Review my pool

10 years ago

We're finally getting a pool! We interviewed and reviewed the designs of 4 local builders and we've decided on the builder who has 35 years of experience and we've grown to trust. He's given us plans and we've signed up to have it built ASAP. Obviously there are things we can change before we go into construction and since I just found this forum I'd love your opinion on our pool.

Questions I have are:

Should there be more lights? We have one in the cave, one in the pool (right about where the left arrow is on the 33' measure line in the design pic)and one in the spa. The builder thinks too many lights is overkill but we don't want to be disappointed with the light or darkness of our pool (we're going for the 'resort' look and would like to have lights on for ambiance at night while we're on the porch/see it from the family room).
Flagstone overkill? We like the look of flagstone but don't want it to look like a flagstone frat party puked all over the backyard! :-) Is there another (nice, quality) decking surface we should consider?
Landscaping? I'm totally lost on what to plant around the pool - I'll definitely talk to a landscaper but any ideas for zone 8 in the US? Need hearty plants and going for a resort feel and need some groundcover with flowers preferably.
Sundeck or beach entry? We're kind of ambivalent about either - we definitely want a shallow area to sit some chairs in but what's the opinion out there for what's "best"?
Anything else? We've never had a pool built before and although very excited I'm trying to make sure I've thought of everything (I know I haven't!). So, any lessons learned from those of you out there who have done this before?

Thank you so much for reading and for any advice you have - feel free to ask clarifying questions. I want to get this right! I'll post progress pics as we go (nothing has happened yet)!

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Comments (4)

5birdy
10 years ago
What a beautiful pool and how exciting for you! We just finished ours so I'm also a newbie. We found that the choice of decking material really drove the design, so it was important to decide and budget that huge factor early. So many materials are available now, depending on your area (pavers, stamped concrete, etc.) Also I'd suggest that you buy whatever furniture you plan to use on your shelf now and make sure it will fit and also be the right depth of water. Do you want just your feet wet or your entire seat? The shelf will be level so furniture will fit better. Beach entry will slope so more for natural sitting not furniture. Also helps to buy your umbrella and decide where the hole will be if you want one in the lounge area.
jfdub thanked 5birdy
jfdub
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you! I think we're going with the shelf for that very reason - and I read that as the water evaporates on the beach entry you get some discoloration and I definitely don't want that!

Good points about the furniture - I'm sure my wife would agree but my pocketbook is already hurting big time from the pool! I'll have her pick out her preferences and then at least measure them out to make sure they'd fit and look nice.
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eriky
10 years ago
Absolutely beautiful design! I really love it. Design and rocks are all awesome!

I can't answer everything, but here is what I would say:

I have 4 lights in my 30k gallon pool, and its plenty, not overkill, but plenty.

I think the flagstone looks great, and matches the rocks very, very well.

I have a beach entry, and its my and my whole families favorite part of our beach. I struggled with sundeck vs beach, and really wanted the beach, but many people tried to talk me out of it, but I decided I wanted it and so happy I did, not one thing that people told me bad about it would I agree now.

Are you doing salt? We did salt and another thing we have been really happy with, not only is it very easy to maintain, but the soft water is so much more pleasant to swim in, whenever I swim in a non salt pool, I instantly feel it and so do my kids.
PRO
Pool Pro Office
10 years ago
Looks like you have plenty of yard space to work with. I would move it out further from patio and gain some deck area there and possibly turn pool on axis to create more depth and useful deck from patio to pool and more interest.