I only see one pump. Jay, a water fall that long and the water features in the sunshelf will need more flow. What about controls? Will you have to go to the equipment everytime you want to turn the Waterfall on an off? In my area that would be a low bid. About 20k off of what I would have. He is showing Flagstone under the covered areas. Is your home builder doing that or is the PB? What material is he using on the sunshelf. He shows it as a different material. How are the Fire pits to be lit? Do they have electronic ignitions or do you have to figure out how to get over to the 3 separate pits and light them by hand. I know you have small children. Make sure he has a finger ledge under the waterfalls so if a young one runs out of steam there they have something to grab onto.

I spent a lot of time on this same question 2 years ago when we were deciding. I ended up going with the baja shelf. I'm happy with the outcome. The reasons I went with the shelf: 1. You probably need more space for the beach entry than the beach entry because you need room for the gradual sloping. We have have a 6 ft self and I think it was something like 9 ft needed for the beach entry. 2. There weren't all that many examples of beach entries and our builder admitted they'd only done one other one. 3. I saw one and was concerned it might be a little unstable for my parents who like to come visit and swim. 4. The beach was $2,500 more than the baja shelf. 5. Pebblesheen wasn't recommended for being out of the water, but Pebbletec seemed to be ok. The one thing I kind of wish I looked into more would be having the sandstone on the shelf. I've seen a couple of those and I think they look nice. Hope this helps. Donna

Thank you so much Jenn. My wife gets all the credit for the pool design. I just had few ideas and she pulled it all together. We started with a couple of designs from PBs but then we kept wanting to change this and that to see what it would look like. So we got our own software and my wife created at least 50 different versions of our pool. The final PB plan started from our plan and they made some recommendations based on their expertise of designing pools. Our tanning ledge will only have partial flagstone around the area that will be out of the water. We wanted the beach entry for our babies - 2 tiny toy poodles. There's no way they'd be jumping into a foot of water. Let's just hope they learn to use the beach entry. I'm looking most forward to the tanning ledge. It just seems like the best area to lounge around in. Glad to hear no birds have paid you a visit. We used to have a koi pond by our patio and birds would come. But then again, we used to have 4 trees in our backyard that have since been cleared. So yes, time will tell. Otherwise I'll have to find creative ways to scare away the birds.

thejimbar...cool design and idea. You will like the shallow water for soaking you're feet and lounging while watching the kids play. A few thoughts as it relates to our experience with a large shallow area of the pool. Ours is about 4" deep and 10'x20'. 1. I think anything shallower than 6" is called a thermal shelf because it actually heats the water rather nicely in direct sun. Here in Louisiana, our shallow area of the pool is comfortable to soak your feet year round when the sun is shining. In NJ, this probably isn't a big deal but you will notice your season for the shallow pool will definitely be extended. 2. If you think you will use this shallow pool more in the off-season than the regular pool, you should consider this when deciding to tie it into your existing pool. If you winterize your pool, it will be hard to do so and still keep the shallow pool in operation longer if it is tied together. 3. On the other hand, tying the two together will give the added benefit of heating the primary pool also, if the shallow pool is located in a sunny area of the yard. 4. If the decision is to tie them together, technically, it's possible to do so and still keep the two bodies physically separated from one another as you originally wanted. The equalizer line would have to be sized rather large (and likely multiple lines needed) to keep up with the passive flow from one body to the other during high flow requirements in the shallow body. 5. Would also recommend a separate pump for the negative edge pit if you already have water features that require flow with your existing pump...nothing more aggrevating than hosting a party and not being able to use all water features at the same time because of pump limitations. 6. We love our 4" shelf for the heating benefits and soaking your feet any time of the year. We also love our bubblers in the 4" water...nothing more relaxing than sitting in a chair with your feet being massaged by water coming from the bubblers in the floor of the pool (that's what I'm doing right now). We have a separate pump for the bubblers, aerators and deck jets also. 7. Connecting the overflow from the negative edge directly to the pool would be the easiest way to tie the two together..much like an oversized spa and no need for equalizer line. This may not meet your original vision though if you were thinking of keep the 2 bodies physically separated. One last thought, if you keep the 2 bodies separate from one another, then the new pool will have to have it's own filter and sanitizing system. If you tie them together, it will save cost but you will not be able to winterize one and keep the other open. They will have to be closed at the same time...if you close the pool at all. Oh..one more thought...size the negative edge pit so that you can fit your favorite leaf skimmer in it to scoop out leaves and debris easily...all the debris will end up in the pit and you'll want to skim it easily. Decisions....decisions. Hope this helps.