I would have them up size to a bigger filter and specifically a cartridge filter. I was always a big D.E. fan for years but I'm going all cartridge because they are easier to maintain and waste less water.The bigger the filtering area the less your pump has to work to push water through it. I think eventually most municipalities will require cartridge filters in the future.I read an article of a study done in Phoenix a couple of years ago that concluded you could make a small 2' deep lake with all the water that gets back washed out of filters..

bigger filter is always better because you clean it less often, I prefer DE over cartridge. This is really going to come down to personal preference as there are people that swear by each method, filter, sand, DE. I had cartridge for a couple years and in theory it should be easier to clean than DE, just take it out and hose if off however in practice for me at least it was a big pain because it took forever to try and get the dirt and crap out of all the pleats and took me longer to clean than it does to take apart the DE and hose it down and put new DE in. I switched to DE and still like it after 3 years. If you get a backwash for DE then that is even easier although you still need to break it down every once in a while and clean it. Also for pool clarity the DE filter seems to do a better job at cleaning the water.

For the pool pump are you getting a variable speed pump ? They can save big money on electricity. I Love the remote control we use ours all the time but I have a jandy PDA and the user interface is quite slow but it's still faster than walking in the house to turn stuff on/off.

re: salt water, also like this however be prepared to replace the unit every 3-4 years depending on how much you run it. I think the cost to replace is around $300.

re: LED pool lights, these are kind of nice but not as bright so when you have it on bright white it will not light up the pool like a standard light would however having colors can set a nice mood.

If possible make sure you have lots of space around the pool equipment so that when you have to clean the filter or pump it's easy to get around. Also having a hose bib near the equipment is nice if you need to prime the pump or clean out the filter, etc. Lighting around the pump area is nice too, every once in a while you have to do something at night and trying to use a flash light sucks.

I appreciate everyones help and suggestions, for everything listed above my PB has quoted me a price of $ 60,000 we are located in northern New Jersey. Does the price seem fair for what we are getting.

Thanks for all your help.

Price seems to be about right......who are you using?

Have a rock clause in the contract. There are ares where rock is prevalent.

Solar recirculation? Qualify what that means. If it's pipes in the decking, skip it. If it's solar panels on the roof, do you have a southern facing roof less than 3 stories and how many square feet of panels?

A heap pump won't do it for you. It'll take well over an hour to get a spa to temp while a 400K BTU gas fired unit will do it in less than 15 minutes. If your electrical panel can't handle another 60 amps of draw, it would need an upgraded panel and meter, a significant cost.

Fusion just injects metal ion, specifically copper and silver. While they can kill many things, they do so slowly and do nothing for oxidation of sweat, lotions, oils, etc... The cartridges are expensive and the chlorine alone is more effective.

The 380 is a lot faster.

Six steps? Why? Shouldn't be more than 4 needed.

Get a 2 speed 2 HP pump. More cost effective in our area.

Price seems a little bit steep but access and local costs can have that effect.

Scott

Thanks to all for all of the feedback. Our PB is Anthony Sylvan. We have spoken to many in our neighborhood that have used them and while they do sub-contract out for everything no one has had issues with them and highly recommended them.

It does look like we will go with a 2HP pump and a DE filter. Do you think the chlorine generator is worth it? Scott, are you suggesting that we go with just straight chlorine? We are going with just six steps (3 on each side) for the spa since it is raised and will help with our grading. Regarding solar recirculation, it is just the ability to reverse the flow to the bottom drains to push warm water to the bottom.

Lastly, with the heat pump, we were not looking for the spa to be very hot, just wanted to sit with the jets on.

Is there anything you all feel we should change or look into? Price has come down to 56K still need to negotiate. What do you think is a fair price?

Thanks again!

Scott is just saying chlorine is all you need, whether you add the chlorine manually or use a salt water chlorine generator makes no difference. You won't need to add the metal ions and adding them wont decrease your need for chlorine.

Most people, Scott included I believe, favor the chlorine generating salt systems as being the easier way to add chlorine though it does add an upfront cost because of buying the equipment.

For all but the largest residential pools, chlorine is the only needed sanitizer. It performs both the oxidation needs and biocide needs a pool requires. Most commercial pools are fine with this too.

I have seen many a pool builder try to raise their bottom line adding things like a Fusion, O2 generators, UV, copper ionizers, etc... making ridiculous claims such as "it'll reduce your need for chlorine", or you won't need to use chlorine at all or "chlorine causes cancer".

A salt cell is a convenience that can, given enough time, save money but won't eliminate the need for testing and balancing. The term salt cell is just a shorter way of saying the pool has a salt water chlorine generator. There isn't enough salt to really taste but when the water passes through the cell, the salt molecule splits into sodium and chlorine.

I like them and I expect you will too. Sure beats lugging 25 or 50 pound buckets of tabs.

The "solar recirc" is more commonly called a deep heat option.

Trust me on the heat pump issue. You will want to get the spa hot and a heat pump just takes too long. With normal losses, a 125K BTU heat pump, downhill and the wind at your back (they are air temperature sensitive), will take about an hour to heat a spa. The are efficient in that they cost less to operate but because water takes more energy to heat, they are slowwww.

Scott

Are you going to want tile step markers?