Recent content by ponygirl

Our pool is 45 feet long and it feels plenty big when we are in it. We've had about 30 adults and kids in it at once with room to spare (granted some were sitting on the wide steps and others on the bench in the deep end.) Go measure hotel pools or pools your contractor has done to get a better...

1/3 of our pool is back filled. I knew the yard sloped, but was shocked to see so much just sitting above ground. Lots of junipers on the back side to keep the soil stable.

Our PB uses Latham liners. We went with natural gray with no border and almost 3 years later we still love the color of the water! Pics are in the link Kim posted above.

We are in Holly Springs, have a vinyl pool with gray liner, and a stamped concrete coping with broom finished patio. No feedback on chairs for splash pad as we use the integrated steps and bench to lounge on. Here are pics of our build. I'll try to find the colors we used for the concrete...

We have a 45' long vinyl lined pool so the shallow end is just that, shallow. Doesn't matter as the rafts float just as well in shallow as they do the deep end. Plus, it easier to plant toes on the ground to anchor in one place either in or out of the sun. Our deep end is at about 5'4"...

We are in NC. 2 years ago we paid 31k for our vinyl pool, 12.5k (or was it 13?) for 1500 sq ft of broom finish, colored, concrete patio with a stamped, colored border and stamped, colored, cantilevered coping. 475 linear feet of 5 foot heavy duty, aluminum fencing with 3 gates was 13k. Broom...

We enjoy our shallow "deep" end and really appreaciate that because of the gradual slope, the whole pool is useable from end to end. Our slope is not a slippery slide you struggle to walk on or get a foothold on like a lot of vinyl pools we've been in. First season, I thought about the higher...

We have a huge shallow end and love it. 31 wide and about 18 feet before you start slope. When I am in the pool I am floating; usually in a donut shaped float. I love that I can anchor my toes on the ground to stay in one place if I need to when I have my upper body in the center of that...

I would go with a high quality artificial turf; not the roll stuff at the big box stores. Our neighbors had top quality turf laid in their whole backyard and it really did look great. No maintenance and will add much needed green to your yard. I wouldn't do river rock as you couldn't easily...

Even though we are on a slope which enables fast drainage for our clay soil, we had the PB backfill the entire pool with crushed gravel just to make sure we'd have the best drainage possible. Our neighbors used a different PB and have a flat lot in our neighborhood. They backfilled with their...

We use Mosquito Barrier here in NC with good results. The yard smells like an Italian eatery for a few hours, but it is worth it for the results. Just fill the sprayer and go to it every 3 weeks or so (depends on amount of rain). This year we are adding in mosquito granules which you spread...

Definitely go larger. I thought my husband was nuts wanting a 40 foot long, 31 foot wide lagoon shape in our half acre yard, but I can't imagine it smaller now. One thing that helped a lot is to put a lawn chair cushion or a pool float in the "pool" when it is laid out with hoses or marked...

We love living here! Been here 11 years. Feels more like home than CA did although my husband would love to retire in San Diego. Weather is still so warm outside that we just got the kids and their friends out of the pool at midnight. I'd love a good thunderstorm right about now to top off...

We laid sod. The amount of dirt in the pool and house until we put it down was a total pain to deal with.

My first thought was to skim coat the cinder block with a colored concrete to make it look and feel less like prison walls and carry the feel of the house down toward the pool. Trim the (what looks like) oleander back a little. The vegetation overall needs a good trimming. In that dirt area...