Hi, and thank you all for all your suggestions. Sorry it took me so long to respond. Had to switch gears and deal with getting our hardwood floors installed/finished. poolguynj I understand why you might say to go with an above ground pool but that's not really an option for us. We don't actually plan to move but in case we do, like we had in the past, I wanted to make sure that our choices are in line with what buyers might appreciate in terms of safety and maintenance and that we don't go overboard with expensive extras. At the same time we are in an upscale neighborhood so it cant look cheap. wkburt thanks for sharing your experience with the salt systems. I will definitely look into the ozone more. Which exact system do you have? poolweber your post was so helpful. I did what you said and drafted the depth with graph paper it definitely helped us visualize things. Thanks for reassuring us that the automatic cover is the way to go. Which brand do you have? How did choosing to go with an auto cover affect your other choices i.e. heater size, filter, cleaning system, sanitizing system etc? I am planning to meet with some PBs in the next week. Here are our thoughts as of now: Hoping we can afford gunite if not well have to do vinyl probably with graphex walls. 16x36 rectangle with water depth something like 3'-4" to 7-6" (volume I think between 20,000-27,000 gallons depending on exact bottom configuration) Automatic cover with hidden undertrack Deciding between: - Infinity 4000 (pool cover specialists, 7yr warranty on fabric, no problem using with Salt systems) - hydramatic (aquamatic, 7 yr warranty on fabric, hydraulic, net for water to drain out along with pump) - eclipse (coverstar) - Save-T 3 (big RED) (coverpools, 5 yr warranty on fabric) Large baja shelf/tanning ledge extending 4 or 5ft into the pool as first step with 6-7" of water. Not sure if we can have it slope from 1" to 6" (like a beach entry) would that work with a cover? Also not sure how we can configure it - whether to do it the whole width of the pool with steps after or whether we can have it in the middle with steps on either side. (That would mean that in the middle the depth would drop from 6" to 3'-4") Cartridge filter: pentair clean & clear plus 520 or jandy CL 580 Cleaner: still deciding between regular and robotic. Considering: The pool cleaner (by Poolvergnuegen), Polaris 280, Pentair Legend, Hayward Pool Vac Ultra vs. aquabot turbo, dolhin, tigershark, blue diamond Heater: As much as I would like to do a heat pump (read good reviews on Aquacal Super Quiet) not sure if there will much difference in savings with having the auto cover. Also what is the verdict on low nox? Looking at: Pentair MasterTemp 400 Jandy LXi 400 RayPak/Rheam/Ruud digital (Copper vs Cupro nickel vs. Asme -which one would you do?) Pump: Pentair intelliflo 4 speed VS vs. VS+SVRS vs. Variable speed VF Pentair 2speed whisperflo what hp? Sanitation still up in the air: Which actual ozone/other system do you recommend? Not sure if we should look at automation. Would love to have some water features. Not sure if there are any that are low cost/big impact i.e. Deck jets. Inexpensive ways to light the pool with led Lights? Which colored pool finishes to look at if we go with gunite that are relatively low cost and low maintenance (i.e no frequent acid washes)? Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

I am acting as my own pool contractor and asked around for the "best" tile guy in town. He is absolutely meticulous and makes some PBs crazy by being a perfectionist. On his advice we have used a sanded grout. All of the tile (and coping) has been thinset directly to the gunite. We do have glass accent tiles, but they are a bit different as the glass in actually set in tile type backing. I do know that if you have sand set pavers and have the coping bonded to the pool beam there is no need for the expansion joint. Here is a picture of my spillway wall, coping & waterline tile as well as a closeup of the skimmer mouth

Update: Pool builder agrees that this displays poor workmanship by the subcontractor. It will be replaced and done to my satisfaction. Travertine has natural color differences, but in addition to the poor workmanship, the travertine around the spa is a totally different color than around the pool. My concerns were not only with the poor workmanship of installation, but that I wouldn't like the replacement when installed properly. The initial suggestion was to solve the two problems by changing the spa coping to flagstone. However, I specifically chose travertine because of the bull-nosed edge...and I want the spa coping to match the pool coping. (We already have a "slate/pepper" colored water-line tile, natural rock weeping wall, and pea-gravel deck, so I don't really want to introduce yet another material.) Custom fitted travertine caps are a little out of our price range. (and I don't want concrete forms either) What would you do/ask for????

petra, we are building a house right now and one thing I have learned through this process is to trust the doubts you are having. I have found that when things are truly "right", and what I deep down want, i haven't had any doubts. When I let my husband talk me into something that wasn't quite what I wanted, or hastened my decision despite some nagging misgiving, it was wrong. If you are able to catch your cabinet order in time, you may be able to hold it up until you are very sure. You will be living with this for a long time and should not let a kitchen designer or anyone else push you. I'll give you an example of something I knew wasn't right, but let others talk me into it. My kitchen window. It is 8 feet long and will be just above the backsplash to allow for electrical outlets to be placed. (Otherwise I would have gone down to the counter with the window). I was talked into double hungs (3 of them in a bank of windows) despite the fact I was concerned about the center of the window cutting into my view outside. It was not a cheap window. Well, the window came and was installed. I walked in the house that I am loving each and every day and started crying. I HATED the window. The center of the windows cut my view exactly at eye level. I had originally wanted a slightly larger fixed center pane with two casement windows on either side (a triple casement) but had been talked out of it due to safety concerns of the window opening into the porch a bit. My gut knawed at me about the double hungs, but we ordered them anyway. My new kitchen window arives this week. I will put a wooden barrel by the window with flowers on it so no one walks into the window. I am at peace. Mine was "only" a $2,000 mistake. Kitchen cabinets cost a great deal more. Sandy