Newbuild in SoCal - under construction

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Ricecake

Active member
Sep 22, 2023
25
Los Angeles
Hi all - thank you for your warm welcome - long time lurker. We have a 0.28 acre lot that slopes down to a flat backyard and a detached garage in the middle of it all. We can’t really take down the garage because we’d need to build a new one (unless we convert to ADU which is an arduous process and also $$$$$). See layout in the photo the shed is no longer there.

We would like to put in a pool - I think biggest we can do is 20x40 given where the oak trees are. We also would like to landscape and hardscape for seating area (where the brick space is right now). The side yard is a sloped driveway - about 3.5ft of drop from the top and I think would be too costly to level.

So far I’ve reached out to 7 firms - between full design/build firms and design only firm. Five of them required money before even coming on site (one asked for $20k after five minutes) whereas two firms gave me a quote of $3k after two hours on site.

Happy to get any advice / thoughts / suggestions!
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Ricecake said:
The side yard is a sloped driveway - about 3.5ft of drop from the top and I think would be too costly to level.
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I leveled my sloped yard with the spoils from my pool, then we moved and I did it again. There may be more to it depending on the pool type, but don't rule it out without asking. Unless you just really don't want it there. Then skip it. Lol.

What type of pool are you looking at ?
 
What zoning setback requirements from lot lines do you have?

You typically cannot put a pool right up against a lot line or a building.

You need to determine what buildable area you have on your property.
 
Newdude said:
I leveled my sloped yard with the spoils from my pool, then we moved and I did it again. There may be more to it depending on the pool type, but don't rule it out without asking. Unless you just really don't want it there. Then skip it. Lol.

What type of pool are you looking at ?
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Most likely inground and plaster shotcrete that seems to be the norm here? Rectangular so we can have a cover although most designers say it’s not worth the $
 
ajw22 said:
What zoning setback requirements from lot lines do you have?

You typically cannot put a pool right up against a lot line or a building.

You need to determine what buildable area you have on your property.
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5 ft from rear and side. The most stringent setback is actually 3.5x of an oak tree’s diameter up to maximum of 15ft. Even using the most stringent requirements we have space for at least 15x40 rectangular pool+spa
 
Ricecake said:
3.5x of an oak tree’s diameter
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How attached are you to the oaks ? If you're big fans of them, i guarantee your feelings will change at least moderately if not entirely, and it will be alot harder to remove them with a pool in the way.

I moved to get away from mine. With an open yard I might fill 1/4 of a skimmer basket the while season. I do not miss those sons of guns one iota. :ROFLMAO:
Ricecake said:
Rectangular so we can have a cover although most designers say it’s not worth the $
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This is why you have us. It's *your* pool, not the builders. And we'll help you hash out those thoughts before putting your foot down. I literally told my GC a couple times that if he continued building his pool, he would be paying the bill for it.

Do you have a need for an autocover, such as safety concerns and/or little kids ?
 
Newdude said:
How attached are you to the oaks ? If you're big fans of them, i guarantee your feelings will change at least moderately if not entirely, and it will be alot harder to remove them with a pool in the way.

I moved to get away from mine. With an open yard I might fill 1/4 of a skimmer basket the while season. I do not miss those sons of guns one iota. :ROFLMAO:

This is why you have us. It's *your* pool, not the builders. And we'll help you hash out those thoughts before putting your foot down. I literally told my GC a couple times that if he continued building his pool, he would be paying the bill for it.

Do you have a need for an autocover, such as safety concerns and/or little kids ?
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Oaks are protected here - they’re more important than humans I think and heavy fines for touching them. Can’t really move either with the low mortgage rate so we are stuck with them.

Yes have two little kids and also we get wildlife here.
 
Ok. So the trees stay, and if you want a autocover, you get an autocover. (y)

Another option is to immediately fence the pool. You can go functional with chain link or the fancier aluminum stuff that looks like wrought iron. Most don't want the added expense future it would be half (?) the cost of the autocover. My kids were little at the old place and the fenced pool had its merits. Most the time it kept then out of the pool area but when we were using the pool it helped keep them IN the pool area. They could go chill on a lounge chair without worrying about them running off while the rest of us swam, like they would now with the open yard pool I have.
 
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we received our set of designs and we are very pleased with how it turned out! We will do one more set of revisions so wanted to get some opinion from you on what else we should think about. We added couple of umbrella holders on the Baja shelf, a wall with water feature on the top side with the spa, and possibly a pergola where the fireplace is now. Water depth is 3.5’ going to 5’ only but we can of course adjust that - happy to hear people’s thoughts on this.

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Builder notes are vague.
Request locations for lights, skimmer, overflow and return lines.
Baja shelf may need a light and return line dedicated for that area.
Location of jets and their heights to correspond with seat elevations in the spa. Possibly two more jets in the spa?
Possible step for entry to spa?
 
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Lets talk about your depths.

First off make sure they are talking WATER depth. That is from the bottom of the pool to the middle of the skimmer opening. Some builders measure the "depth" from the bottom of the pool to the coping. Doing that you can lose anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of water depth.

Next up is your 5' depth. I am 5'5" tall. A 5' water depth makes the come to just under my nose. Not a fun depth. You can't really do a good cannon ball into 5' water without hitting your bum on the floor. 6' would be better. To ease the transition to the 6' you can/should make your shallow end 4'. That will allow for a good crawl stroke.
 
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kimkats said:
Lets talk about your depths.

First off make sure they are talking WATER depth. That is from the bottom of the pool to the middle of the skimmer opening. Some builders measure the "depth" from the bottom of the pool to the coping. Doing that you can lose anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of water depth.

Next up is your 5' depth. I am 5'5" tall. A 5' water depth makes the come to just under my nose. Not a fun depth. You can't really do a good cannon ball into 5' water without hitting your bum on the floor. 6' would be better. To ease the transition to the 6' you can/should make your shallow end 4'. That will allow for a good crawl stroke.
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Great will relay that! It’s not a big deal to get to 6’. Our family is shorter in stature so we didn’t think we needed to get to 6’ - thoughts on 5’5”?
 
AQUA~HOLICS said:
Builder notes are vague.
Request locations for lights, skimmer, overflow and return lines.
Baja shelf may need a light and return line dedicated for that area.
Location of jets and their heights to correspond with seat elevations in the spa. Possibly two more jets in the spa?
Possible step for entry to spa?
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Thank you! I think the notes are vague before next iteration. Designer noted down on another paper the location of lights (including one on the shelf) and skimmer but not overflow and return lines.
No location for jets or height I will ask for that
Spa is flat not raised to the pool.
 
Ricecake said:
Thank you! Yea it does look cramped…this is just the best spot for it but if we can’t fit it we’d have to think about where better else to put it but it’d be more visible.
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Designers often don't consider the practicalities of the space needed between equipment for maintenance access and the various plumbing around the equipment.

Ask the designer if they have a pool and if they maintain their equipment. You will be surprised how many don't own a pool, are not familiar with the installation requirements of the equipment they draw, and have never actually touched pool equipment.
 
On your Baja shelf, since that is the main entrance to the pool, make sure you look at the step height down from the coping to the shelf - you may want to add an entry step? Also, the steps leading from your Baja shelf to the main pool - make sure those steps have a reasonable rise/step (7” - 8”). Also, check to see if you have room for two umbrella holders on your Baja shelf - you may want to change that to one holder centered on the shelf (we originally had two in our pool plans and the PB pointed out (correctly) that there was not room for two reasonable size umbrellas on our shelf which is 11’ wide by 8’ long.

Good luck.
 

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