I figure this is a topic that I would like to chime in on. Salt pools in the US started becoming popular like Kelly said about 10 years ago. I as a pool builder am leary of any new technology that has not ben thouroghly tested. Even though I do install the systems when asked to I still give the pros and cons of using these systems. This all being said I have seen a trend over the past few years. For every salt system that I install I am removing 2 of the systems on other pools. Why is this you ask. In most cases it in the stone around the pool being washed away. And others are from equipment failures caused by the salt. Many will argue on here that salt is not corrosive and that bonding of a pool will solve these problems. I disagree. I build my pools properly and when I continue to have the same problems on salt pools that I do not have on Regular erosion feeder systems. I have to question what is the problem. And the common factor is the salt systems. Nothing else. As far as Ozone systems. this is another system that I do not believe in. I think it is a big waste of money. Just another gimic for you to buy to put on your pool. Now even though I do not see the problems with this system that you see with salt I do not see the benefit of using them. This all leads back to my personal opinion that they have been using chlorine for well over 100 years on pools and never have seen the service issues that we see today with all the different type of chorination and augmentations sytems that are installed now days. So if it ain't broke don't fix it. Good luck on the pool build.

Appreciate the info on the Deckstone, I like how the tiles look and the materials sound so much better than composite deck materials. Never understand the logic of putting material that would rot or go bad into a product for exterior use, like putting wood in the composite wood, and those masonite sidings that had paper in it? It is like waiting for disaster to happen. Tried to figure out if 'regular' exterior tiles weight less than Deckstone, and found this site:http://www2.daltile.com/exteriors.cfm. It lists a lot of choices just not able to get the info of the weight per sq.ft. like Deckstone has listed. John made some excellent points, I would need steel frame for a concrete deck. That would be costly. I am leaning on tiling the deck. So far after talking with two contractors, I basically had to redo the decking to hold the extra weight of the tiles. I am waiting for my handyman to come and confirm the cost and whether he is comfortable to do it or not. I think he is pretty honest to let me know his comfort level. I will let you know how that goes. If you find anything else please let me know.

Biggest difference between a deck and porch besides the gaps in the deck floor is that the porch(no gaps) requires a slope to the floor. Since water can not pass between deck boards, it must be guided by a gradual slope away from the house to avoid puddles and the risk of standing water penetrating the house wall and rotting it. Any plan must start with a plan for adding this slope to the deck while maintaining structural integrity. Surfacing is the easy part. Interlocking wood planks are common. Sheet materials are OK as long as they are rated for outside use. Be aware that vinyl has two key drawbacks in any outdoor settings: 1) all plastics expand and contract with temperature much more than wood/concrete/metal. This leads to a looser wavy surface on hot days and tightly stretching(and potentially overstretching on cold days. The darker the color, the hotter the plastic gets on sunny days and the worse this effect. 2) Sunlight degrades plastic softeners added to flexible plastics over time. Thus, the more sun exposure, the quicker the vinyl gets brittle and cracks. Vinyl formulated for outdoor use, such as deck boards, is more resistant to such effects, but not totally immune.

Okay, so I'm putting a link to some photos I put on picasaweb, we'll see if you guys can see them. To answer Steve: - Ipe clips - the results I saw were were inconsistent and most seemed to have incorrect installation (i.e. screws not going 45 thru boards & into joists) so I rolled the dice becuase it looked like the best system available and it's what I wanted. If I have problems I'll pull it up and face-screw it all. Have you personally used the Ipe Clips with bad results? - untreated lumber - I should have been more specific on this. Ccode here requires treated withing 6" of ground contact so all of the 4x4 posts are treated as are the stringers for the stairs down to the ground and the sleeper for those stringers. The posts are sitting on top of the concrete piers and are attached with bolts set in the piers and an adjustable base. As for termites or other wood-boring insects (heck insects in general really) there aren't many... way too dry. Utah get's the 2nd least rainfall in the US and the humidity in the non-winter months rarely gets over 15%. And as I said, I treated the framing with 2 coats of Termin-8. - As for nails, I used simpson ties at most all intersections: pier-to-post, post-to-beam, beam-to-joist along with toenailing. It's probably overkill, but honestly it seemed easier to me. To Jon at Advantage: - I'll email pics and what my CS issue was, like I said overall it turned out fine but it wasn't an ideal interaction.