thank you both for your input...love the picture with the wood landing....but debrak makes an excellent point...when we changed out the stair treads, my contractor said the top step was a half inch lower that the rest, so he corrected that... i was amazed at the number of times i caught my foot going up stairs (such is muscle memory) he warned me to be extra careful and that i would probably find it awkward, and he was right! i was leaning toward a very, very low pile or even sisal, so hopefully the transition would not feel too weird...i only have 13 steps there are 2 pie steps which turn onto the (very smallish) landing.. those pictures help a lot!

I haven't seen seen cracking from freeze thaw cycles and travertine but have seen slipperiness from some unsealed tiles. I am not saying it can't happen. The number of decks in my region though doesn't provide enough of a sample for me to say that but that the several I have seen haven't had this happen since I saw them. I have never seen fences affected but have seen softer stone soak in water into pores and small cracks have issues, salted and non-salted alike. Harder rock materials such as fired brick and concretes used for paver style coping seem to fare far better. Salt is not corrosive, in and of itself. Look a the metal cap on your salt shakers. Once you add water though, one of the chemical property changes is that the water can now conduct electricity, something pure forms of either couldn't do before. Electricity is the flow of electrons between two points. That electricity can originate from more than one source. Often, cells get the blame and sometimes that is correct but for the most part, it isn't. It can come from a bad ground leaking a small amount of electrons or a broken or non existent bonding system. If the soils around the pool have differences in potential with the pool shell and water, a battery (think "D" cells for a flashlight) can form naturally. Occasionally, leakage from a cell can happen. This can also be seen a little more quickly with metallic ladder and rail cups acquiring calcium deposits on an unbonded pool. Chrome sometimes looses it's luster too and stainless steel can form pits. This can often be stopped by adding a well grounded or bonded zinc anode to the flow of water. Zinc is a less noble and inexpensive metal that will tend to attract any stray currents. It will sacrifice itself and won't add anything to the water that is bad. Keeping them clean keeps the zincs, as they are called, working. They will often last 5 years or more before needing replacement. Sometimes, two may be needed, one by the equipment and one in the skimmer or auto-fill. Note that the flow of water and the flow of electricity are independent of each other. Water may flow left to right for example and electricity may flow right to left. Also note that added salt is not the only thing that can make water conduct electricity. The addition of a number of minerals that a pool comes into contact with can and will add the conductivity of electricity to it, even some bird poops. This makes the use of proper materials during construction all the more important. I have refused to install salt cells because the client would not sign a waiver absolving me when I tested the pool's bonding and it failed. I don't like it since it costs me money but I also don't want to have to defend myself which could cost me even more. This is the largest stigma many builders are concerned with. That's not to say a particular material should not be used in the construction of a pool, but when covering your tush, well, it's just jurist prudence. Scott

A 3/4 HP Uprated is fine. WF-23 is the model. Scott

With all due respect, ncrealestateguy, considering the definition of a troll, that is somewhat redundant. ;-) I will grant you that it was less than kind for me to tweak him like that, and it is true that his lack of manners does not justify ours. At the same time, if he is not made aware of how he comes across, how can he (hopefully) correct his behavior? Perhaps he was born in a different culture - that would be easier to let slide. Yet even then, he still would need to learn how to assimilate & he doesn't come across as the type of person who will accept a singular gentle correction - more like a plurality of bluntness - maybe. :-D At any rate, moving on to a more constructive line of thought, I not only do *not* disagree with your opinion about internet business for PB's, I would assert that it is already happening currently since I have been able to communicate successfully with at least one online about our interest. But note that this part is about the potential customer seeking out the PB who has put his internet shingle out rather than vice versa. The one point where we seem to differ is on the suggestion that good PB's are going to be cruising help wanted boards looking for pool jobs. If you want to grow your business, you are going to target the areas that will make the most of your advertising time & dollars rather than trying to hit up every possible avenue - because not many have that kind of time & money to spend with so little potential return on investment. Even if internet usage on that point changes in the future, it still seems on par with putting an ad in the paper - I can't see most people being willing to hire someone for a job like this based on who responded to their ad. There will always be those who prefer to go as cheaply as possible and cross their fingers, but I believe most of us would rather seek out the best and the brightest to increase our prospects for a quality job with greater longevity.