This Northwest Hills remodel, now in to its third phase of construction, had an originally constructed swimming pool and surrounding decks in bad need of restoration, which when complete would cap off the transformation of this 1950’s residence. Backing up to a busy scenic cross town thoroughfare, the owners could never enjoy their back yard without the constant sound of vehicular and motorcycle traffic hindering their relaxation. The outdated pool with rough plaster finish, “cool-deck” surround, and a rotting wood deck left the back yard of this newly remodeled Texas Tuscan residence unfinished, unsightly and flat out dangerous.

The desire of blocking out the noise from the adjacent road traffic was goal number one in this backyard makeover. The clients‘ recent trip to Italy educated them on the sound qualities water features can provide and would be the basis of our remodel efforts. Because the nearby traffic noise can vary from light to extremely intolerable on motorcycle rally weekends, three separate water features were incorporated in to the design.

The first, a small 4 sided fountain provides just enough white noise to the adjacent master bedroom and porch to drown out the late night traffic. Made from limestone slabs pulled from a quarry on the ranch of one of the clients’ friends, the center piece of the fountain is a large hexagonal pillar made from 6 pieces mitered to look like one column. Inside this “column” water is circulated from the pump to the spouts, to the catch basin below and back again.

A second 3‘ wide negative edge spillway from the hot tub provides the sounds of a water fall splashing to the pool below. The Oklahoma flagstone chosen to refinish the pool deck surround was incorporated in to the hot tub coping and ultimately provides the nice clean edge required to produce a smooth sheer flow of water. The radiused coping stones were computer cut at the quarry and then hand chiseled to match the rough nature of the dry stack stone below.

Last, but certainly the focal point of the design are three unique water spouts originating from a stone/plaster screen wall on the rear of the property. Water is dispersed from three individually controlled spouts at an infinitely adjusted rate to increase or decrease flow and in relation white noise being created. Water spills in to three large tuscan urns chosen by the client to match the blue pool tiles, which blend in to the waters surface by mimicking the ripple on the top of the water. From here, the water cascades down the sides of the urn until it reaches a catch pool below, where it continues to trickle down a series of dry stack Oklahoma stone steps until it finishes its journey in a recirculating trench that connects the three water features together and sends the water back to the pump. Every step along the path creating more white noise and thus shielding the sounds of traffic beyond.

Very unique constructability issues were inherited with the desire to blend the previously renovated home with the existing pool shell and elevations that did not coincide. By using computer modeling and close collaboration with tradesmen utilizing laser levels the flow elevations were tweaked to achieve site drainage while supporting the integral trench drain
which flows the opposite direction,back to the central pumping station located in a concrete bunker under the pool deck which also screens the pool equipment from view.

From the harmonious use of Oklahoma stone throughout, to the newly finished blue pebble-tech pool finish, to the natural greenery softening the fountain screen wall, no detail was left unfinished. This once drab and dated back yard is now an oasis for family and social gatherings that can be enjoyed without the constant interruption of traffic beyond.