I'm just at the beginning stages too, talking to builders, getting quotes, and trying to figure out which pool surface can work for us and our budget. So I'm still learning too!

I think what I'll have to do to choose the pool surface is to look at the costs over a long period of time, and see which is cheaper, and if it's fiberglass, if there's a particular shape pool that will work. Equipment is another story!

We just went on a tour of pools by a builder near DC (Browning) that they do every Saturday - so you can see the gunnite and vinyl pools they build. To me, that was super helpful, actually stepping into the pools (feeling the vinyl and pebble tec) and being able to talk to the pool owners.

Maybe there's something like that in your neck of the woods? Now if I can just find something like that for fiberglass around here!

Elsa

We ended up just taking the plunge and getting a builder to come round and talk to us. That helped with a lot of the questions. There aren't many pools in my area that aren't gunite (Houston) so the material issue was much less of an issue for me, everything else though I just learned about by searching on Google!

We also have some really nice neighbors and 2 of them have put in pools in the last year so we asked them about what they did, what they would have changed etc which really helped give us an idea of what we wanted.

Good luck!

Don't feel bad that you feel in the dark about some of the decisions you face. It's better to ask than be in the dark. I can only speak for the Houston area, but you will find a gunite pool is used most often here. In part that is because you are not limited to the designs of fiberglass or premade pools that are placed in the ground. Some people think it is faster to go fiberglass, but it shouldn't if your builder has everything scheduled out in advance and has reliable people working on each phase of construction.

There is a big debate on the type of sanitation you should use. The old fashioned way is via man made chlorine. I strongly recommend against that, because of the asthma, skin and other problems it can create for the swimmer. It is also expensive to buy the man made chlorine you have to use. Much better alternatives are salt systems or ozone created through UV light. I am biased toward the UV ozone system, but salt has a very nice water feel. The negative to salt is that you need to seal any natural stone that will come into contact with the water (coping, waterfalls, etc). The salt often etches and causes deterioration to the stone. The key is keeping it sealed with a sealant designed for salt water pools. I favor ozone personally. It costs less to install than salt and is like swimming in bottled water. Operational costs are minimal. You do have to have a chlorinator with this system that feeds a small amount of chlorine into the pool.

Pumps are a big consideration. Bigger does not necessarily mean better. You will save a lot of money with a variable speed pump from an operational standpoint. There is a pump by Pentair that I use on almost all my pools called the Intelliflo. It saves tons of money to use.

Filtration for residential pools is usually either Cartridge or DE (diatomaceous earth). The DE type filters more particles than Cartridge, but it is messier than Cartridge. I use a Cartridge type where you remove the cartridges to clean them a few times a year. The bigger is the better on filtration sizes especially if you might have a dog that swims in the pool.

Pool automation is another key consideration. The old fashioned style but still reliable is via an Intermatic time clock. You set the pump to go on and off at certain times by setting the stoppers on the clock. Although more expensive to initially install, a computerized system gives you a lot more freedom in what you want the pool to do and when. Getting a wireless remote control to use as a command center is often used.

Cleaners: if you have the money, an infloor cleaning system is nice to have. Most people, however, opt for a suction cleaner (small pools only, sluggish, takes a long time to clean) or pressure side that requires a booster pump to operate or a robotic cleaner that works off low voltage. Robotics are probably the best cleaners, but they cannot be left in the pool after cleaning like a pressure side can (the kind with a tail).

Plaster and decking offer a whole new array of choices. To keep things brief, I'll stop here in the hope that I have been of help to some of you.