No, it's not enough room unless your serviceman is a midget. It will also be likely to flood in a heavy rain. The motors don't like being submerged, even partially. The foam insulation will get wet and mold/mildew will form in places you can't get at. I don't like saying it but I have to. IMHO, sinking it into the ground, surrounded by concrete is not a good idea. There are a number of custom skinning products that can be used if you don't like the look of the side panels on the spa and want something that better matches the decor and color schemes you like for your backyard paradise. Happy Easter! Scott

So a month has flown by and we finished our second gunite shoot last week so I finally have a little extra time to give an update and post some pictures. First: There were some concerns brought to my attention about the quality of the plumbing (crossovers/heat bending and such) work so after looking into it a bit here is what I did. 1. I had 25 yards of sand and AB gravel delivered to my yard. 2. I proceeded to backfill the plumbing trenches with sand by hand/shovel and water hose until a good layer of sand was underneaththe plumbing. This took two days but I think it was worth the effort. 3. I then used a mix of AB and sand to continue filling the trenches 1/3 up, and any crossovers to get adequate support. 4. I then hauled out 30 yards of trenched dirt/rock as it was not my intention to use any of this crappy material to fill back in the plumbing trenches. 5. On the first gunite shoot I used the gunite rebound (3 or 4 yards) and lots of water to continue filling trenches. 6. The next day I used a bobcat to finish backfilling the trenches with AB gravel to grade level. 7. The plumbing has been under pressure at 40 psi for over a month with no problems. (I was told by some very reputable plumbers that setting the plumbing pressure any higher then this is a bad idea.) Undoubtably my plumbing will last for 20+ years maintainance free! :) Second: I took some extra time and expense to have the engineering firm I used send out an engineer for two on-site inspections just before each gunite shoot. It was good piece of mind for me to have the engineer on site and give final approval of the construction before gunite. Neil Anderson is the engineering firm and I am not sure if you could find one person in Northern CA who would disagree with the statement that they are the best there is. All right, onto the pictures and the progress. One week later it was time for the second gunite shoot: So I am calling it a little over half way done at this point and it has been time consuming road to get to this point as an owner builder. But I still have to say that doing an owner/build is a GREAT way to go. I would recommend it to anyone instead of using a pool builder unless you live in TX near Kelly. Then I would just use him!

I have 3 sheer descents (24in wide each) on a raised wall 3 feet. I have one pump. The water either returns through the pool returns or through the sheer descents. No separate suction. I have a variable speed pump so it is programmed to run my sheers at a higher RPM. I don't know what sound effect you are looking for, but at full blast, these things are loud. I do not have a spa.

eriky....Thanks for sharing your thoughts on our faux rock. Our PB said the costs are roughtly about the same, but I think it depends on how much rock and how labor intensive the rock kit from Rico Rock is. They have modular kits, hybrid kits and also entirely custom jobs with onsite trained labor to use a combination of their products to create the design intent. They sell only through local PB's who have prior installation experience or attended training courses. The modular kits can be installed by handy DIY'ers and only require mortar. The hybrid kits require trained labor as these kits require rebar, concrete and some forming prior to concrete pouring. The custom jobs are done by trained folks who have expertise in using combinations of boulders and rock panels to create large rock formations...there's some impressive structures on their website...including a pool house that is made entirely of Rico Rock product and looks like a massive rock structure from the outside but has televisions, wet bar and hot tub inside! Ours was a combination of modular and hybrid kits and we had someone from their headquarters in Orlando, FL on site for a few days to help the PB hands with installation. I was also there the entire time to makes sure the boulders were placed as specified and make any last minute changes in boulder placement to create the look we wanted. For this part of the country, the labor was about the same as the actual product costs...example, if the boulder/kit costs were $10K total, the labor to install would be $10K for a total cost of $20K for the entire rock job. This will likely vary depending on region of the country and local labor costs. Hope this helps!