Thanks, Tuscany!

So is it reasonable to have a little back and forth on the design initially with each PB before we choose which one to go with?

Maybe during that time time is when we should reach out to previous clients?

Get references and look at their prior jobs. Speak with the people who had their work done by PB's. Ask about their warranties for their work as well equipment warranties.

Absolutely make certain they have proper insurance coverage and have licenses! Ask for insurance certificate.

When we were getting ready to build our pool, I read every single post in the pools forum. Every single one. It took awhile! I made notes about everything under the sun: what to watch out for, what mistakes were made, choices about tile, slides, pool color, terminology, brands of pool filters, and on and on.

I interviewed 6 pool builders, and with my (intelligent!) questions, 2 of them never called me back. One of them was more interested in pushing their newish landscape design business (said I should budget $50K for that alone, um, gee).

I got preliminary designs from 3 of them. Two of them were responsive and I commenced discussions with them about details....and we ended up choosing the best pool builder. What did he/his company do that set him apart? His contract was professional, with everything set out clearly and was very organized. His quote for additional concrete decking and/or stone was set forth, plus a per sq ft number if we chose to add more later (we did). When I asked for references, he printed out the names and phone numbers of his last 50 clients, and said I could call whichever I wanted to. He didn't pressure us. And he was patient with my teeny-weeny detailed questions. Everyone's different, but that was what made us choose that pool builder. No regrets, and I recommend him to people all the time.

One of the things I show people is how much I loooooove the natural coping quartzite stones. The edges are subtly eased, so no swimsuit tears, and the grout joints are small...because the stone guys (pool builder's subs) were truly superior. When the pool builders take you on tours of pools they've built, ask them what specifically about the pool is a point of pride, and what they might've done differently. I got a good amount of information that way.

Mrs S that is great info thanks! I have read a lot of the posts here and another pool forum and have been doing so for the past couple of years in preparation. But now that the time is here I’ve gone blank haha.

I’d love to see pics of your coping! That sounds amazing.

coping and the decking will be big choices for me. My DH doesn’t care as much as I do about the details of the looks.

2 of the 3 PBs I’ve talked to so far were personally recommended by good friends. The other one is a small company that was recommended several times on here and the other pool site. If I don’t love any of them then I will meet with a couple more.

I can already tell their different personalities and need to think about who I’d prefer to work with. Learned that lesson building my house haha

Mystic Pool, thanks for your comment! They do all have licenses and such. Once I get more designs I’ll start talking to references. Plus I’d like to see their choices for decking and such.

The one thing we wished we had done was to have more bench seating shelves for sitting in the pool. We do a lot of sitting, visiting, and sipping of adult beverages... The little kids and grandkids love the shallow bench area, though we don’t use it. So, glad we did salt water pool - it just feels nicer...

Daisy, you mean a long bench and not just a tanning/Baja shelf? That is a good point, thank you.

We have two small kids but I like to just relax and hang out in the pool so definitely need places to do that.

Is that pebble tec or what?

I am seriously considering a salt water pool. I’ve wanted that for a long time but now am being discouraged by people over the replacement costs etc.

Have you had any issues with yours? What area are you in? I’m near the Gulf so high humidity. Not sure if that affects the equipment or not.

Yes to your first question...that is a grandson on the Baja - I think ours was called Acapulco, lol- bench/area. It’s great for kids, but we never use it ourselves. Yes, we wish we had more of the deeper bench seating. We only have the steps and a swim out bench in the deep end. That is fine for the two of us, but not when we have friends and family wish we had more.
Yes, we have Pebble Tec...Tahoe Blue.
We are in Northern California. Humidity is not an issue here.
We have had the pool going on nine years. We have had to replace the salt generator. We just bought of of Amazon. I don’t think it is cheaper than chlorine in the long run, but it is great not to constantly buy and lug in chlorine. We do our own pool maintenance. We put a little chlorine in it during the winter when the water gets to cold for the generator. We just really love the feel of the salt water and not having that strong smell.
We do enjoy our small waterfall aesthetic...
We put in solar second year...that really helps ...it can warm up the water 7 to 8 degrees on a nice sunny day. It helps us start swimming in April and to the end of Oct. Of, course your climate is much different.
Good luck on your project...putting in the pool was one of the best things we have done, even if it was after we became empty nesters. It is work, but we both really enjoy it!

Here are some pictures of our stonework. If you like the natural look and use stone, I think this is really nice. Our pool builder was incredibly picky about the stone, sending back one load because it didn't match well enough, in his opinion.

Also, a photo of our baja shelf. We made it extra big, and I'm very happy that we made ours 18" deep. It's the right depth for a lot of things: just sitting there, sitting there watching a toddler who has a place to play, a safe landing spot for a dog who jumps in (yeah, our dogs like to swim, too, and all are trained to use the step there to get out...tho they are never outside unsupervised). We included the "island rock" and the kids love it. You could put an umbrella there, but we really haven't ever done that.

Lastly, I am very grateful to have read here in this forum, before we built our pool, to consider making the shallow end 4' deep. A standard shallow end is probably 3', but the 4' thing allows for better water sports, like the basketball hoop, like a floating volleyball net, and generally is just better and more comfortable for adults to hang out, imo.

Mrs. S has good advice...I would also say set your budget and don’t get talked into all the extras if they blow your budget. We did all of our own fencing and landscaping/irrigation, deck, put in solar later, etc. Our initial pool build was about the same cost as my Honda Accord. We are pretty frugal people though...we all have different styles and circumstances .
Our solar out behind pool...we have ten acres though...

Oh, and make sure you invest in a variable speed pump...it really helps the electricity bill and noise if your pump is near by.
One thing we don’t have that is a plus for most people is auto water fill. We chose not to because of our well pump and the other irrigation/house needs. We need to control when we fill. The down to this is that when you are away for a week or more you will need to have someone put water in pool.

Omg y’all are so awesome and helpful!

I really appreciate it. Real life experiences are so helpful.