We used Shasta and couldn't be happier with their service. We chose chlorine with ozone over salt. Love it, never have a chlorine smell, the water is always crystal clear.

Even the Kool-deck won't be cool in Phoenix. We still have to wear flip-flops walking the 8 feet from the loungers to the pool steps, it is too hot. I would save the money covering your patio, get some nice grass mats that you can shake off and roll up in the off season.

One thing I wish I had done was to get the biggest swimout shelf you can. We pull our loungers into the pool (the swimout is 18" deep) and we can fit two loungers but just barely. I also like to sit on the swimout and do stretches. Ours is 8x9, I would have it at least 10x12' if I could do it again.

Thanks for the reply. You really have me thinking about the Kool Deck now. If you still need flip flops then why cover the patio? Also, can you tell me if you have had any after the build service calls with Shasta? I have heard their follow up service may be lacking. We have talked to Premier and have our next appointment with California.

How long have you had your pool and ozone/chlorine system?

Thanks again

We are in the process of building a pool and are doing ozone & inline chlorinator. I am glad to hear that you are happy with your system. We are doing kool deck also...We are in the Dallas Ft Worth Area where it is hot but not as hot as phoenix. The grass mats sound like an interesting idea. Do you have a pics of your pool etc?

We have about the same setup as you do with covered patio and the pool near by. We did the kool deck and did the patio area as well. I think it ties the area. No matter what you do it will be to hot to walk on. We just did travertine for our front walk and it now looks like the patio will be getting the same. Thats what the boss tells me anyway. And then maybe around the pool.

we have acrylic/cool decking as well. It is hot when dry, but cools down just fine when wet. Just spray it down and the water will settle in the dips and will stay there. No problems w it being hot as long as it stays wet, which is easy if you have kids in and out of the pool.

I also have a swg and love it. Would difinatly do again. Only things i have to add to the pool is stabilizer 1-2 times a year, and acid 1X week for the ph. Other than that nothing. My pool has been crystal clear for over 3 yrs. Never any problems w cloudy water, algea, cloramines, etc.

I do have flagstone coping and do have some flaking, but the stone obviously has visible layers through out the stone and would flake anyway. Just hose off the stone after swimming. I love the look of natural stone.

Good luck on your decisions, it's a personal choice so do what you think looks good.

Newbie,
What part of town are you in, maybe I can refer some quality builders to you.
Shasta is hurting big time, and may be the first large company to go down here. They always use that line about the small builders, but now the shoe is on the other foot.

Quote: "but as soon as we talked with the first builder he tried to steer us to Ozone with Chlorine"

Are you talking about an ozone system in conjunction with an inline chlorinator? If so, the dirty little secret of inline chlorinators is that you have to use trichlor pucks and they put stablizer, PH reducer and chlorine in your pool all at once. Sounds OK, but everything gets used up by the pool EXCEPT the stabilizer. So you keep putting more and more stabilizer in as the months go by and the stabilizer level keeps climbing until the pool is so saturated that your chlorine becomes ineffective. At that point you have to drain your pool and fill it all over again. Some pools can go a couple of years, some not even one season. We started with an inline chlorinator and kept an eye on the stabilizer level. I was shocked at how quickly it climbed, within 2 months we were already exceeding the recommended level. We ended up switching to an SWG after that. I've heard that ozonators can help reduce your chlorine needs, so you may be able to go years before replacing your water. But I've also heard that ozonators are ineffective, so I'm not sure what to believe on those. Anyway, don't believe it when pool shops tell you that your water goes "bad" and needs to be replaced now and then. It's BS concocted to hide the fact that inline chlorinators cannot control stabilizer levels. If the stabilizer level is kept in check (easy with an SWG) and the chemicals kept balanced the water will last indefinitely.

Thanks for everyones input. We are going to go with Acrylic for the decking and include the patio. We are also going to use SWG and I think we may have chosen a builder.

just-a-pb: I am in Gilbert. Any advise on PB choices?

I live in the Phoenix area.

On decking if you decide on KoolDeck be sure it is real KoolDeck and not just paint. I had real KoolDeck on a previous pool and it was not too hot in the summer. The only problem is that it chips rather easily, but it can be repaired. My current pool has Acrylic deck and it is very hot in the summer.

As far as Pool Builders, I would not use Shasta as they have a poor reputation and their quality of workmanship is really poor. Their service is almost non-existant. I fought with them for 2 years a got nowhere. They really do a sloppy job of decking and don't follow the prints.

In the last house I used California Pools, they did a nice job but it took 11 months to get the pool finished. They did standby their product with good service. The worst part of California Pools was that they didn't pay the state the sales tax and the state came after me for the tax. What a hassle!!

Cliff s

Thanks for the input. I am surprised by California taking 11 mths! I have a friend who recently (just last month) used them and they completed in under 9 weeks. They recommended them to a neighbor and it was done in 8 weeks. How long ago did you use California? I will definatley ask about the tax issue.

I have had both Ozone and SWCG. Eventhough you have an inline chlorinator that will take pucks. Since you only need your chlorine between .5-1PPM, you will not need that many pucks in comparison. Maybe you will use 1-2 per week. Still could have problems but the way my kids dump water out of the pool...so far I have been ok.

Personally, if I were you, I would go with BOTH. Thats probably how my pool will eventually end up. They are making dual SWCG/Ozone units already. If you have both, you will have the pool with the least maintenance. You won't need to make much chlorine with your SWCG, that means less acid to add and less chlorine in general to swim in. Plus you will get the benefits of ozone's ability to kill some bacteria that Chlorine is not as good at killing. Google they capability. High levels of chlorine are needed on two major bacteria and this is where "shocking" is normally said to be a requirement.

It is the best of both worlds in my opinion.

I would not get "real" KoolDeck if I were you. KoolDeck "has to be" installed while the concrete is "wet". Most installers don't get this right and subsequently it cracks off. However, KoolDeck and DeckCote and others have products that can go on "after" the deck is "dry". Those products actually work better as in staying on the deck without cracking off.

If you are just getting paint, you are not getting the right thing. First they clean, then prime, then patch, then coat, then paint. They coat your concrete with a material that has "marble dust" in it. That is what makes the deck cool.

We will get our concrete coated eventually but we are waiting. Why? Because your concrete will do most of its cracking in the first year. Its nice to have them fill those cracks as a part of the first coat....not that some of them won't reappear but some won't.

barco: Do you have a brand name for the ozone/SWG? Both builders don't use actual Kool Deck, but an Acrylic Decking that is supposed to perform better.