Yeah, the deck is not going to go up. I am also really in no mood to dig a new pool into the ground. I just built 5 raised planter beds for the garden, which involved moving approximately 4 cubic yards of soil around, and I still have to bring in about a yard of pea gravel to finish it. I am so sick of moving various materials around this yard. I'm not digging a 27' pool about 8" into the ground
I will say, having the skimmer and pump where they are is a royal pain. Especially since the stairs to the deck are about 20' to the right of the filter pad in the picture. There are times where I wish I could get to the pump and the skimmer at the same time too. But I think I will keep them where they are, since the plumbing is there, as well as the cut for the skimmer is in the deck, but I do like the idea of boxing in the skimmer, so it does not look totally janky.
I would love to have some sort of remote on the pump that I could use on the deck while I am vacuuming. My pump is controlled by my SWG. I'll have to think what to do. I could plug an Alexa smart plug in there. Not sure how weatherproof those are, and if they can handle a pump startup surge. All things to think about.