How exciting! We are finishing our build up now in Aledo. We haven't swam in our pool but we already love it. I would go with the salt system, LED lights, and the upgraded finish on the pool (the Pebblesheen is ideal but quartz is nice, too if you don't want to throw the extra money at it). Look forward to seeing the progress!

This is going to be a pretty pool I noticed a few things that may warrant some considerations.

A Clean & Clear Plus 520 square foot cartridge filter is better in arid locations. You won't blow off water backwashing and it is a better match to the pump's capabilities.

The sheers and lams don't need an Intelliflow. Too much pump and since these are infrequently used, that's a lot of money! A single speed will do quite nicely, properly valved and extra returns in the pool to take any overflow unless the sheers are four foot wide each. They should have their own filter too unless the suction outlets are in the wall where they can't pick up debris on the bottom.

Make sure the autocover has all high grade stainless hardware. Often, they come with galvanized.

Does that include a spool cover that can accommodate matching coping. This is how the service crews get to the cover's mechanicals. Is the spool to be above or below ground?

Are the cover's tracks under or over the deck?

How long is the fabric warrantied for? The Texas sun is powerful and it's UV rays will have an effect on the vinyl's life expectancy. Find out what the current cost is to replace the fabric and ask what the cost was five years ago. That may help you to estimate what the cost will be when the fabric does need replacing down the road.

Pricing Diamond Brite with Pebble is the same? Here in NJ, there is a significant delta in pricing.

While I like the negative edge look of a spa entirely in the pool, in this case, it seems like wasted space near the two walls. It also makes for a long reach to a spa-side controller, something I highly recommend. The iS-10 control will allow you to turn on the spa, raise and lower the pump speed and temperature, and turn on your your lights and water features. These controls, I should note, are water resistant, not water proof and should not be submerged but rather deck mounted.

Why only five spa returns? An eight foot spa can easily accommodate eight and the IntelliFlo can certainly drive them with enough pressure.

I would also expect the cover to rub on the other two edges when it opens and close. Auto covers depend on the water for support. They aren't drawn tight like a spring loaded safety cover. This will create a lot of additional wear on both the edge material and the cover material. The only one that will lose in that situation is you since the cover and the edge repair costs will likely come out of your pocket

Scott

Thanks Scott and RollTide. I will pass the information along to my builder. I will keep you updated. Love your pool Rolltide. We narrowed our builder to complete backyard - I saw where he was in your final two.

Oh, and please take care of the obligation to the original designer you hired Ravi.

Scott

It looks like you are in La Cantera? We are in SW FTW too.

That looks like a nice design, do you mind telling me who the builder is? I would upgrade to Pebble Tec at all cost for a pool like that.

I love the simple Geo lines of the build. We had our pool built 2 summers ago and love it. I went for my first swim day before yesterday, got to love Texas!

Lets wait till he pays a bill that is seriously past due to a forum member who has made many valuable contributions to our forum.

No. It isn't me. I am sure Ravi knows exactly what I am talking about. I won't name who it is but if you've been here for any length of time, you'll figure it out.

Scott

I was not aware of the overdue bill (my fault) but that is corrected and taken care of. Chris did design an amazing pool - not able to use his design however because of safety concerns (worried about how a pool cover could go over a lagoon style pool). We had a near drowning in our neighborhood so we decided to go the rectangular pool route to more easily incorporate the automatic pool cover - don't know if it's actually safer but we feel better with the cover psychologically.

I am glad that you and he were able to get that issue resolved.

As for the lagoon shape and an auto cover auto-cover, they are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the easiest way is to simply put the cover's tracks on the deck. This actually makes the cover stronger.

Scott