I don't have any good pictures of my old pool, but it was literally easement to easement and pretty small to boot. The back side of it, was just coping, with 8' of grass to the fence (basically, the back easement); this is where my chaises ended up. One whole end was a waterfall and the spa, and the other two sides had 4' of decking. In our case, we probably had no business putting a pool in that backyard, but gosh was it beautiful! I never regretted it - I just wished it had been more practical. The new pool will have a 15 x 15 area in the sun for chaises, and the existing 13 x 18 patio will be covered with a pergola, for shade. The pergola will be at the end of the pool, the new patio at the side, and on the other side, there will only be 4'. And, once again, the pool is going to be tiny. We're calling it a glorified water feature. :-) Here's the plan. This isn't the final drawing, and is missing some bells and whistles (flagstone inlays and bubblers on the sunshelf) but I think it'll be just right:

I am in the finally stages of my pool and I have noticed a ton of hair line cracks all around the poured in place concrete coping. I do not like the look, obviously, but am afraid with time and water seeping in cracks it will deteriorate. Is this acceptable with a new pool and what should I tell the PB? Also the stamp concrete has two very long cracks right by the cut lines. Please advise as I still have a small outstanding balance and want it to be right. Thanks

mcoughlin, I'm not very familiar with Vinyl pools. The fill and compaction around the structure should provide some clue for your concrete contactor as to which method may be best for your application. The mastic joint helps keep water from getting under the concrete when making two pours and provides for expansion to reduce cracking. Shedding water away from the pool is important. I'm not a fan of the dowel being used. While it's good construction practice in most cases, around a pool it can produce areas that can rust in the future. You should look at what's common in your area and what's common around vinyl pools in your area. That will give you the best idea of what works best.

The coping stones should have a mortar joint between the stones to allow for expansion and contraction. They are moving as a "unit" over the winter, and causing the setting material to crack away beneath. the stones need to move individually. There should also a minimum of a 1/2" joint between the back of the coping stone and your concrete patio.The joint gets filled with self leveling caulk type material such as Deck-O-Seal. If the patio is up against or very close to close the back of the coping, it will move over the winter and push the coping around and cause cracks. If you had tile in place, that probably would have cracked as well. An 8" beam does not provide a stable base for 12" material. With a 2" overhang into the pool, there's still 2" hanging off the back which subject to frost heaves.