what is the brand and model of the heat pump if u don't mind me asking?
sounds like an awesome pool by the way
congrats
i am in south florida to

Whoops, posted the same image twice - cut and paste gone wrong. here is the correct one:

Beautiful yard, I can only imagine how it will look with a pool. Keep us posted!!

Thanks for the warm comments, we signed the contract yesterday, so we are waiting for the county permits and then the dig begins :)

We are still trying to rack our brains on the what pool finish to select. We were given the choice of the Marquis Series Marbletite quartz interior finish, but the only colors available to us in the standard price are the white backgrounds, such as bluestone with black (sky blue), Sapphire (too light), and Marina with black (greenish). Since we going with a modern pool, we would like a deeper blue/gray look, such as midnight blue, but that will run as ~$1200 as that is an upgrade in finish. Any thoughts on a possible solution to our color dilemma?

Anyone have a similar picture they could refer us to with the white base finish that would achieve a deeper blue look? Can they mix in a darkener at all or should we just upgrade to the dark color finish?

Thanks!
Joe

Unfortunately, we are really liking the midnight blue - I wonder how much room for negotiation the PB would have, especially since we already signed the contract :(

Hi WB,Most pool companies are reluctant to go with dark
colored plaster because they tend to streak.And then the
customer complains.Most refuse to go with black,even if
you sign a waiver.A dark color requires greater skill in
appling to minimize streaking.I assume IC men that are still working are very good at their trade.
I personally like Pewter.Would go with that,a member here a few years back used Maquis pewter mixed with black.
I think 60/40,it was awsome.Doubt if IC will mix.
You should go with the color you want,even if it cost more
.The pool is going to be with you a long time and you will
allways regret not getting what you wanted. $1200. is not
that much more concidering the total cost of your pool.
Try pricing pebbletech if you want a shock!
Maybe dropping the Gem/cool deck and going with broomed
concrete?This will save you about $3500/4000.

Good Luck....JR

Guh, just found that it will take another 1-2 weeks for county permits to come through. I'll keep everyone posted once the dig begins.

Thanks for the info JR - they do refuse to mix, so we will have to look for darker colors. We are going with plain concrete to begin with.

You asked about equip you might want to get this instead of the 2hp pump.
There is a new type of variable speed pump that saves a lot on electricity you may want to consider. The pump is a 3 HP pump with 4 speeds. It senses what speed needs to be on based on several factors. It saves a huge amount on electrical operating costs. You can go http://www.pentairpool.com/products/products3.php?id=76 to learn more or use the online calculator that helps determine how much electricity you save. For instance, the electrical estimate for operating a 2 HP pump for your size pool is $1,225 per yr (based on paying $0..15 per kwh). Using this new pump reduces operating costs to an estimated $330 per yr. It costs more for the unit to begin with and has to have some special automation to operate, but the payback is very quick (usually in 18 months or less).
My PB told me about this and my pool is 30x14 the aboved was based on my size pool yours is close in size don't know the cost of elec in Fla this is in Houston Tx I got it my pool but they just turned the pump on today so can't give you anything more on it just thought you might check it out.
good luck with everything

Also wanted to show this pic of my pool just filled yesterday we have a Black Marble Plaster interior which is just a White Marble Plaster with something mixed it It goes on lite gray in color and will make the water bluer and it only cost me $400 more than the White Marble Plaster depends on you PB of cours. PB says it will be even bluer next week after chemicals set.

newpool-7-2009

very nice looking pool.
so u say its worth replacing my 4 month old motor(original crapped out) with The IntelliFlo® VS+SVRS ?

domingos, I think it would be worth it but my pool is new and the pump has just been turned on so it will a month or more before I know what my elec bill will be so you might want to check with PB's or maybe someone has had one for longer maybe they could tell us both if it is worth it.

After a frustrating delay with permits and scheduling we are underway and have made decent progress the last week. Other than some minor issues like the PB putting an LED light in the wrong place I can't complain thus far.

The dig occurred last week and the guys have been working on the form and rebar the past few days. Since we are going with such clean lines on our pool/spa it is taking a bit longer than a free form. Anyways, here are some pictures form the past few days :)

The tractor is bigger than my house!

Look there is a hole in my yard:

Forming begins - note the geometric design.

Rebar almost done and you can now see the spa form:

Looking from near the spa towards pool and pond:

We are in a minor delay waiting for a form board survey due to the easement in our back yard, but they should finish the plumbing this week and be ready for gunite soon after.

We have picked out our tile and finish (bluestone with black - light blue), but are still contemplating how we are going to finish our cantilever edging around the top of the spa. After talking to the PB we have extended the 2 spillways to 24" wide each, but can't decide on whether to continue the concrete edge over the waterfall (more modern look) versus leaving it open (like most people). The PB will do it either way (with rebar support), but is concerned that with simple concrete that by bridging the gap (over spillway) it will leave a weak point and will eventually crack, so I'm leaning towards having it open :( If it was a stronger coping material (like stone) it would be perfectly fine to extend that coping over the waterfalls. Ahhhh decisions! Any advice here :)

I wondered what happened to you. Thanks for the additional pictures. I am keeping close tabs on your build because we will be selecting a PB soon. Any idea why it took so long for permits? City of Melbourne or Brevard County? I think I must deal with the county. It looks like you have a very nice location for a pool. I think we are going for the Bull Nose coping everywhere. We liked it on our last pool, unless the PB can convince us otherwise.

Thanks - we went through Brevard County for the permits. Not sure what took them so long, but it took ~2 weeks. Plus it took another week for Intercoastal to start since they had another job before ours. They seem to be pretty busy considering the economy, but that is probably a good sign. We are in another minor delay waiting for a survey to be completed regarding our easement in the backyard, but then they should start the gunite phase soon. I'll try to keep up to date on my progress :)

We have gunite :) It's finally starting to look like a pool. I think the guys did a fairly good job at keeping our straight clean line approach. I did notice that the stairs aren't perfectly straight - will they fix that (as best as they can) when they apply the finish? Or am I simply being to picky. Anyways, on to the pictures ...

Close-up of the spa, note the location of the 2 spillways. Should we cover the 2 spillways with the cantilevered concrete, or just simply leave them open?

Enjoy,
Joe

Looks good, I really like the geometric design! I am sure it's great to see it take shape after waiting for the permits for so long.

Also, should I have had them do seating in the spa all the around the entire perimeter? If you can see in the picture above they only did seating for 4-5 on the top and right sides (away from spillways). Since the spa is only 36 sq ft the designer thought we would enjoy the extra leg room, which is probably true since I'm 6'3." Now that it is gunited I'm thinking it may look a bit strange. Thoughts?

Looks like we are on to plumbing and the retaining wall this week :)

Should we keep the spa spillways open or closed with cantilevered concrete?