Thank you, although I can't take credit for the tile and stone selection. We all know its the wifes decision haha She picked it out and i agreed it is nice. As for the stone on the tanning ledge I am a little worried about it holding up in Salt Water that is why I was thinking about using a Sand color plaster for the tanning ledge and the Mediterranean color for the rest of the pool. Our PB told us that the flagstone will hold up very well since it will always be submerged. He informed us that the reason flagstone erodes is due to the water evaporating and leaving the Salt on the exposed flagstone on coping and decks? I am not sure about the heater yet the inspector has not come so i am not sure if it will pass. I will let you know what they say. what where the restrictions?

BrentR, good question. There are a couple of reasons. First was because we are planning on building a large covered living space off the back of our house with steps down to the pool deck. Second reason was that part of the yard was nice and flat which cut down on the excavation cost and we wouldn't be tearing up our existing sprinkler system (yet). Here is a rendering of our pool with the covered patio.

I know that a lot of people in the area have used Pineloch or Pearland Pools. Has anyone used Blue Bayou? They are a new company.

Hi! I can't recommend any builders in that part of town as I'm in Cypress but welcome! As for Salt vs chlorine - we went for salt as I have eczema and salt systems have always been better on my skin. I've been told salt can erode the rock if it is not treated and sealed regularly but if you stay on top of it and seal it every year it will be fine. We were in the same boat as you and didn't really know where to start so we looked at pools that we liked then took the plunge and got a pool builder round. It really helped to ask what they would recommend and see what was and wasn't possible. We got lucky with the first PB we spoke to (he's building our pool as I type) but would recommend speaking to at least a few so you can figure out the ones that are just trying to sell you particular items/products and those that are making sensible recommendations based on their experience and knowledge of pools.