Boy the economy is really helping you. We had Andrews do a pool in 2008, and we spent about 75K by the time it was done with no spa! The pool they built is beautiful, but it was a bit of a stressful time during the build, although, I think Andrews may be the best of the bunch when it comes to the whole process. A neighbor used Environmental and they plumbed the spa wrong and they are stuck with it. We also got a quote from South Shore, and just didn't like the salesman. Ferrari would have built a nice pool for us too, but the seemed handle their subs differently. Andrews said they use no subs, but they really do, they just report to Andrews, and Andrews keeps a close eye on what they do. Turns out their subs were great. The big worry for us was how much extra $ we could spend if they hit ledge. You don't know what is under your lawn. We totally lucked out, we just knew there was going to be ledge, but when they hit it, we just decided to flip the design of the pool - deep end to the shallow end, and they kept digging, No extra $ for dynamite or rock splitting. We got exposed aggregate decking which we love. We also did the Pebble tec, and love it. We have a little waterfall. We have the salt generating system, and a Polaris. Jerrith fencing surrounds the pool. We have an electric heater. Things I would change if I could: 1. Add a pool filling jet from our well, rather than dragging the hose over when the water level drops due to summer evaporation. 2. Deeper and wider deep end with a diving rock. Even though they tell you not to do this because of safety/insurance issues, guests and kids just assume the pool is deep enough for diving, and they dive off the side. 3. LED color changing lights. It would look so great at night. 4. Even though we paid extra for a significantly larger deck surround, I wish it was even bigger. You spend a lot of time there, and it feels smaller than it is. I can't think of more now. I don't know how to post pictures, but I could email you one. Good Luck!

Hi gang: Well I have been out of town for a few days and believe it or not between the rain and being out of town, I have yet to take my first swim. The kids on the other hand have to be extracted with great force at the end of the day. My sons party went as planned, one short rain shower, but otherwise great. The water is now fairly balanced, they started the polaris (thank goodness..the dust was insane!), they plan on starting up the salt system in about a week. birdbath, I see you have been absent also....must be living in that water....thank you for the compliment, but yours is still the coolest pool I have ever seen. Moo....thanks....we are planning to build up the area behind the waterfall, make it into a berm with plantings and lots of color. We are also going to use river stones in that area....and behind that will be the completed extension of the wall. Should be starting that in the next 2-3 weeks. Smb....agreed our colors do look alike, it still amazes me how it changes throughout the day. I think we ended up somewhere between midnight blue and tahoe blue. Thank you, love yours also...are you getting to swim or does it still belong exclusively to the puppy ;) Well, I have the weekend off...so I think today will be first swim...its 89 out there and the water has warmed up to about 82....here are the pics in full sunlight for Birdbath. oops...heres the waterfall on....

Milo, I sent "just a pb" an idea on his "pretty pictures" thread, I love the geometric look. Try very large, 24" white travertine pavers with a cantilevered edge, larger if you have the budget. Cool enough to walk on (we're in Vegas), maybe do the edge as an ogee or waterfall look as well, for the pool coping. Heck, as long as I am spending your money, add some glass with a waterfall effect into the pool. I've seen one from the second story all the way to the waterline that spilled into the pool.The water trickles across the glass. If anyone can do it, looks like "just" can. Send pictures when you proceed, Barb

Consider that before paver companies got so creative, it began with a simple brick shape and only a couple of colors. The colors are usually not pure, but mottled as part of the manufacturing process. (Cannot tell from the mfg. literature if this is the case here.) There are innumerable attractive, time-tested patterns that can be constructed with the standard brick shape: basketweave, herringbone, running bond, modified basketweave, stacked bond & probably more. I doubt that anyone who installed paving from these simple options was unhappy with the result. Personally, I prefer these 'old school' options. They always looks nice and stand the test of time, while many of the new color ranges and patterns that have been developed since, look unpleasant from the day they are installed! The one's with sharply contrasting colors in the mix look blotchy and garish to me. The one's with high texture can be difficult to walk on, if ever someone would show up in heels for the patio party. Barefooters might not care for them either. The 'Miami' model, with its uniformly wavy edge and perfectly rounded corners, looks like a fakey facsimile to me. I don't care much for the one they call 'Cobblestone.' 'Old Canada' seems OK in the picture, if the color is not too wild. But you cannot go wrong with the 4" x 8" brick. Another one I've found to look very good is the 4" x 4" square in running bond configuration. An important fact to keep in mind with paving is that light colors reflect the sun and can be absolutely blinding. It's almost always the case that darker is better. I would stick with grey, charcoal or red. I would also forget about white cement. It's for those who love a purer color, but generally, this is not an improvement outdoors. Usually, white cement costs more, too. Whatever you do, you can only get so far in narrowing choices via online or print materials. When you get it honed down to two or three possibilities, you must go to the paver yard and get samples. It is the only way to know if you're going to be satisfied with the end result. Get a half dozen of each sample so that you can mock up enough to give an idea of the result. Look at it on site from a distance in order to get the best feel for how it will look with its surroundings.