I'm posting another copy of the site plan because it was hard to see, hope this one is better

hmlinca-

Great plan! Looks like everything is well thought out and planned.

A few comments in no particular order or importance....just ideas to ponder:

1. Not sure what type of pool decking you are considering, but you may want to keep your existing patio and use it as a foundation for the type of decking you are considering. This will save some labor and material rather than ripping out your existing patio. We had an existing patio, and when we did stamped concrete for the pool deck, we also have them do a 2" overlay over our existing patio that matches the pool stamped concrete exactly. We were just going to stain the existing patio, but it was actually more money for this due to time and material to make it match the rest of the poured concrete for the pool. We had a wire mesh placed prior to the overlay and have not had any structural problems or cracking for 2 years now. If you are considering stone for decking, your existing patio can be used for a foundation for this as well. All the above is only possible if you have at least 2" distance between the top of your existing patio and your door thresholds.

2. I see you are considering moving the HVAC outdoor units. May want to consider moving the HVAC units further from the pool area and the pool equipment closer to the pool area. Two reasons for this: a) the pool equipment will be quieter than the HVAC equipment, unless you have high end HVAC outdoor units that are made to be ultra-quiet. This is especially true if you are considering 2 speed or variable speed filter pumps which will be running most of the day. Both of these technologies are almost silent when running at low speeds. I see you have multiple pumps. If one of them is a 3HP pump, then I would consider keeping it away from the pool area because these pumps and higher HP pumps are quite loud. The 2HP and below pumps are quieter than HVAC units from my experience. b) The closer the pumps are to the pool, the less friction loss you will see from the piping, so this will keep the hydraulic system more efficient for energy savings.

Hope this helps!

hmlinca,
Light note: Code requires the top of the light ring to be 18" below the water. Your spa light may have to be moved into the bench unless you are using fiberoptics.

Trhought & golfgeek - thanks for the input. Trhought with respect to your points I think I may just have under 2" and would like to keep the concrete but probably won't be able too. Wth repect to the HVAC, I agree I would like to get the HVAC equipment away, they run all day and night here in Central Calif and are loud - but I wasn't sure about the efficiency of running the longer AC lines (Cool air is very important to my wife!!). I need to look into this. Based on the size of my pool I'm probably looking at a 1.5 HP pump.

Golfgeek - is it standard to have a light in the spa? I showed one just to cover myself if it was needed, but now that I think about it maybe it really isn't needed. Any thoughts?

How about making your top step a suntanning shelf (Baja Shelf) and extending it out? You seem to have a lot of pool in the drawing. Perhaps a real nice 18" tanning area would be fun to have too?

Katherine

hmlinca-

The efficiency of the HVAC system will not be compromised much by the additional line length. In most applications, any runs under 50 feet will not need special attention. Those runs over 50 feet typically require additional refrigerant charge and possible larger copper tubing. Your local AC folks can help with this.

I would recommend at minimum a 2 speed pump or multiple 2 speed pumps for your setup with spa, pool and waterfall. A variable speed pump will also work for your pool. Either of these technologies will be much quieter than the 1.5HP single speed pump you suggested and save more energy.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, yes I'm definately going with multi-speed at least, maybe a variable depending on the cost.

Katherine, I thought about the shelf but the pool seems small to me to fit one in.

Thanks everyone for the input!