Never heard of gunite peeling or getting nicks. I have heard of vinyl liners tearing and ripping.

We have high water table and are in flood prone area. When we have excess rain, I do have neighbors who get liner issues. Hurricane Irene put my neighborhood under 2 feet of water and everyone that had liner pools had them bubble up and tear/rip away from sides. Gunite pools survived without a scratch. Bad memories....

We have a high water table. Every single liner pool in our subdivision has trouble. Ranging from big bubbles and/or permanent wrinkles. Every single liner pool. On my street alone there are 5 and all have issues and we've never had a flood or a hurricane. We went with gunite as did 3 other neighbors. No problems. Knock wood.

Two things that were have-to-haves when planning our pool: gunite and salt water generator.

You might want to ask questions about filtration systems and salt vs. chlorine in separate posts so they don't get lost. Good luck!

Thank you both -- very helpful and seems like strong votes for gunite! When you put in your gunite pool, how deep and did you install those well points (not sure of exact name).

4 feet of water shallow end, and 7 feet of water deep end. Not sure what you mean by well points?

The well point is at the deepest end of the pool. Be careful installing one. A hydrostatic valve might work better.

Sometimes depending on what is surrounding your property if you are constantly pumping water out from under your pool you could also be pumping water from underneath other structures. Many times the water is what is supporting the structure. If you dry soil out than your soil will fail. That's how sink holes happen.

Consult a soils engineer and do some testing before you install a pool. I have a soils report done before I even finalize a bid on a project. He can tell you what type of soil you have so you can appropriately design the engineering for your pool. It's cheap insurance.

Hope this helps.

Hi thejimbar, we just finished our pool and would like to put in a small pool house. I love yours! my question is what did you build yours on, and what did you do for your floor? I love your whole set up and your pool is beautiful!
Thanks, Jenn

Cabana is built on a stamped concrete slab. Photos below.
see www.summerwood.com for ideas. We used one of their designs and modified the inside a bit. Had a contractor build the structure and do the sheetrock and electric. I put in the cabinets, did the painting, and added the cold water line and the sink with a drain into a dry well.
Also added an outdoor shower with a propane fired water heater/shower setup.

Thx.

This post was edited by thejimbar on Thu, Aug 22, 13 at 23:02

Thanks so much for the pics thejimbar, I love it! We have the mason coming out tomorrow to talk about the concrete and I am going to show him your pictures to give him an idea of what we are looking for. Thanks agian for inspiration!

Hi thejimbar -- how wide is the opening for the bar window and how did you close it? Is it a roll down window? And if so, where did you get it? Thanks! V

It's 68 inches and it's an aluminum roller shutter. You can sort of see it in the 7th picture in the last series of photos, top left side of photo. It's a hand cranked unit and is installed inside. Works great and stays protected.

To keep this a thread about high water tables, here's a photo of the cabana under water, if you look closely at the photo, the water line was actually about a foot higher at it's worst.....

Here is a link that might be useful: RollerStar shutters

This is where I ultimately bought them.

Here is a link that might be useful: ACC Mfg Roller Guard Shutters

Hi Jim, I just met with the mason and what a small world Caeser says hi! I didn't even realize you were from NJ. Once again thanks for your pictures, we don't have as much space as you do but hopefully something similar on a smaller scale. The cabana is my husbands project so he working on a design and he loved your set up!

That's crazy coincidental for sure. Think he did my pavers too... We are in Montville.