I think I need to defer to Dennis or others who actually have VdB. I believe I have Negronne which apparently, has minor differences. In any case my Negronne actually seems to grow taller shoots than my other figs and the fruit is a bit smaller typically than White Marseilles, Celest or Hardy Chicago in my yard. That is so far... They are all in their 3rd growing year in the ground and were frozen down to the ground last winter. They need to have a few more years for me to really be sure.

The spa has been done for about 1 year now. We are very happy with the outcome. Here are the final pictures. Most things worked out great, a few things we would have done differently. 1. The polished granite plaster finish is great however it had to be installed twice. The first time the hose clogged and by the time the installers gave up on the hose and carried it in some had set up so it had a lot of cracks. 2. We had to have the plaster polished a few times as the first few installers did not have much experience. Be sure to check on the plaster installers experience with the finish and visit a reference if possible. 3. The salt / ozone / nature 2 system works great. We keep the clorine level at 1 and have not had any problems. 4. The Jandy remote is great but has some quirks. See my post on the Jandy variable speed pump. If you have a range issue, pick a different channel. It controls the pump, waterfall, yard lights, blower, chlorine and ozone. 5. A bit concerned as to the life of the Jandy heater. We had a sensor on the heater fail at the 12 month mark. The 400,000 BTU unit was the way to go. About 30 minutes to temperature in the summer and 2 hours in the winter. 6. The installer, Carlonia Pool King, has been very good about post intallation service and fixing any defects. 7. The variable speed pump is super. Most of the time we run it at 750rpm and you can't even tell it is on. It only runs at 2750 rpm for two hours in the morning so the chlorine generator works. It has to have a minimum amount of flow to produce chlorine. At full speed the 2HP motor can run the waterfall and 8 jets with no problem. 8. The gunite guys knocked the jet pipes around a little and the angle and heights are not quite as designed. Double check the heights after the rebar goes in and be sure to have a clear drawing handy so the seats go in correctly. 9. The LED lights are the only way to go. Love the color choices. 10. I like the different waterway jets we selected but a couple of them pop out fairly easily if you twist them to control the volume. Not sure why. 11. The waterfall is really nice. The dog like to lie down in the hot water. 12. Very happy we put in yard lights at the same time and connected to the remote. 13. Shocked at how expensive it is to repair sprinklers. We basically had to re-install the entire back yard.

Renovxpt - Thank you for your response and attention to my concerns. There have been many aspects of this process that I have had to wonder about and have tried to figure if they were just a day in the life of pool construction or if I have somehow gotten the short end of the pool building stick. Given that I am still bound by my contract as there is no out for sheer sloppiness, I would prefer not to reveal the pool company until my pool is completed. The people I have spoken with who used this company were all very happy, hence my decision to go with them; however, every job is different. I am by no means trying to protect the pool company, but myself. Pool builders are human, and as I mentioned before I don't want to tick off my pool builder and have even more unnecessary delays and mistakes. I just want to know what should be done and what's right or wrong about the process. I don't want remedies or a breach of contract claim or a fight with my pool builder, I just want a beautiful pool that my family can enjoy for years to come. Which is why I have come to the experts on this forum to guide me through the process, so I can somewhat supervise what my pool builder isn't. For all wannabe pool owners, I am sure my experience is not the norm (or at least I hope), but do your homework, not just on the pool builder but on pool basics. Know what you want and where you want it and be sure to discuss it with your pool builder. Some details may seem minor, but if they are important to you, make sure your builder knows this (and has communicated this to the crew actually doing the work) in advance. Advance communication goes a long way in making sure you get the final product you're looking for. I look forward to posting more pictures of the progress, but other than the blocks under the re-bar that was added on Thursday, there is nothing new to show. I am waiting for the plumber to come to pre-plumb the pool and the inspector to inspect the electrical bonding. Is there anything else I should confirm is done prior to gunite?

Glad you had a great trip Annie!!!! I rarely used the heat when I lived in Fl and usually at Christmas we were still running the AC. I had friends that did not use their AC but the humidity bothers my allergies. Here in SE GA we do have some colder weather so we use the heat set at 65 about 3 months of the year. We easily have about 3 to 4 months that we use nothing and I really like that. It has been so hot lately that I have been really fond of my AC. I grew up in the south with no AC and we had fireplaces and wood burning heaters. I remember being so sleepy after lunch in schoolfrom the heat. Several times during school it would be so cold that I didn't take my coat off all day. Those were the days when girls were not allowed to wear slacks or jeans to school. ane we sometimes call those the good ole days LOLRosa