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Spectacular Swimming Pools!
A swimming pool is the ultimate back yard accessory!
An imaginatively designed back yard pool can create a
unique and wonderful landscape design for your home.
Keep in mind these design tips listed below:
- A swimming pool is a design element that
needs some space! Using the right size pool
for your landscape design is important. You don’t want
it to look cramped or to overwhelm a small area. For a
larger space, you have more flexibility. It can be in
close proximity to the house or in an area by itself,
possibly with a pool house.
- Think about how you will enter the swimming
pool from the house and from other places like the side
yard and parking area! The circulation system
around the pool and the rest of your property needs to
flow. Don’t locate the pool so close to the house that
it is an effort to go from the house to other parts of
your property. This is the biggest design flaw I see.
Pools can be located closer to pool houses because its main
purpose is to accommodate the pool.
- Orientation is an important design
consideration! Whether the pool is installed
length-wise or width-wise can make a huge difference
in how your back yard is divided. The back yard’s
“wow factor” depends on it.
- The
pool deck
is the paved area around the swimming pool!
This area needs to provide ample space for chairs, tables,
umbrellas, lounge chairs and any other pool-side
toys you want.This is a decision that needs
to be made after thinking about the space you, as an
individual family, require. It does need to be in
proportion to the pool and the surrounding area too.
Have you visited a pool that looks like it is all deck?
It’s not a pretty picture. You want to create a back
yard that is a beautiful picture and welcoming to
visitors, not one taken over entirely by the pool.
In calculating your deck space, keep this in mind.
For furnishings allow room for the item plus 2-3
feet to move around it. Think about where people will congregate. One popular place is at the shallow end
by the steps. Make the deck wider there. Many times,
along the back side of the pool, all that is necessary is
a 4-foot wide paved area to accommodate walking from
one end to the other. Pool decks can be made in a
number of different surfaces.
- Fencing around the pool area is required
in most localities. As well as being required
by your municipality, your insurance company wants to
see this safety precaution in place. Be creative
on where the fence is installed. It does not
have to enclose just the pool. It can be a bit larger
to give some space for plantings that soften the hard
appearance of the pool and deck. If the budget allows,
it is beautiful to fence the entire back yard, so that
the pool area is not cut off from the rest of the property.
This allows for nice open space around the pool!
- Know where your underground utilities,
sewer system, drain lines, irrigation system, etc.
are located. Things like underground electrical
lines can be expensive to move. A drainfield is impossible
to move. If you are planning a new house and a pool is
something you want, think about where these underground
necessities are installed. If you have choices for their
locations by all means keep them out of the future pool
area. You don’t want to have to move them or work around
them, if possible.
- Providing correct drainage for the water
that flows across your property is essential for a
successful pool project! The pool needs to be
built at an elevation that keeps water from flowing into
it. Proper water flow on your entire parcel can be affected
by adding a pool, so grading to accommodate and fit the pool
into the site is important. A solid pool deck creates
storm runoff that needs to be taken to a place on your
property where it won’t create wet problem areas. This
is a good time to install solid drain lines from your
house’s downspouts. A tremendous amount of water comes
off the roof, let’s not have it dump in your pool area!
These important design tips help you get
started with the basics of putting together your
swimming pool landscape design.
Questions about your pool project?
I have answers based on my 30 years in landscape
design!
Ask
a question. You will get a quick response and a page
dedicated to the topic on this site. Share it with your
friends and the reader will appreciate it too!
I hope to be hearing from you!
Please
contact me
for further information or to talk to me about
my design services.
Nancy Dransfield
Landesign of Virginia, Inc.
P.O. Box 15582
Richmond, Virginia 23227
Office: 804-264-7253
Fax: 804-264-7253
E-mail:
n.dransfield@verizon.net
Go to These Related Pages:
Vinyl Liner;
Gunite;
Fiberglass Swimming Pools;
Fences
and
Pool Decks
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