Us too.:)

I completely agree with going salt - we had a chlorine pool for over 20 years, and our last one in GA was salt - easily 1/4 or less maintenance, and far less chemical cost... not to mention the other benefits (easier on clothing and skin, doesn't burn your eyes, silkier feel to the water).

I would do more research on your heating option - we are about to put in new pool, and I did extensive reseAn arch. Solar works best when you least need it (when it's already hot and sunny), and worst when you need it most. A heat pump always works, and is far less expensive than natural or propane gas in Florida. During warm weather it will add maybe $25-$40 to your monthly bill, and during cold weather around $50-$75. By my calculations, using the average temp/month in florida, and a desired pool temp of 87 degrees, I estimate around $350/year for an electric heat pump.

An average solar system runs between $4000 and $8000 depending on size and who is estimating. Based on this, it would take the solar system between 12 and 25 years to break even with a heat pump. On my old pools a heat pump lasts about 10 years, and a solar is around the same - they will tell you it's 20... but you will need to start replacing pieces at around 10 years.

Costwise, it's a wash... however a heat pump is consistent and works regardless of weather. Also, it will maintain temp during those 3 months where the solar won't.

Just my 2 cents!

I love the idea of fiberglass, but they couldn't get it inside my existing cage, so it's a no go. Fiberglass should be a much quicker install (cuts out about 4 weeks of labor), but is more expensive than a traditional gunite pool mainly due to transportation costs of the shell.

Hope this helps!

Make sure the pool installers can access your area on your land only. Many of them have to sometimes use your neighbors land to access the pool location. Many of them will say no because in this process they have been known to cause damage to not just the yard but also the irrigation system.

Salt and lighting for sure. If you decide on a spa also I would definitely recommend gas. You can heat up the spa alone very quickly to a high temperature.

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I agree with your response. I too like the social setting of the community pools in The Villages. I had a pool up north and I'm glad I don't have one down here. Hated the upkeep that is needed for a pool. Not cheap either.

We had a large hot tub installed in our birdcage/lanai, and they simply removed some of the aluminum and screening, installed the hot tub, and replaced the aluminum and then new screen. All the work completed in one day.

That is exactly what they are doing for my pool install - however, the excavation is much more labor intensive when they have to limit how they can remove the excavated material. I had at least 4 companies decline to bid any type of pool due to my unique situation (Fiesta, Outback, All Seasons, Wiseman).

Due to the design of our back yard (CYV) there is no way to get even a small fiberglass pool shell (i.e. 12' x 24') in through available space - the geometry just doesn't work.

I read this article early in my decision making process, and had decided to go fiberglass, thinking it would be both cheaper and faster... then began receiving estimates. In every case, fiberglass was between $10K-$15K more... and then found out that we couldn't get a fiberglass shell into our backyard without completely removing my cage and canvas covering.