Reviving this zombie thread for an update ... making a bit of headway after three months of zilch. Our PB, like so many others, has evaporated. He hasn't returned to our job site in about 4 months, and has never finished our project. We've been able to use the pool all summer at least, but we still have a leak and still don't have shallow side skimmer working. A lot of the "misc." clean up work is abandoned, too. I'm not sure how to handle it, since our PB actually hasn't been paid for the completion of the pool and will not be, since he didn't complete it. I may need to have an attorney look at our contract and send him a letter to revoke whatever may still be in effect so I can use the money to hire someone else to finish - just don't know how to handle that.
In good news, we finally found a company (after so many no-shows ALL SUMMER LONG!) to assemble our pergola for us. They are out there working right now and I have my fingers crossed I may have pics today. My DH and I prepped all the lumber by cutting and staining it, but we just didn't have the technical expertise to feel confident in assembling it on the concrete deck. When we built our own pergola before, we set the posts IN concrete, and build something sturdy as a rock, but we were convinced by Mr. PB that setting these posts on top of the deck would be the way to go (less rotting, etc.) Should have gone with my gut. Lesson learned! These guys working right now have already done more in about 90 minutes than we did in an entire day, so I am EXCITED!