the set-in, but not the sash-pack). Even with San Francisco's obscene labor rates of $400-500 a window, you're still only looking at $1250 a window or so. I don't know how pricing on casements compare to double hung, but sounds like Pella is far too expensive. They are about the only window that doesn't look completely out of place in a Victorian that I know of and the only one I've seen that doesn't shout "fake" from 100' away (I'd love to hear of others). I can also get custom sashes made here and installed for less than the cost of "factory" windows, even with the 30% tax rebate on the windows themselves. Something to consider if your climate isn't energy-intensive.