Thank you all for your help, Here is further info, My pool is rectangular 18 X 36, with a kiddie pool extensinsion that continues as a rectangle 8 X 12.the pool( I had put 18X12 by mistake earlier.) is a gunite pool, goes from 3' deep to 7' deep. My question was how many gallons does the pool hold(I'm guessing 25,000.also how many returns should I have, and how many skimmers? also how many HP should my filter pump need to be. My last question I've been sweeping my pool twice a day for almost 2 weeks now, as the builder has reccomended due to the plaster, which is a 3M product carribean blue. My problem is that the PH is very high over 8. I have been using Bioguard PH decreaser for the last few days but the PH is still high, do you have any sugestions? or does this take time because of the new plaster? Thank you Plasman

Lights and returns will all wind up being deeper than intended. Skimmers would have to be jacked out and replaced. Your PC/PB is trying to do it cheaper, easier, and IMHO, wrong. The top of the beam is where a monolithic shell needs to be the strongest. You can't just shoot it to get it higher. That leaves the top few inches without steel. I can almost guaranty he wasn't planning on adding steel to the top of the beam. I happen to think that top50 hit the nail on the head when he suggested jacking the bottom, cutting the existing steel, digging down to the proper depth and adding steel in the approved manner of drilling and epoxying. The water line will usually be several inches below the top of the beam. Scott

We also live in Central NJ and we just went swimming for the first time in our NEW pool this past weekend (see my post a little further down this page to see pictures). There are a lot of other things you'll need to factor into the price based on what you are looking for but I'll share my quote below so you can get an idea... our pool is larger than what you noted but we found that adding 1 square foot equaled approx $10. So, this could help you calculate different sq. footage. 750 sq ft free form gunite pool (3 1/2 ft - 6 1/2 ft depth) Building permits, structural plans & topographical survey Excavation, removal of soil and or grade around pool area Safety construction fence Concrete Shell with 'lifetime structural guarantee' 4000 PSI 6" band of frost proof tile White marble interior finish Four shallow end steps Custom built swim out love seat 2 HP DE 60 Jandy filter Energy Saving time clock 1 surface skimmer, safety suction main drain, 2 directional inlets (all 2" PVC pipe) 1 500 watt pool light Saftey ropes, floats with recessed hooks Leaf net, backwash hose, pole, vac head, brush, test kit, thermometer 3 ft concrete walkway around entire pool 50 sq foot thermal ledge Bluestone 12" coping Polaris 280 w/ booster pump 400,000 BTU Heater Electric up to 150' ($5 each additional ft) Gas up to 40' ($10 each additional ft) The quote for everything listed above was $38,000 Hope that helps give you an idea!

If a sun shelf is done right, it can easily eat up a ton more gunite than regular pool floor. The shelf should be dug to below the frost line and filled in solid from there up. Otherwise you could easily have water freeze/thaw under the shelf and cause issues. 1. I am installing a heat pump on mine... but I have no real-world experience yet on this. Gas/propane will heat faster and earlier/later in the season. But will cost more. 2. I would just recommend that you insist that it is all on the engineering drawings and not just "off-the-cuff" by the PB. That way an engineer signs off on the whole thing. I'd really recommend the LED light. Add a second one if you want to be sure to get full coverage. An LED light draws about 30 watts... as opposed to a regular light that is hundreds of watts. I had 3 LED lights installed. Will not have them on for a while yet, but I would not go with anything other than 12V LED pool light.