any dvice or help?

[Guest]

live in connecticut...im looking to get a gunite pool 16 by 32
it will be built on a slope on an area which has about 4-5 trees and some brush...since its a slope ill need a 7-8 foot retainer wall...this wall will be around 40 feet long...gonna go with some low end blocks...will also need a patio built with some bolduc type blocks...patio wiould be all around the pool...around 12 foot by 10 foot on the ling end ....4 feet around each side and 8 feet by 8 feet on other end....since we live in ct we want to get a heater and also a self cleaning pool... and of course we'll also need to fence the entire thing in....
the wife is pushing to add on some kind of spa ....questions occur here....how much more should a spa cost? what are the options"? does it need a seprate pump and if so how much is that..does it need a sperate heater and if so how much is that? how much should this entire project cost?

[Heckendorfmortgage]

As you dont live in the tropics you should budget on a heater for the spa. Adding a gas or electric heater and the extra plumbing and build costs will probably add about 30% to the construction cost.

I have a spa and pool together. There is a spillway between the spa and pool. It works fine for us using an ioniser and large sand filter. Jetvac keeps the leaves at bay.

It can be successfully done with one filter system but the plumber needs to set it up with extra isolation cocks controlling the drawing and return pipes so that its possible to do the following.
1. Draw from skimmer box and return to pool and spa.
2. Draw from spa and return to spa (with heater in operation).

NB jetvac cannot run when no water retuning to pool.

Construction costs will vary depending on quality of materials. live in Sydney Australia so cant comment on your construction costs.

[Heckendorfmortgage]

I sometimes think it would be cheaper to have a purpose built pool and buy a stand alone 4-6 person spa, that way you can have a warm spa anytime you want simply by lifting the lid. That way you can sanitise the warm water spa independantly to the pool.