mudn...yes..ours is a PV3 system. There are 3 different heads that can be installed in each opening in the pool floor (small, medium and large). The only differnce in each head is the opening, all other dimensions of the head are identical. The small heads (small openings) are for steps and other more complicated features under water. These areas are engineered to have a higher concentration of heads to get the hard to clean nooks and cranny's present in these more complex features. The smaller heads have a lighter jet action and are also good for placement near the perimeter of the pool in shallow water to prevent splashing when the head is blasting right at the perimeter of the pool. The larger heads (larger holes) are for cleaning larger areas and allow more water to exit and creates a stronger jet. These are typically found in the deeper ends of the pool where there are large flat surfaces to clean. The medium heads are for heads near the perimeter of the pool in deeper water and for areas of the pool that may have more curvature and slopes. Paramount will get a design of your pool from your PB. They will then engineer the floor cleaning system by specifying location and size of each head in each zone. There's typically 6 zones in their design and this is determined by the 6 port valve that comes with the Paramount system. More zones are possible by placing more than one multi-port valve in the system. This is usually for larger pools and most pools only have one multi-port valve and it will be 6 zones. Paramount will look at the shape of the pool floor and shapes of the perimeter as well as depths, steps, beaches, tanning ledges and determine the proper location for each head in each zone. They will also specify the size of head for each location. This is all on one print and I would ask you PB for this print once it is complete. After the rough plumbing is complete, I verified each head location with a tape measure and had their locations changed accordingly on a few heads. After gunite, I then inspected each head location and looked at how it would be projecting it's jet to see if it would reach the places it was intended knowing what size each head was to be in the end. This was an important inspection because we had a step added near our beach during gunite that was not on the original plan. We also added a grotto bench in front of our waterfall which was not on the original plan. Both of these additions required a change to the specified head locations and sizes. The modified plan was sent to Paramount and they recommended new head locations based on the new features that were added. This involved chiseling out channels in two areas of the gunite and adding a few more head to reach these new places. Morale of the story, if you make any changes during gunite, which I understand is pretty common, make sure Paramount has an opportunity to review the changes and make the necessary updates to their engineered system. This will require a litte extra work with chiseling and such, but the end result will be a floor system that performs as it was designed. Finally, during start-up, the start-up person will be the one who installs the heads into each opening by swimming to each opening in the pool floor. Make sure you have the blue print with you at this time. This is when the right head size gets placed into the proper location. My start-up guy said he has been doing it so long he can tell which size goes in each hole just by looking at it. He was surprised by some of the sizes that were called out on the print when I was telling him which size went in each hole. After all that, adjust the pressure being delivered to the cleaning zones to about 18-22 psi recommended by Paramount(some zones will be different than others because of different size holes in each of the heads of that zone). There is a gage at the top of the multi-port valve to tell what the pressure is. I had a bypass valve installed upstream of the multi-port valve to allow the pressure to be adjusted for optimum performance and efficiency. The MDX drain will be plumbed in parallel with the skimmer and SDX drain. You will be able to balance the flow between skimmer and drains by closing or opening the port in the skimmer. Closing the skimmer port will cause more suction at the drains and less flow at the skimmer. After a few weeks you will find a sweet spot allowing the skimmer to do its job as well as the main drain suction to be adequate to suck in debris that is passing near it. I run our system at high speed (18-22 psi at the multi-port valve) for 2 hours per day to ensure each head has made a complete revolution with proper jet action to do its cleaning job. This also provides good skimming action. The rest of the day is spent at low speed cycling the heads and delivering clean, chlorinated and sometimes heated pool water to the floor of the pool. Well that was a long explanation..maybe too long...but wanted to share my experience with installation and setup of the Paramount PV3 system for those who may be considering one. We've been happy with it's performance and haven't had any problems or maintence items for 4 swim seasons now. It just does it job without being seen. The appearance of the pool is always clean without unsightly hoses and cleaners in the pool. Everyone always comments "How do you keep your pool so clean" Hope this helps!

I'll just throw 2 teeny things into the mix: Have you looked at Pietra Grigio (or Pietra Cardosa)? Do a search here--I had a thread about it a while ago. I have a friend who has both the Grigio and Soapstone in her kitchen. They look identical to me. She prefers the Grigio as it is more durable (less scratching) though it does require a sealer (more porous). Re: leathered soapstone. I don't know if this is true for leathered granite...but I'm not a fan of the leathered soapstone once it is oiled. Maybe the problem is only with *freshly* oiled leathered soapstone. I don't want to say anything too icky sounding, but when I've seen pictures of freshly oiled leathered soapstone, the slight sheen on the bumps reminds me of a skin rash! It kinda gives me the heeby jeebies. Since granite isn't oiled, maybe this woudn't be a problem with a leathered granite. But if you've ever seen a slightly shiny case of poison ivy, or fifth disease...well, that's what freshly oiled leathered soapstone reminds me of. Maybe that look goes away after the oil evaporates a little. Also, I'm not sure about the maintenence with the ss. What if you get, say, bread dough dried in those little pits/indentations. If you scrub them out too hard, you will scratch the ss. Can leathered ss be repaired by the homeowner the way that smooth ss can? Okey dokey: I hope that didn't gross anyone out with the dermatological remarks! :-) Btw: I'm getting soapstone in my kitchen. Not leathered! Francy

thanks, mathteachr, I thought about doing that....I also considered putting the sink in the island, which would solve this issue. What does GW think about sinks in islands? It would obviously make seating harder. I would probably have to do a second level of countertop for seating, away from the sink, right? We would also have to run plumbing into the island, which I know isn't THAT costly (we're over a crawl space) but we're renovating our whole house so even a grand makes a big difference...

Well, the little birds hatched. There were four of them, not three. I went to check on them earlier and something tore up the nest and the little hatchlings were lying on my porch. They weren't eaten, it just looks like they were knocked out of the nest and fell down. I'm not sure what caused it. I have some cats outside, but they either stay in my backyard, or venture off into the woods. They never go around to the front of my house. Could it have been possums? I see them every now and then on rare occasions, but I always chase them away because I don't like those things. Oh well, the damage is already done. I doubt the parents will come back and rebuild again this year. I plan on buying a birdhouse to hang up on my porch in hopes they choose it as a much safer, out of reach, alternative next time. Needless to say that I'm a little bummed out. :/