I think the question might be vague. It is for me, anyway. I don't know if you have a pool and want to do something around it, or if you might have high ground water and want to have a custom pool without getting into the groundwater issue.

A lot can be done with gunite. There are also custom fiberglass manufacturers that are making great stuff. Can you be more specific?

Certainly it is possible to do an above ground pool in concrete or with stone veneer on the outside, and this is done quite often in places like California or Arizona and/or the French/Italian Riviera, South Africa's Capetown or resort hotels in Bali and Thailand, especially when dealing with hillside locations. The cost will be proportionally higher as you are having to finish exterior walls as well as pool interior walls, and the walls will also require significantly more structural rebar as earth will not be helping to support the walls. You need to get yourself some good books on pool/landscaping to see the gamut of what is possible, there are lots of incredibly good books out on swimming pools and landscaping.

Hi Laag,
Sorry for the vague wording: Basically, I'm interested in getting a pool of some kind. I have a couple of reasons for not wanting to excavate - 1) The soil where I am doesn't go very deep before it hits solid rock, 2) I'm not sure how long I'll be here and I'm thinking that a future owner of this property may not want a pool, so it might be better to have something that could be knocked down (however expensively) as opposed to something more physically permanent, like a big hole in the ground 3) I'd prefer not to have to fence in my property or the pool area as per code, so something that has some height that could maybe be accessed from an elevated deck with just a few easily controlled entry points might be better for me.

Problem is, I really don't like regular above ground pools. I'd much prefer the kinds of materials that are used in in-ground pools (stone, concrete, gunnite, even metal) to the typical circular el cheapo vinyl thing.

So, I was just wondering whether anybody had ever run across any unusual treatments for an above-ground pool that had similar naturalism or architectural interest as a real in-ground pool.

Does that make more sense?

I'm really just casting around for some unusual ideas.

Thanks Bahia. What I've seen in books are pools that are built into hillsides where one or two sides are exposed, but I haven't really seen all 4 sides exposed. Until your post, I didn't know if it was actually possible, but I guess you're saying that it is, and it's not even that unusual. I'll have to look around some more and see if I can find some examples, but at least now I know it's a realistic concept.

One of my old bosses had created an in ground pool, making it look like a pond, using epdm rubber roofing. Instead of doing in ground, why not look into making an above ground pond, except make it a pool!

Trying to think outside the box!

Gotta show us pics of whatever you chose to do!

Not sure if it is what you had in mind, but you can find many photos of pools (in- and above-ground) at the link below. Select only "swimming pool" under "deck type" for your search criteria and the results should be limited to pools only.

Here is a link that might be useful: Decks.com

Old thread.

This is exactly what I'm looking for. An above ground concrete lap pool. I've called several in Sacramento and none that I've called are willing to do it. Maybe it's not worth their time. It's basically a lap pool. 36' long 8' wide and 4' deep. From a safety point of view having a young daughter & grandkids this will be perfect for my family. Many thanks to Houzz for showing some spectacular examples. Now only if I can find a contractor.

Cheers.

The reason for this is our somewhat small back yard. The final design will look very similar to this black onyx pool. Got the wife onboard! She digs them.