I can tell you how I approached it.

I checked with my township about fencing requirements, building codes, that sort of thing. They had a nice handout for pools, in-ground as well as above ground. Then I went to several pool stores, the ones which have pools set up outside, and just started talking to the people. I learned about steel sided, aluminum sided, round/oval, Intex, different kind of vinyl liners, different ways of preparing the ground, underlayers, coves, pumps/filters/lights. It was a process that took many weeks because with each new thing I learned at a dealership I went to the Internet and read more about it.

The dealers in this area don't do the installations but they did give me installers' contact info. The first one I called for a quote was a complete dud. I knew we wouldn't be a good match when he drove up to the house in a black Hummer with naked lady decals on the windows. He wore a gold Rolex. I concluded he had too much money, I wasn't going to help him upgrade to platinum, and I knew I could not relate to that man. His visit was but brief. The second builder let me talk and ask many questions, explained why some of what I wanted would work and some other things might be more difficult. Our property is challenging because it's on a steep hill with an evil slope in the backyard which ends in a plateau on top. "Can you put a pool up there?" I asked him. "Anything can be done," he replied. His bid was reasonable. I hired him.

The pool builder will prepare the ground. He may be able to help with the fence via subcontracting, or you can call a few fence companies for bids. The pool dealers will have installers' names, or you can look in the Yellow Pages (focus on Above Ground). Phone them, make an appointment, talk to the people. Make notes. This is a good time of year, their schedules aren't as tight anymore. Our pool was put up in September 2005. You can do the fence now and the pool in autumn which is a better season in the Northeast than spring when things are either frozen or muddy. Or you can get on the builder's schedule for next summer but may have to make a downpayment, and what if he goes out of business?

I asked our builder for a quote to include everything: pool, equipment, lumber for the deck, but to split it out so I could compare. I ultimately opted to buy everything from him because he was willing to work with me on costs after I showed him some of the prices I could get for comparable equipment elsewhere. How are your negotiation skills? Our guy is a local contractor; he had given me references whom I called and visited and talked to about follow-up. If something goes wrong, was he responsive when you called him? I checked his BBB record, I looked up public records–they're out there for free when you know where to look.

Yes, it could take months, the research. One easy way is to drive around your area and knock on doors where you see pools that you like. Talk to the homeowners, ask them about the pros and cons of their pool, who built it for you, are you happy with it? We LOVE showing off our pools