Dreambuilder. Being inside and not in direct sunlight or the elements of Mother Nature, you have a lot of options. It almost the same as if you were selecting a tv for you living room or any other room in the house. It depends how far away you will be sitting from the tv during normal viewing. A good general rule of thumb is to get a tv one third the size of your seating distance. With today's hi def displays, a 2:1 ratio is even possible. If the Tv is too big or you're sitting too close, you will be able to see pixels in the picture being displayed...not a good thing. Example, if the tv will be 10' from the hot tub, then a 40" tv would be the minimum size and a 60" TV would be the biggest size. If the hot tub is 5' from the tv, then a 20"-30" TV would be recommended. Regarding the type of TV, any technology will be fine since you're indoors. Plasma is not as bright as LCD but generally has a better picture and is far better than LCD when viewing from an angle. Plasma's also tend to be more expensive than LCD. LCD tv's are brighter, so if your hot tub room is bright, this may be the better choice. The downside of LCD is the picture will become dimmer if your sitting at an angle to the TV. LCD's are the least expensive technology these days unless you get into cutting edge local dimming edge lit LCD's which carry a premium price tag. Hope this helps.

quote" I accept that there will always be those who make decisions based on price without making an effort to understand all the details in the various proposals. I accept this and honestly don't mind losing those jobs. "quote I'll second this. Here's a perfect example of this last week when a designer sent me to see a potential buyer who wanted to meet me to discuss the bid and the pricing. After seeing his picture with a fairly equal amount of perimeter, surface area, and peagravel decking he informed me that we were 3600 higher on an equally appointed pool and can we match this price. I'm like "There's no way he's building this pool of this size with a radio remote controlled computer and salt water chlorination at this price, If you would please show me his bid". He was apprehensive at first and I said "You've got nothing to gain and everything to lose by not showing me". I had a suspicion who I thought it was and told him the builder I expected it to be and and if it was I could probably show him a bait and switch tactic he used to get a few pools I felt we would capture last year. He said it was and then showed me his bid. It went just the same way as the others. He talks up a big computer this and computer that game during his presentation and then writes on the bid form "Intermatic digital controller with radio remote" What he fails to mention is that it'll only control one remote circuit. On his potentials upgrades list it shows the Pentair radio controller that compares to my PDA as a 2800 upcharge. Adding this to his bid placed me only 800 higher. I then offered him a number to a buyer who didn't sign with me and went with him. After start up when they found out that it wasn't what they were expecting he told them it was now 4500 after construction because the installation labor goes up to quadruple the new installation charge during construction. I did it for 4000 and made awesome money and a new pool buyer referrer even though I didn't build the pool. They were truly upset about the tactic and have referred me to some newer neighbors in the development. I built 3 of the pools on their street before they moved in and they wanted to go with us but I couldn't drop my sales price any lower. After the 4k their pool cost them almost a grand more than my original quotation. I wished that I'd of known of his MO when I bid them, I could have salvaged the capture and got the pool like I closed the one last week when armed with the truth. Note to all readers, There are some really good men in my industry you never hear about, and there are some scoundrels too. They promise big returns on a low purchase price investment. Very few have made good on this promise. The bait and switch works after you've signed because your locked in and your stuck with their terms and pricing on any change order. Out of all the pools (well over 1000 as Atlantis and 5 times that number as a mechanical contractor prior) I've constructed there might been a couple of hundred that went full term without a single change. When a buyer comes to me with a change I place my standard markup on it. These scoundrels use it as an ability to make 4 to 5 times more than their normal markup because your locked in with no leverage like you had during negotiation. Cascade, Thanks for this thread. I sincerely hope it'll help potential pool buyers who come in here searching for info. WAY TO GO!!! See ya, Kelly

Readyami, thank you! We have some "mixed metaphors" going on with the Texas star decorations and the un-tiki gazebo, but I've always been kind of eclectic anyway, LOL! :-) Tim, thanks! When I was putting the skull up I was thinking "This belongs on Tim's pirate ship", haha! The ball is a Japanese glass fishing float (this one is actually a modern replica), a long time favorite decoration in tiki bars and restaurants the world round. It's as required a staple as the traditional hanging puffer fish lamp (I have one of those too) :-) Mostly they were hung indoors in arrangements of different colors and different heights and sometimes were lighted from within. I can't direct-link the photos, but if you look at the thread linked below (photos of vintage tiki bars) you'll see what I mean. They were also popular as A-frame decorations. My A-frame is actually a little teeny version of the real thing, the traditional A-frames built on restaurants and bars were enormous and had gigantic glass fishing float replicas, period light fixtures or even outrigger canoes hanging under them. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=29982&forum=5&13

Really striking and very elegant. Love to see updated pictures on how you "dressed" the new pool deck and structure.