Since this thread has come back to life, I'll provide a few quick updates:
1) Pool was awesome all Summer. We used it from April through early October and used the hot tub from October on.
2) I can heat the hot-tub in about 30 minutes. It costs me just under $1 / hour in gas to run the heater
3) I can heat the pool about 1-2 degrees per hour at the same cost. There were two late September/early October weekends where I was able to have an awesome 87F pool. We had friends with pools over that didn't have heaters. It cost me about $10 in gas to have a pool we could enjoy all weekend.
Permit Nightmares:
1) I still have my pool and building permits open. City of Austin is very particular. I had to redesign stair cases (PB did it at his cost) since my landing wasn't big enough (was 1" too small), and I had a double step and tread depth needs to remain the same.
2) I had to add railing to one part of stairs
3) Since I added a bathroom, the city said I need to increase my meter size, despite I have the same meter size as my neighbor that has more restrooms than I. Not a big deal, until I went to upgrade the meter and was stopped by the city because they said their service lines are too fragile to support any meter upgrades now. They said I would have to replace THEIR service line at my cost, roughly $30,000. That obviously caused a nightmarish reaction, and I'm currently negotiating with the city, and they've provided some alternative approaches, so I'm going to work with my plumber to shutdown some unused fixtures in the home to get my WSFU under their threshold.
What I'd do differently:
1) I'd ditch the fountains. They're just too noisy when in operation, and it's one more pump, one more freeze thing, etc. The kids like them, and I thought I'd run them for ambiance, but the sound of crashing water even from just a few feet above the water impedes conversations or TV/music watching
2) I'd still do the splash pad/shelf, but we don't use it ANYWHERE near as much as I expected. We hardly use it. A few people with toddlers that can't swim that have come over have used it, but my 5 year old and his friends have no interest in it. It's nice for entering the pool, but it's not the lounge area I thought it'd be, the bar stools are much more attractive to guests of all ages.
3) I put too many umbrella sleeves down, the two on the benches are just not used. I didn't pay extra for these, and I've had no issues, but now knowing how the sun works, there are only 2 or 3 sleeves that get constant use, the other 3 don't get used at all.
I'm really hopeful I can get these permits wrapped up in the next month or so just to close that chapter and then go on to landscaping and other various things for a nice 2021 pool season.