We do plan to spend more time in the greenhouse. Only trouble now is that by the time we get home from work, it's dark out :( As far as costs it's easy to see our heating costs are drastically down, but not easy to calculate exactly how much. The GH shares a propane source with our garage & studio which we are heating about the same as last year. Just a rough estimate but we have two 100-gallon tanks that cost about $500 to fill. By this time last year they had been filled once and were about 50% full. As of Sunday, both tanks are 60% full and have not been filled yet this heating season. I don;t know this years propane rates but I'm hearing they are pretty close to last year. I'd say that's a significan savings. Keep in mind we did see an increase in our electric bill by about $20 per month for late Oct & Nov when we were only heating the GH with electric. Even so I'd say the savings in just a few weeks in propane have already paid for the solar pool cover. As an added bonus, we're seeing much more reliable GH temps so we can start to us ethe GH more. In fact we're planning to start some salad greens from seed this weekend. Our tomatoes are starting to fade and our cukes are fading also. Any other suggestions for winter vegetables? We don;t plan to add supplemental light so I know we;re limited by that but I'm betting there are crops that will grow even now.

Thank you, although I can't take credit for the tile and stone selection. We all know its the wifes decision haha She picked it out and i agreed it is nice. As for the stone on the tanning ledge I am a little worried about it holding up in Salt Water that is why I was thinking about using a Sand color plaster for the tanning ledge and the Mediterranean color for the rest of the pool. Our PB told us that the flagstone will hold up very well since it will always be submerged. He informed us that the reason flagstone erodes is due to the water evaporating and leaving the Salt on the exposed flagstone on coping and decks? I am not sure about the heater yet the inspector has not come so i am not sure if it will pass. I will let you know what they say. what where the restrictions?

Big pool! Do you have a spa, water features such as lighted deck jets, sheer decents, waterfall, safety cover? 1st timers sometimes get shocked by how much can be involved and the costs, not just for the service but also the materials such as winter plugs and gizmos, cover pumps and step pumps if needed at closing and at openings, new return fittings if the old ones are no longer serviceable or are ugly, lost..., pump plugs if needed, and other little stuff that can get lost over the winter. Opening and closing crews usually have the little stuff with them. Don't expect them to make serious repairs such as repairing cracked fittings, balky heaters and the like. They usually have to defer that to another technician so they can go on to the next pool. Closings should be done by professionals. Most are happy to answer questions during the closing as long as it doesn't disrupt the work flow of the team. They are there to provide a specific service, closing your pool, not to teach you how. Prices tend to vary by market.

Hi! Thanks for your replies; sorry to take so long to get back to you all. Ended up dumping a TON of water down below the skimmer line so I hope we're all set on that score. Did get a call at 8 am today from the PB; said it was never a problem and that his crew could have come out to do it for us. Oh, well... They did come out today, though, to re-winterize the pool. Long story short (ha ha for those of you who know the LONG winded version...!), the PB removed all of our equipment in order to pour our decking plus make the surface ready for the enclosure installation; this was done back in Oct if I remember correctly. Pool was winterized and temporary pool cover was put in place. Winter cover had to come off the day the deck was poured; Nov 3. We then we had to cure for a bit. During the wait, we had LOTS of rain but no way to release any water w/o a pump which we did not own. Soooooo, we finally gave in and pumped it out over the weekend. The enclosure installation began today (YAY!) and that crew got about 1/4 of the job finished; they worked from 7 am until 8 pm-it was pitch black here in CT by 5:30 so they set up floods! They'll be back tomorrow at 7 to finish the job! I wish the entire pool build could have gone as smoothly as what transpired today!! And, yes; one of these days I'll post the MANY pics from start to finish! Thanks again for all of the advice!! I'll let you know how the rest of the install goes! joanneswimsct