Top 5 Considerations For Your Custom Swimming Pool

Close your eyes and picture the custom home of your dreams.

Imagine the backyard: what do you see?

Living in a warm climate like Houston’s, chances are you picture a paradise oasis, including a refreshing swimming pool surrounded by shady palm trees.

One of the greatest benefits of building a custom home is that you can make it exactly the home of your dreams—including individually planned landscaping and a custom designed swimming pool. Whether you’re planning a swimming pool installation along with a custom home building project or installing a swimming pool as a separate project, there are several important considerations to keep in mind as you design and plan your custom pool.

1) Finding the Perfect Pool Builder

Don’t trust just anyone with the swimming pool of your dreams. Make sure it’s done right by going to a local business that you can trust to go above and beyond expectations. Meet with a few different professional pool installers before choosing the one for you. They should be willing to come to your property to discuss your pool project on site and provide a free estimate. View samples of their work, and research customer reviews on their website and external sources like Google. Also, look for a custom pool builder that offers a warranty on their work for at least one year.

2) Location, Location, Location

Not just any location will do for your perfect custom swimming pool. There’s much more to planning a pool installation than just finding an open space with enough room for a pool. Your pool designer should meet you on location as one of the first steps of the pool design process, and undertake a thorough analysis of your entire backyard, as well as your desires for the appearance and functionality of your pool.

For example, will you want a screen, lanai, or other covering over the pool area? If so, your pool may be best placed adjacent to your home, with the covering extended from the home’s roofline. Would you rather have the pool located in its own natural oasis, shaded by trees and foliage? Then the distance from the house would be preferable.

You, or your pool designer, should also make sure that the slope of your land is acceptable for a swimming pool location. If not, some leveling may need to be done as an early step towards your swimming pool installation. Just like in building a home, your pool will need a stable foundation before installation begins.

3) Custom Pool Shape and Design

The location of your swimming pool will help guide you in choosing its perfect size and shape. Your designer should work with you to make sure the pool isn’t too large or too small for its established location, and that the size of the pool allows you to get the most water usage out of the space available. You’ll have almost endless options when it comes to the shape of your pool: square, rectangle, figure eight, oval, etc. The shape of your pool should fit with the style and personality of your home and should be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

Your pool designer should create a 3D rendering and a 2D construction blueprint, and allow you plenty of opportunities to view the design plan and make changes before the pool design is finalized. Don’t settle for the first design layout your designer provides if it isn’t perfect for you.

It’s not just the pool itself that needs to be designed to your specifications. Don’t forget to also carefully supervise the design of the pool’s surroundings, such as decking, an outdoor kitchen area, or a pool house. These exterior features are best designed along with the pool so that they flow seamlessly with the pool in both style and functionality.

4) Plan For Pool Safety

Safety is one of the most important aspects of any privately owned pool, especially if you have pets or children. The best time to take steps to ensure the safety of your loved ones when it comes to your swimming pool is during the design and installation stages.

Think about what water depths would be safest for you and your family. While a custom pool can be built practically as deep as you like, you may want to cap the depth at five or six feet for safety purposes. However, if you have older children who enjoy diving, then extending the depth further would be a safer option. A beach entry (gradient, sloped entry) is another safety feature that helps young children enter and exit the pool easily, without the risk of slipping on stairs.

Make plans for external safety features such as a pool fence or other enclosure or a pool cover. Adding these features during the installation process will ensure that they flow seamlessly with the design of your pool, and keep you from having to make alterations to have them added later.

5) Consider Bonus Features

When installing a custom swimming pool, you may be tempted to cut corners in order to reduce costs or to get the project finished more quickly. However, in a few years, you may come to regret neglecting details that would be harder to add in the future, like a hot tub or beach entry. Putting a little extra investment into the project up front will pay off down the line, and increase your enjoyment of the pool for years to come, as well as your property’s resale value.

When choosing bonus features for your pool, make sure you opt for well-designed, quality equipment that will last as long as your pool and add to, rather than detract from, its value. Here are some popular pool bonus features and types of equipment that we recommend:

•      Variable speed Pumps
•      LED Lighting
•      Levolor Autofill Systems
•      Beach entries
•      Sundecks
•      Sheer Descents
•      Infinity Edges
•      Negative Edge Spas
•      Deck and Wall Jets
•      Planters
•      Weeping Walls
•      Slides
•      Hot Tubs
•      Private Caves

The Picklo Homes Swimming Pool Promise

Here at Picklo Homes, we have your best interest at heart. We love providing our Houston clients with state-of-the-art swimming pools that exceed their wildest dreams of the perfect backyard oasis.

Our promise to you:

•   We’ll give you a free, detailed estimate based on your desires for your swimming pool, then establish a guaranteed service agreement.
•   We’ll design your custom pool and pool surrounding, then alter and tweak it as much as you like until you’re completely satisfied with the result.
•   We’ll never surprise you with fine-print fees or hidden costs.
•   We’ll provide you with a top-of-the-line, quality swimming pool along with excellent, personable customer service.
•   We offer a two-year workmanship warranty to cover 100% of all needed repairs to the swimming pool, pool structure, loose tiles or stones, and plumbing leaks.

Call us today for a free estimate for your swimming pool project, and find out what the Picklo Promise is all about: (281) 252-4447.