Sorry, about starting a new topic, but I wanted to post and document our new pool build in a new thread. Some of this was posted in my other thread asking about Intercoastal Pools in Melbourne, FL. So far so good during the planning stage with them. We are planning on signing the contract on Monday and they are beginning right away (well after a week or two of permits etc ...). They stated they could be done in 6-8 weeks assuming no delays in the weather (i.e. tropics).

Here are the details of my pool build:

Design Plan

Pool - Rectangle shaped 28' X 14' with cantilever edge to give it a contemporary/modern look. It is 3 feet deep in the shallow end and slopes to 6 ft deep on the other end.

Spa - 6' - 7' square corner spa, 6" raised with 4 therapy jets and 2 12" tile spillways (waterfalls) into the pool

Decking 30' X 38' area - broom finished concrete with free stain negotiated into the deal. We are going for a gray stone finish as well (modern look). Any stain/stone finish anyone recommends?

30" retaining wall at back of decking since our yard slopes downward to a man made lake (pond).

Screen Enclosure - yes we are in Florida, it will be a black enclosure covering the entire deck area.

Removal of a couple trees currently in the back yard.

The equipment is pretty basic, other than the salt system:

Pump: Sta Rite 2 hp Max-E Pro for pool circulation

Filter: Sta Rite System Cartridge (150 sq ft)

Sanitizer: Pentair Intellichlor salt system

Gem Exposed aggregate finish. I'm looking for a deep blue finish that is included in the price.

Valves: Jandy 2 & 3 way for easy operation

5 ton electric heat pump to heat the spa (on demand)

3 LED lights (2pool and 1 in the spa - attached blueprint is incorrect there will be 2 in the pool)

Robotic cleaning system

Again, as you can see we are going for the modern, clean lines approach with the simple concrete, cantilever edge, and rectangular pool and spa.

After some negotiation we got the price down into the mid 37 K range (including pool, spa, deck, and screen). Should I be asking for anything different as far as equipment goes? I don't mind doing some work myself, so automation wasn't that much of a big deal for me.

Thoughts on the bull nosed cantilever (simple) edge for a modern pool? I wish I could do flagstone or blue stone, but that would put us outside our budget :)

Yard before the dig:

My poor grass :(

Poor landscaping :(

I need to find a temporary home for the weather station

Joe