oops, first I feel I must apologize to msm859 following my rant about "90-counters". I meant no disrespect to your advice. To be honest, I only very briefly skimmed through your post and didn't even catch the part where you mentioned 90s, so I wasn't trying to be rude on that point. You recommended going with larger pipe anyways and my personal gripe is with those who still use 2" pipe and then boast about avoiding 90s. Respek! Note to others: Somebody could just as easily be thinking I'm a hack for using big pipe and not worrying about 90s. We all draw the line somewhere. Jennifer: The 1.5" returns are typically branched off a 2" main return line. They go to 1.5" where they penetrate through the wall because the eyeballs (trim pieces) are that size. I'm guessing that is what your builder is intending, but I could be wrong. In a perfect world, or if you were a Kennedy or DuPont, then that main return line would be the same size as the suction, so 3" is my armchair recommendation. If it was built with 3" suction and 2.5" return, I would not really frown on that either, but I wouldn't do it myself. Well actually, that's not true because I am doing exactly that on a current project, but that's because of some other fuzzy logic and it's not that my return is downsized, but rather my suction is upsized. If your pool was built with 2.5" suction and 2.5 or 2" return, then that would probably be better than average, but you'd be amazed at how much more you'll love your pool with bigger pipes. I mentioned to somebody here before that one of the first pools I built on my own, I used a 1/2 HP filter pump on 2" pipes and I was a little disappointed that the pump did not seem to be any quieter than any of the hundreds of 3/4 HP pumps I've seen in service. So last year, I did a project of several small fountains like you might see at a ritzy shopping center (these things are more painful than any pool I've ever built), each on its own filtration system. I used 2.5" suctions and returns, reducing down as appropriate for the returns and fountain nozzles. The pipe runs were all well over 100' in each direction, two of them approaching 160', and those pumps were so quiet I was stunned and amazed. If you do go with the Intelliflo, then the Intellitouch will certainly be a nice complement to that, but you might also consider the EasyTouch. In a nutshell, the EasyTouch is a value-engineered, toned-down version of the Intellitouch. I'm not familiar enough with it to know for sure that it controls the Intelliflo in the same manner, but it's definitely worth looking into. If your builder doesn't know either, he can contact his local Pentair rep. who will be happy to lend a hand. Something else I just noticed is that they've spec'd a 1 or 2 HP Whisperflo for the two laminar jets. This equation is way out of balance because those laminars only need 10 gpm each. Even with a 1/2 HP Whisperflow, you will wind up sending the majority of its output through the bypass line, directly back into the pool. The 1/2 HP will give you 2 or 3 times the flow you need for the laminars. Laminars are delicate and fussy, it's imperative not to give them too much flow or they can be damaged. At the least, they won't work correctly with too much flow, so there is zero advantage to oversizing the pump which runs them. Additionally, they should receive filtered water, so I would put a small cartridge filter on that pump (Clean & Clear 100 or 150 is fine for the task and not much $$). You also want to have the flow to each laminar adjustable with gate valves or globe valves because they are much more suited to very fine adjustment. Most builders would use a 3-way valve or two ball valves, which can be difficult to adjust in the fine increments needed for laminars. The laminars are proposed to be lit, but I do not see a fiberoptic illuminator listed in the specs. They are available with or without color, so you'll want to be sure and clarify that with your builder. hmmmm...a couple other things off the top of my head; you might consider going with two pool lights, along the long wall on the house side so they aren't shining into the house. This is a basic thing that many others here can vouch for. Regarding the auto-fill, I may be splitting hairs at this point but I don't really like the Pentair/Letro autofill. They have a tendency to cause hammer knocking in your house plumbing because of the way they're designed. I much prefer the new autofill from Pour-A-Lid or my former favorite, MP Industries' Auto-Lev. The prices are roughly the same and these two are much easier to install, service, and live with than the Pentair/Letro version. Well this was fun. If I can help you spend any more of your hard-earned money, don't hesitate to ask. hahaha

I did pretty much the same thing as starplex when building my pool. I have friends in the Houston area with salt/flagstone and they have corrosion. Could be coincidence, but I didn't want to take the chance. Because there's no definite proof on the cause, I think some pool builders in the Houston area will only install suggest salt with brick or preformed copings. From what I gathered, complete submersion of flagstone is ok, but the coping is where the problems lie. I elected not to use salt, so to help get the softer water I added Endure. Have been very happy with it. Since I have natural stone coping (travertine), I choose to seal it. Mine needs to be done every year at the start of pool season, but probably could use it every 6-9 months. I just don't think about noticing it in the winter when I'm not in the pool. Regarding pool equipment - I don't think there's too much of a difference. From what I understood the PB use different equipment b/c they have a contract/bulk price break/hook up to do so. When pressed, all the pool builders claimed the customer service representatives/time to come service equipment is better with the brand that they pushed. However, when I interviewed the PB, I asked if they would be willing to install the other...and all said yes. I second the control system part. Don't quite remember why now, but if memory serves me correctly the Jandy controller that I picked out wouldn't service some function in the other brand of equipment correctly. In this day and age, you'd think that they would all be compatible...but ask before hand just to make sure.

I am also using Andrews for my pool in Newton. I am going with 3 LED lights where they were recommending 2 500W incandescents. I wanted to get colored lighting. Once I went to the colored lights, the LEDs aren't dramatically more than SAms or similar. They tried to talk me out o fthe colored lights because of the darker finish (still haven't decided between the Tahoe Blue or the Blue Granite Pebble Sheen) but based on other posts here, I decided to go with the colored lights. The effect won't be as dramatic as with a white plaster finish, but I still want the color. Find out what kind of booster pump you'll be getting with the Polaris. A 1.5hp Whisperflo main pump plus a .5hp whisperflo booster pump is about the same as an Intelliflo VS-3050 including the $200 rebate (go to myenergystar.com for details). Operating costs should be less for the VS-3050. They quoted me $3300 for the PV3 in-floor cleaning system. I like the idea of returning the heated/treated water through the floor. For the extra $1100, if it keeps the pool clean, so much the better. I am plumbing for a Polaris, but I'll wait to see how well the PV3 does first. The guy I am dealing with is not very technical. I am still waiting for a rationale on their suggested placement of the skimmers. I picked Andrews over Environmental and South Shore Gunite primarily because they gave me the pavers for the same price as stamped concrete. I also had a colleague at work who was very happy with them.

Spa advice: Set your kitchen chairs around in the pattern you're getting (circle?) and use a tape measure to approximate the sizes you're considering. Then sit a bunch of people in the chairs and see how it feels. Are your knees all bumping together? Then, have someone measure the height from the seat of the chair (bottom of your butt) to the height that you want the water when you're simmering in the spa. Around here the standard is 18", but I had mine dropped to 21" because I wanted the water over my armpits. If you have a tall torso (or big butt in my case) the standard height would put the water just above my sternum - too low for me. I also had the PB stagger the heights of the jets, so that each seat would hit a different part of my back, although the range is not huge. Hope this helps.