Kara

Ok, first that is a question that involves individual needs and wants. A salt water system requires that you keep adding acid to bind the free chlorine into the water. This will prevent the chlorine from turning to gas and exiting your pool. That can and does happen when the water is warmer. You will still need to shock the pool in the heat of the summer. You will need to maintain the unit with mild acid baths, and eventually replace the unit which will be a cost to you. The salt in your water will raise your total dissolved solids and may require you to half drain your pool much sooner than a "regular" chlorine pool. There is a honeymoon phase with these products and I would recommend speaking to persons that have had the system for over 3 to 4 years. I would suggest you look into ozone water treatment. This product allows you to lower the amount of parts per million of chlorine in your pool, and still keep it safely sanitized. You can look further into this product at the cdc.org (center for disease control). I am offering my idea about which is better... because you asked, not because I think it is the answer for everybody. I would suggest that you use chlorine tablets in a deck chlorinator application with ozone. You can add salt to any pool to soften the water, but salt water is harder on your equipment and stone and deck. It is my experience that most homeowners find chlorine tablets easy to understand, and easy to use. Keeping your water safe should be priority, and then lowering the exposure of your family to chlorine (use ozone) and protecting the environment. If you backwash your pool that has salt in it you are putting more salt into the aquifers and water supply. And if you don't keep your acid level up you have the potential of allowing chlorine gas into the atmosphere. Those issues raise concern to me. I hope this opinion was useful, and not offensive to anyone that is happy with their salt system.

Ok, first that is a question that involves individual needs and wants. A salt water system requires that you keep adding acid to bind the free chlorine into the water. This will prevent the chlorine from turning to gas and exiting your pool. That can and does happen when the water is warmer. You will still need to shock the pool in the heat of the summer. You will need to maintain the unit with mild acid baths, and eventually replace the unit which will be a cost to you. The salt in your water will raise your total dissolved solids and may require you to half drain your pool much sooner than a "regular" chlorine pool. There is a honeymoon phase with these products and I would recommend speaking to persons that have had the system for over 3 to 4 years. I would suggest you look into ozone water treatment. This product allows you to lower the amount of parts per million of chlorine in your pool, and still keep it safely sanitized. You can look further into this product at the cdc.org (center for disease control). I am offering my idea about which is better... because you asked, not because I think it is the answer for everybody. I would suggest that you use chlorine tablets in a deck chlorinator application with ozone. You can add salt to any pool to soften the water, but salt water is harder on your equipment and stone and deck. It is my experience that most homeowners find chlorine tablets easy to understand, and easy to use. Keeping your water safe should be priority, and then lowering the exposure of your family to chlorine (use ozone) and protecting the environment. If you backwash your pool that has salt in it you are putting more salt into the aquifers and water supply. And if you don't keep your acid level up you have the potential of allowing chlorine gas into the atmosphere. Those issues raise concern to me. I hope this opinion was useful, and not offensive to anyone that is happy with their salt system.

I don't know what your state laws are but I would suggest that when you pay your sub you get a lien release affidavid or whatever your state accepts - Not saying your subs are untrustworthy its just part of the job. And it might be a good idea to get a workers comp release form for your subs too if they are allowed in your state, or find out if you have to have workers comp for your subs as a home owner/ builder. Also I would check with your city regarding permits and barrier requirements and backflow prevention inspections if applicable. Hope that was helpful?

Peg, In general the step should be 12 inches max depth and the tred should be 10 inches wide minimum. The bottom step is allowed to vary to the floor. These are general statements of the standard. If possible you could review your scaled construction drawings with your contractor and see if they are in line with what was planned. Again these are general statements, but I hope they are helpful.

Basically, sundeck is a concrete coating. There are various grades of coating materials used. The main difference is what they mix in the coating. If you want long life and a reduced amount of stain potential you should make sure that the product is cement and acrylic. This is the most state of the art type of concrete coating (sometimes called overlayment) Sundek has a pretty good rep, but you could research an alternative that looks the same but has a higher amount of acrylic with no polybinds (those break down in sun) That Product is called Xcel Surfaces. They are in your market. You could ask your builder if they could install that product over the concrete as an alternative to Sundek. It is just an option that you can consider. The main benefit to the coating over the pebble in general is that it is smoother to walk on and tends to be cooler during the heat of the summer. Good Luck and Congrats on your new pool Kara

JayinSA, I would recommend that you contact the Greater San Antonio Builders Assc. They have a website at www.sabuilders.com and have a list of members that are pool builders. I am a pool builder, and I would say the companies associated with GSABA are very reputable. Good Luck Kara Latimer