My pool area is about 20' from my Tri-level house and 2.5' higher than my bottom story, so flooding is a significant concern. (Thanks for making me think more about disaster planning!) I think failures are much less likely than they appear in postings... but spectacularly catastrophic and quite memorable. You've got me thinking more seriously about aluminum now .

Yes, I checked www.Delairgroup.com Web site and no JW dealers in my area. I did find one EW dealer 41 miles away (in Gig Harbor). I'd prefer larger scale internet-based dealer for better price as long as I confirm make/model reputation and that it fits my needs. But at least now I know where I can go look at their pools in a showroom.

Speaking of needs I noticed EW and JW don't have any 12'x24' models. 15' is their narrowest oval. I'm not sure I even have 15' between my deck and my neighbor's fence, let alone whatever space is required between fence and pool (I need to look up Snohomish County building code ). I'll re-measure but I'll start looking for other known good brand/model aluminum pools. So far I found Wil-Bar Orleans 12'x24'x54" aluminum with 3/lifetime prorated warranty. I haven't researched Wil-Bar yet but a pro-rated lifetime warranty sounds odd.

As for pool lifespan note that average home is owned for 7 years. I strongly suspect pool owners are way above average (especially given the thoughful and dedicated support in this forum). The point is many people won't stay in the same house past 10-15 years. You could take your pool with you but I suspect it is better to sell it with the house and use the cash to buy a new pool for new location.

Whenever someone talks about lifetime warranty I immediately look at lifetime of the company. Have they been in business long enough to make "lifetime" meaningful?


FYI: Swim Artesian (mentioned near top of this thread) has steel wall pools with a lifetime non-prorated warranty. I was surprised that they don't have company history on their Web site. However I did an MSN Search and per http://www.parkcrossing.net/document...March_2003.pdf page 4 Artesian Pools (same name on www.swimartisean.com) was established by Rod Worthington in 1976 (30 years ago) and received national recognition for outstanding design and installation in 2002 from Natioinal Swimming Pool Institute's Awards of Excellence competition. That plus raves about their Echo Canyon model pool from at least one person on poolforum tells me Artesian Pools are fairly trustworthy.

before I make final purchase decision I will do a search on poolforum.com for the specific make/model to get reviews and sense of popularity . Since chances are slim that I can see product in a showroom before I buy I will not buy anything that does not have at least one person on this forum that has and likes the model.

Thanks for reading my ramblings and still posting replies!
-Zephan Schroeder
12'x24'x52" (or possibly 54")... details to come when finalized .