I charge the following: Steel: 18" Raised bond beam: $4.00lnft. Fascia for a raised spa: $35.00 a square foot. For example, a seven foot round spa is 9' in circumference on the outside. 9x3.14= 28.26lnft. Then times that by 1.6, the height of the spa. 28.26x1.6= 45.21sqft. Then take $35.00x45= $1,575.00 for the fascia plus $4.00x28.26= $113.04 for steel. I do not get charge for a raised bond beam from my guniter for raised spas.Other parts of the country are different.

On LI, plan to spend at least $45 - 50,000 for gunite. Ron Gibons is a very popular gunite company on LI. My mom works for a high end landscaping company and a lot of their customers use Gibons. Take a look at their website. They have some really pretty pools. If you are looking at a free form style pool, you can get something very similar looking with vinyl. A way to make a vinyl pool look like gunite is to use natural stone for coping and patio work, add in a water feature, and choose a really nice liner that mimics common gunite colors (i.e. teal is a very popular gunite color).

You would essentially need to pay to remove the existing pool and patio and start over. Your present filter and heater would most likely need to be changed out as well. I put in a gunite 16x38ft pool twelve years ago. It came to wellover 50k with patio, heater, landscaping and fencing over a decade ago so I think you should expect it to be over 50k.

The automatic cover is a great addition. You could set the spa outside the pool raised, but you need provide a way to allow the water from the spa to travel to the pool when running. With the pool covered, a spa's spillway cannot be used otherwise it will flood the cover. Piping from the spa to the pool can provide a pathway for circulation. With the spa separate, you could winterize the pool and continue to use the spa. This however can be an issue as a possible power outage during the winter could damage equipment from a freeze. A generator is suggested, but adds an expense to the project. Perhaps consider a portable spa in proximity to the pool. It doesn't take space from your pool and it can be used all year round. Plus with a rigid, lockable cover, it's safe. The long bench is a nice feature.You could place a bench(s) in the corners. We do that often. It allows a way to get in and out of the pool and is not an issue with kids jumping about.