Ok so we hit a bump in the road. Seems the plumbers(who werent the ones that showed up this morning, my mistake) didn't realize that we were filling Saturday, they thought we wouldn't fill until yesterday and they put of finishing a section of return valve pipe to tie in to the pump. Well we started the pump today, no damage, but definately a failure to communicate!!! Plaster guys came and went Saturday, call was made to the plumbers but noone mentioned they were plastering and filling Saturday... At this point I do have to point out that one of the plumbers was there Saturday morning as the plaster crew showed..... Plumber is installing now, grotto is almost complete, and they are working on the planter behind our raised wall. You know that saying about when it rains it pours, our water softener went weird a few weeks ago. Went completely crazy this weekend, now it needs service, and I just discovered that when it was installed there is no bypass for exterior water so, I guess its a good thing that we have had no soft water to fill the pool with???!!! Is the glass half full or empty here???? EGADS!!!!! So tres, I guess we startup later today or tomorrow, still brushing and added acid, so kosher for now, but not to my tastes... Thanks Suzanne, seems he won't last but a few more days, glad that DH got time with him at least. Heavy heart here...

I want to thank everyone of you who has replied to my post. Your advice is invaluable! Scott- You raise alot of good questions. Here are the answers to some of them, and the rest I need to find out from the perspective builder. 1) I completely agree that I need to upgrade to the 400 heater, and will be doing so. 2)The N2. I thought that the purpose of this would be to cut down on the chlorine usage, which in turn would help with your concern about the Dichlor tabs adding too much stabilizer. Am I wrong about this? 3)Switching to the Pentair Rainbow. I took a look at this, and I wonder would it provide me with enough chlorine for the size of pool I have? I think this pool should be about 37,000 gallons. 4)Salt Cell- I can choose this option over N2 + Dichlor dispenser. My wife is worried about salt taste and corrosion. I will be using concrete decking. Are her concerns legit, and what of my two options would you suggest? 5)Remotes- It is an Easy Touch 4 wireless. Didn't think I needed an indoor as well, since I have the wireless. 6)PVC- I assumed two inch hard piping, but I guess I shouldn't assume. Returns- I don't know the number. What do you suggest, and I will make sure it happens. 7) Dump site- Unknown location, but in that I live in the Chicago Metro area I believe that it shouldn't be an issue, but I definately need to make sure. 8)Water Chems- You statement here really concerned me, because I am completely new to pools. Is this due to the size of the pool, and how often would you suggest. I certainly don't want to spend all my time testing/fixing chemical readings. 9)Final Cleanup- I thought that this just went unsaid, but I see that I need to get everything written down in the contract. 10)Decking- They wanted $7.50 sq/ft for brushed concrete, and $15 for stamped/pavers. I know this is really high, so I opted to handle the decking on my own. 11) Repairs to damaged property. I am fortunate enough to have a vacant lot next to mine, and I think I will be able get permission to access my yard via this lot. This should really help me with the damage to lawn, driveway, sprinklers, etc. That being said I need to speak with the perspective builder about this section. 12)References- I have three friends who have built pools with this builder, and all have given glowing reviews. jump427, cnr1089, and rice rocket- I see that I definately need to address the payment schedule. I too was a little nervous over this. Glad to see my concerns weren't unjust. I will negotiate this process with the builder. Also cnr1089, My yard is level, so I shouldn't have much grading issues. As for the damage, I live in a newer subdivision, and fortunatly have a vacant lot next to mine. I should be able to get permission to access my lot via this vacant lot, and this will greatly cut down on the damages. I will make sure to use JULIE (Illinois version of "Dig Safe) to avoid any utility damages. Again, thanks to all of you who are following/replying to my post. Even in this early stage of the process things can get a bit confusing. Two more questions I'm hoping you can help me with. Currently proposed is a 1.5 hp WhisperFlow pump. This would do the pool cleaning, as well as the water features (4 deck jets + T7 diving board waterfall). Will this pump be sufficient, or should I add a seperate pump for the water features. Also, do you think the price on the initial proposal if fair, or is too high? I don't have alot of experience, and your advice on this would go a long way in helping me negotiate a price. Thanks in advance, Adam

There is always one vinyl liner that catches my eye as a natural looking one, but I need help identifying the pattern. It is on the coolpool site and if you enlarge the picture you can see some of the pattern on the side wall. it almost looks like a tyedye pattern, but then when I look at pacificpools website with the tyedye pattern is does not even come close to the same appeal. Maybe someone can help me identify the pattern, please. Coolpool site http://www.coolpool.com/vinyl_0084963.html Pacific pool site - tyedye is 1st pattern in 2nd row http://www.pacificpools.com/design/liners.html

I don't know if you saw my response to your previous post, but we have almost exactly the same pool, size, equipment and pool cover that you have. The auto fill cost us $390, which included installation. Please double check the combination of an automatic pool cover with a salt water system. My pool builder highly advised against it because of corrosion problems. I called 2 pool cover companies and neither would warrant the pool cover with a salt system. I suggest you do a little research, as there have been reported problems. With the 10K cost of the pool cover you don't want to have problems 5 years from now from corrosion. I decided to not take the chance and nixed the salt system. :( We went with pre-cast stone coping in 24" x 16" x 3" with a bull nose finish. We love the way it looks. Keep in mind that the coping end with the pool cover will not be permanently grouted in case of the need to pull them up to for maintenance of the pool cover mechanics. The custom made brackets to hold the coping cost us $5K. Our pool builder prefabricated them in his shop. I have pictures of them if you'd like to see them let me know. We are looking to use a rope rolled in silcone and sand stuffed in between the coping pieces for a finished look. I think that it will look fine when its done. It's too cold out now to do it. The coping needs to stick out a minimum of 3" if you are going to have an undermounted track, which is what we have. It is a nice, clean installation and you really don't see the track much at all. We don't regret spending the extra $10k on the autocover & $5k for the custom brackets - we love it. We also love the in-floor cleaning system. There are several on these boards that say they are a waste of money. I disagree. Ours works great and I don't have any hoses or creepy crawly things running around and laying around the pool area. And the pool stays VERY clean. The costs of the Pentair Intellitouch i9 is high. We paid $2500 for the same model and that included a wireless remote as well as the indoor pad. We love it. Definately worth the money. And no, ours didn't include any decking. Price $80K. Amost apples to apples here. Also - small things not to forget: A drain in the pool cover vault. Ours ties into our storm drain. When planning your utility trenches plan for everything, electrical, gas, water, speaker wires, low voltage garden lighting and drainage. Once you cover it with your decking theres no going back to add something. Once you have a drawing of your plan - post it - you'll get lots of great feedback here. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Our Pool Photos