Tigpie, Thank you for your feedback. Can you explain why you would suggest fiberglass or pebble tec over plaster? I don't like the roughness of pebble tec at all. We are still trying to nail down our decision on finish. We talked about a detached spa but this is the look we want. happymrsf, Thank you. We are so excited to have such a big area to work w/. Thanks for the tip about an extra umbrella sleeve. I'm sure we will do that. golfgeek, I will check the specs for the slide. I wondered about that, too. I wondered about the position of the light as well. I hadn't thought about it highlighting imperfections but was worried that it wouldn't light up the deep end very well. We are still trying to figure out the rock work. We talked to a guy who does artificial rock yesterday. He's way out of our budget right now. Our problem is finding someone in town to do real rock work. We do have a good set of detailed plans from the architect. Thank you for helping me to think of questions I need to be asking the subs we're talking to. Mindy

A stamp is not intended to be absolute proof that someone is a registered engineer/architect since a registration can expire and not all states require that the stamp be surrendered. Reliable proof of registration (other than the registration board database which is often available online) is the yearly renewable certificate held by the engineer/architect often in the form of a wallet sized card. So, the use of the professional title "engineer" or "architect" on the drawing title block claims the engineer is registered and a signature and stamp on the drawing says the same thing but the signature and stamp is a legal certification that the document was prepared by, or under the direct supervision of, the engineer/architect. I once forgot to stamp a large set of drawings for a $20M project and called the building inspector to tell him that I needed to come to his office to stamp them. He asked me, "is your firm name on the drawings?" and I said, yes and he asked, "did your firm draw them?" and I said yes, and then he said, "that's all the stamp means so we don't need it." On another project I had to initial over two hundred sheets in the office of the city housing authority after they had reviewed them. The advantage to the engineer/architect is that it is easier to identify the drawings that were submitted for a permit because they are the only ones that have a stamp.

Some places, you need a permit to even change a faucet. You always need to check with your local AHJ before you start any project. Especially if you are new to the area. Although there are national building codes in place, enforcement of them varies a good deal. What flies in one area won't in another.

My uncle is a great cook (as is my aunt). And not in the more casually inventive way of my mom and myself. He takes cooking seriously. (A friend once quipped ‘why don’t their cookbooks have any pictures?’) They lived in Italy for years and usually prepare Italian or French food. They often hosted family/community gatherings and would attempt to make some accommodations to various dietary eccentricities. That said at some point he had heart troubles and ate a fairly restrictive diet - and when I would eat in a restaurant with him he would NOT ask for special treatment because he thought it was disrespectful to the cook’s creations. I can see both sides of this. Awww as I write this I realize all should be in the past tense. He has Alzheimer’s and while not completely gone he doesn’t cook anymore.