Scott, We have chosen a builder and they did the excavation yesterday. Today they are laying the rebar. We are supposed to get a storm here in NJ over the weekend into next week and I was wondering what your thoughts were on what kind of damage can happen to pool if there is a lot of rain and wind. I was told it would be ok but am still nervous. Thank you

Bromine is better than chlorine for hot tubs, not pools, AFAIK. Bromine tabs are more expensive than chlorine and because the equivalent killing and oxidation power is at a higher level and that it doesn't have a stabilizer available like CYA does for chlorine, a pool's set of demands on bromine is higher, making it more costly. Bromine tabs are useful in that the bromine released is more resistant to heat and that combined bromine still has some (not much but that's more than combined chlorine has) sanitizing teeth to it. Since tubs have covers and are smaller, the filter cycle is often temperature based but still a lot shorter than a pool filter's, so only a few 1" tabs will be needed (not a big cost per week item, relatively speaking). Bromine is easier on most cover's foam inserts and their wrap compared to chlorine and ozone. Wood tubs do prefer ozone and being lightly shocked with lithium hypochlorite after use and periodically with a somewhat higher dose At the present time, I like chlorine for pools and bromine for portable hot tubs. If technology changes things for the better, I am sure we will hear about it. Scott

Two years ago, I had a similar problem with my pool which was built in 1974 in GA. It is a 32,000 gal. inground with wooden walls underneath the vinyl liner. I called FOUR pool companies before I found one who could fix the holes I had without replacing the entire liner. The one I called specialized in construction repair of pools. What they did is, they cut a large metal sheet and secured it over the wall UNDER the liner where the wall had holes in it. The liner was coming out a great deal. Once they put the metal over the wood, they pulled the liner back up and secured it back into the coping. They charged around $350 to do this, which took about 2-3 hours. The other three pool companies all said that either they could not help me at all, as they had never seen a pool like mine, or that I would need to completely replace the liner, which would need to be custom made at a cost of several thousand dollars. The liner has patched leaks, and cracks in the very old coping, so I am planning on replacing it next year. The construction pool company I used told me that when I have them put in the new liner, they will put metal over any other holes in the wood at a cost of about $300. Replacing the liner itself will be around $2800. It really helped that they were able to make the repairs they did, rather than replace the liner, two years ago when I first moved into the house and had a lot of other expenses. They are a local pool co. in GA unfortunatly so not nationwide. You might want to call around and try to find a company that specializes in construction repair of pools, and/or ask them if they could put a metal sheet over the wood, and secure it somehow to the wall. Good luck in finding someone who will think "outside the box" and not just try to put a cast on a problem which only needs a band-aid, so to speak.

moocat, Did you already get a cover? What kind did you get? We just got our first quote for a Merlin Smartmesh and it was was more expensive than I hoped it would be. The retail on the cover was $5100 plus the cost of installation. I haven't done a lot of research on this yet and don't know what we should expect to pay. The closing itself was an additional $450-500. Any guidance from those who have already gone through buying a cover and doing a closing would be greatly appreciated. momof3