There were several good showrooms, but due to our (small) budget, we ended up at Poway's Home Depot (up on Scripps Poway Parkway). One of the KD's there, Maddie, was a blessing! She was another one that was good to work with, and is fully certified. She's not pushy. The only thing about Home Depot is that you have to pay them $100 to come out and fully measure your kitchen. But if you do end up buying cabinets from them, they refund the $100. Maddie did our kitchen design last June but we just missed catching her last weekend, when we buzzed through HD, so I know she's still there. Maddie will let you know if the brand of cabinets you've chosen are coming up on sale, or if there are any other specials coming up (like a free sink or something). Good luck to both of you! With the fires, a lot of contractors are really busy, so it's best to start planning NOW. DonnaR/CA

Hi Chris, I very much like having a SWG...the saltwater is softer on the eyes/hair/bathing suits, etc. I got it as an upgrade to the original contract because everyone here seemed to like them quite well. Originally, the unit that was installed 2 years ago was a Watermaid. The Watermaid runs with a higher salt content than most other manufacturer's units (6,000-7,000 ppm compared to 3,200-3,500 ppm in most units). Prior to running into the problem with the salt water corroding the pool cover, I did not particularly like the Watermaid as it tended to develop air bubbles when i switched the solar heating on and off and the SWG would often stop working after the solar was running. The unit MV replaced the Watermaid with is an Intellichlor. So far, so good (although, truth be told, I actually preferred the feel of the water with the higher salt content). As to coverstar v. coverpools, I can't say that I can truly compare the two. MV pools uses Coverpools so CoverStar was not an option. Had I wanted to go with Coverstar, I probably would have had to have subcontracted that portion out. Because I wanted it to be an inground unit, it had to be designed and built together with the pool. The CoverStar cover I had on my last pool was a much simpler system -- it was an aftermarket, deckmounted unit. It was not connected with the sheer descents, so there were no sensors to break down, no SWG, etc. Therefore, I can't really compare the two units, as it's not an apples-to-apples kind of comparison. Customer service (Alternative Pool Systems for the CoverPool and PoolSafe for the Coverstar) for both companies is excellent, though...I'd probably say Eric from Alternative Pool Systems (the one Mission Valley Deals with) would get the nod, as he has been exceedingly responsive and was totally on top of things with the corrosion issues). As for the decking, I purchased the pavers from Ackerstone in Corona. I liked their selection much more than what I had seen at RCP and KRC. Except for Friday mornings when Ackerstone sells their overruns at a *tremendous* discount to the general public (I got pavers that normally sold for more than $5 sq. ft. for $ .80 a sq. ft (yes, 80 cents!)), they only sell to contractors. Since I was in the process of a home remodel at the time I was able to use my contractor to effect the purchase. Southwest Boulder in Fallbrook is a distributor for Ackerstone, and I also bought additional pavers from them when I purchased my flagstone (they have a great selection!) as the delivery costs were lower. The coping and most of my decking, seating and retaining walls were installed by MV's mason - Uriel Hurtado. Notwithstanding a couple of issues that arose with the retaining walls owing to an over-zealous building inspector, Uriel was a pleasure to work with. He had some very creative ideas, and was very fair with his pricing. After the remodel/addition was finished (which was nearly 4 months after the pool was done), I took on landscaping and needed to make some changes to the decking (we moved a couple of doors going out the the deck and added a door to the master bath and guest bath). These were done by my landscaper as the pool had been completed and we had since moved on project-wise.

http://www.calaquapros.com/ these builders are good with plenty of references.

Hi Kaysd, I am on the east coast but have a sister on the west coast. I do not have personal experience with the below but thought I would toss these in from my sister. I asked my sister to recommend some places she and her husband have used for remodels on their real estate ventures. Here are three. Keith of AAA woodworking (760) 436-2536 aaawoodcrafters.com/ 533 2nd Street #112 Encinitas, CA 92024 They do not use credit cards but do excellent work at a fair price. Well they did not use credit cards years back when she hired them. They match wood amazingly not sure about new kitchen but expansion and renovation projects they have been awesome for my sister. Call and get a quote. They are not in San Diego but worth the call. ----------------- This guy has amazing talent. He does beautiful floor tile or backsplashed. Reliable, honest and hardworking. Don't know his last name. Steve (619) 723-6561 4575 Haines St San Diego, CA 92109 ----------------- My sister has never used Miramar but was in a home done by this co. Beautiful work. She said if and when she does a full kitchen reno she is hiring them. Fantastic, honest, and worth every penny. Miramar Kitchen & Bath (858) 271-8434 8454 Commerce Ave Ste B San Diego, CA 92121 Hope these help, ~boxer