I am currently in the process of having a deck built, and feeling
screwed by the contractor adding all kinds of expenses for
"unanticipated" problems (He charged me extra for flashing which
everyone I have asked has told me is standard construction technique,
and two extra hours labor for "inspecting" the wood). I am now
planning to get my pool and attached spa replastered, and have the
tile redone, and have the cool deck (sp?) painted with "restorer." He
will also replace the pool ladder, light.

What questions should I be asking (assuming his references are good)
about the job. I know that he says he will sandblast but do all
sandblasts go down to the concrete, or only part way down. I really am
ignorant about this (just I was ignorant about the deck) , but I guess
I need to be educated to know what properly should be done for this job
in case the contractor tries to tell me something is "extra." Do most
contractors charge a set fee for such a job, and are there any
conditions which reasonably could cause "unanticipated" extra expenses
(The pool has NO cracks whatsoever). What shortcuts would contractors
attempt that I should be on the lookout for. He gave me a bid of
$11,200 for my 20K gallon pool, and it was similar (next to the low
bid) to other bids for the same work. He did have a good reference
from a trusted contractor.

My existing cool deck has some limited areas which are cracked, and
have come off from the concrete slab. Also, some of the concrete slab
was jack hammered up for construction of the deck. How should this be
taken care of, since I assume that either new cool deck or more
concrete must be poured to make the pool deck surface uniform.