How to design your own pool

If future plans for your backyard include an inground pool, you can start by making your own design. Whether you end up with a rough sketch or a detailed plan, the time is well spent and you’ll avoid many of those “should have” moments. By giving professionals something tangible to start with, you’ll also save a great deal of time dealing with them…less back and forth as the family debates what they really want.

I recommend starting with a trip to the magazine rack at the bookstore. There are several posts highlighting the latest trends and enough brilliant photos to get the family excited. However, from the start, be realistic about how much money and space you can devote to the project. Focus on designs that fit your property, not only in size, but also in style and grandeur. The Trevi Fountain is beautiful, but it wouldn’t look good in most subdivision backyards. If your home’s architecture is formal, stick with it. If it’s rustic, go with that. I’ve seen a lot of people spend sixty grand on a beautiful pool that just seems out of place. Finally, remember that there is much more to it than just the container that holds the water. A great pool is a collection of water effects, covers, furniture, landscaping, and sometimes architectural elements like walls, benches, fireplaces, and even outdoor kitchens.

If you’re the engineering type, you might want to pick up one of the available computer programs that draw groups. Some are simple and free. Some are full cad/cam programs that require a PhD. Or, you might want to grab some graph paper and some colored pencils. Both methods work equally well. Your pool builder will only use it as a guide anyway to put the design in the format you are used to. While you’re checking out your site, a few things you’ll find helpful: Gather enough garden hose to approximate the perimeter of your future pool. Most pools have a perimeter around 90 feet but obviously you may want more or less. Have a nice long tape measure on your belt, and gather some outdoor furniture that looks similar to what you’ll eventually want to set up poolside. It’s much easier to see how much space you need to walk around a real easy chair than to imagine it on paper. Most importantly, you should drag any family members into the backyard who will ever use the pool. Now is the time to come to a consensus on what everyone wants; not after you and the pool builder have spent 50 hours designing.

Using the garden hose, design the perimeter of the virtual pool in the shape and location you have in mind. Now, you have many things to consider. First and foremost is proximity to your home’s foundation and any other structures. Some heavy equipment will dig a very large hole and you don’t want to compromise the soil that supports your beautiful home! I recommend keeping the waterline at least seven feet from the foundation. Assuming you’re making a gunite pool, the pool wall at the top is 12 inches thick, so seven feet will provide a six foot buffer zone. Next, consider where the rain that falls off the roof of your house goes and drains the surface. from his yard. The pool location and elevation should be designed to prevent dirty runoff from fouling the pool water. Almost anything can be accomplished with underground drains, but unsurprisingly, complexity costs money. Next, consider the entry point(s) for the pool and the expected pathways from various points in the backyard. When planning the deck, you may want to use an extra garden hose. The deck can be expensive, but it often makes the pool much more usable. Place some of your outdoor furniture in likely locations around your virtual pool and see what you need to walk around everything without feeling crowded.

Another important consideration is the location of underground utilities. Free of charge, your utility companies will come out and paint lines in your yard to mark gas lines, water lines, and any underground power lines. Sewer lines and septic systems can be harder to figure out, but now is the time to locate them. Having the pool bulldozer knocking on your back door is not a good feeling. If you have overhead power or phone lines in the pool area, you may also need to consider the height of the equipment needed to excavate the pool. Lastly, this team will need access to the pool site from the street; all that dirt has to be hauled and the typical crew needs at least twenty to eight feet of trail. Yes, air conditioners can be moved and fences can be moved, but it all costs money and in some cases may require the cooperation of neighbors. (Start bringing them cookies now.)

Lastly, consider the space needed for good landscaping. Whether you do it with the pool or add to it later, a landscape plan will ultimately frame the project and create the necessary connection to the rest of the backyard. Simple or elegant, remember to include the necessary water pipes and electrical lines for sprinklers and lighting. It’s a lot cheaper to trench through the dirt than it is to get a beautiful new pool cover.

In a future article, I will discuss the different types of pool designs, as well as the various construction methods with the pros and cons of each. If your pool project is something for the future, enjoy the luxury of planning slowly and carefully. A swimming pool is a major investment by any measure and it is permanent. You can’t go back and start over. When your plan is more or less complete, it’s time to call a couple of pool builders and see what they think. Ask to see their portfolio and choose someone who already knows what you like. Most builders will gladly take you on a tour in the afternoon to see their work in person. Take time for this as you would any other step in the planning process. One future summer afternoon, as you sit by the pool, sipping your iced tea, you’ll be so glad you did!