Done! Thanks for all your suggestions - many of the ideas really helped. And we only needed to make one run to the store - for more bubble wrap. Unfortunately, I was so overwhelmed by the amount of volunteers and the craze that started when we all arrived that I did not give very good instructions to what to save or put aside. I am certain that some *treasures* were disposed of.... but I'm trying not to get too upset over it. After all, those tiny items would have probably just been transfered to a rubbermaid tote and stored (and forgotten about again) for years... I am the only relative - except for some far removed cousins. So, thankfully, there's no concerns about inheritances. And I did get all of her financial stuff out of the house a year ago when I accepted guardianship. Most of the papers left in her home were exceptionally old (some phone bills from 1972) and paperwork from school (as she was a teacher). I bet there were items with some personal info disposed of improperly (though I bought a shredder), but again - I'm trying not to worry about that. My volunteer friends probably were not as conscientious as I would have been - but without their help, I wouldn't have gotten through that day!!! We did finish in 5 hours - can you believe that? 9 people, 1 dumpster and $98 worth of breakfast! We did not clean a thing - just ridded the place of her personal belongings. The only things left are large peices of furniture. Everything else was either smoke/nicotine filled or in a state of disrepair (i.e. small appliances). And, being the only relative, I did not have the wherewithall to clean, box and transport much to charities. Between being a single mom and having a full time job, volunteer at the hospital, caring for foster pets and school, I have little time to get donations to appropriate places. My friends convinced me to reduce stress and toss the stuff. It was an emotional ordeal - sorry that my mom's life was reduced to a dumpster of stuff that was being rained upon as we departed. What a shame. She was in the Miss America pagent, was very talented and educated. Unfortuantely there was *something* wrong and she got into drugs and alcohol. She was befriended (or whatever) by addicts that took advantage of her in every possible way and she ended up with brain damage and friendless by the time she retired. I don't know how she kept it going for as long as she did.... Poster child for the devistation of alcohol.... But thanks again for all your suggestions - some I didn't get until too late. sigh. Now I'm going to start cleaning out my own closets & cabinets!!!

Hi, Trhought-- Glad you saw my post and were kind enough to respond. I see you often contribute to the discussion on this board even though you have completed your pool build and that is so great. I think if more pool owners would be willing to share and communicate with each other it would take a lot of the mystery out of this whole process and ultimately I think PBs would benefit because it would make it easier to make informed decisions. I have heard more than one person tell me they wouldn't mind having a pool or buying a house with already with one (that has stood the test of time) but the are so fearful of the whole pool building process. We all know when it comes to cars some people can or want different models with different features in different price ranges. Don't get me wrong, I don't know much about cars so DH always did the pre-shopping for that major expense (I ususally pick the color and a few options ;) so anyway, I hope people get what I am saying. It is hard to compare a PB who is an exclusive dealer for one manufacturer with another PB who is an exclusive dealer for someone else's product especially when there are alot of other factors to consider as well. What happens if I really prefer one PB but he doesn't sell or represent a particular product? Anyhow, again probably this process might be more difficult in my area where costs are higher in general and their is a more limited choice of PBs within a reasonable distance. Also, with pools not being a common homeowner amenity (yet)I found my fellow neighbors tend to be people who want to go as low as possible or others for whom money is no object. I appreciate quality, I am trying to understand value (price vs. durability, safety, economics of operation of equipement etc.) and understand contractors and other professionals need to be paid fairly. Just trying to put priorities on different components and understand their relative prices because excessive costs or markups on some items will mean postponing (if not forgoing) others. I will look again at your post with your pool information later because perhaps the Paramount system may be something to look into if it works better or equal and might possibly cost less to install--but then I would have to probably look at different PBs (as other ones did Polaris). As I know from the industry I used to work in sometimes the final cost has nothing to do with the quality or cost even of the product, but more to do with distribution channels and the volume of sales, market share, dealer incentives, etc. I actually don't want to unjustly rule out the good, quality builder because of unfair comparisions (not knowing what makes some things cost more, quality plumbing, amount and quality of gunite, etc.) If I can understand what and why I am paying more for something I will have more confidence that I can might the right decision for my personal circumstances. Yes, any and all information helps. Gee--at your price it sounds like a reasonable option, however that might depend on how your PB charged for your whole build. (yes, as someone else said in a recent post--after numbers getting so high it becomes relative--but it still is a lot of money for everthing all considered. Do you use a gmail to correspond off forum? Thanks so much again.

We are working on building our new pool and we are in the design process. I've heard both good and bad things about the in-floor pool cleaning system such as Paramount, but I one company yesterday said that the in-floor system requires making holes in the pool, and that isn't good in our Texas clay soil. Anybody have any thoughts, experience or expert advice on this?

Wow, that was a lot of work and it looks so much better!