Site Preparation
You’ve looked at your backyard over and over again and think to yourself, “A pool would be awesome back here.” There is plenty of open space and you checked with the town and know your set backs. The access is fine – there is plenty of room with nothing in the way to get the equipment back there. And the space itself is pretty flat. Perfect for a pool.
If all those things are true, then that is just super because there should be no problem installing a swimming pool. In fact, you consider your backyard to be the ideal location for a swimming pool.
But what if that is NOT the case, but your still want a swimming pool?
If on paper you lot can have a swimming pool, but right now, there is rocks, hills, trees – any obstacles in the way – you can still have a pool, but there will be additional costs to get to the point where a pool can be installed.
I went on a site evaluation yesterday to a beautiful home in a very wooded area. There was a 5′ grade difference from the back of the lot to the house. That is significant! To access to the space from the driveway would require driving over the septic system – that can’t happen. And there massive boulder and rock outcroppings everywhere.
Does all this mean the client cannot have a pool? Absolutely not! A pool will fit in the space on paper, so yes they can have a pool. But what it does mean is this client is going to have to spend additional funds to have the site prepared for the pool installation.
If you have “challenging” location (i.e. steep grade, rocks, access issues) then before you talk to your local pool company, consider spending some time and money with a landscape architect or designer. If you know you are going to need retaining walls, I suggest using an architect and any walls over 4′ will have be engineered.
Otherwise, invest some resources on a Master Plan with designer. Tell this person everything you envision in the space – pool, kitchen, cabana, etc. Once everything is on paper, then you can start the construction process.
Creating a access, taking down trees, clearing the site, creating a level space, building the walls. All these things take time and money and perhaps your backyard renovation is going to have to take 2-3 years to accomplish as time and budget permits, but if there is one thing I have learned in 5 years of doing this..PLANNING IS KEY!
Maybe it is just my Virgo nature to want to plan everything – but in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”