Hi all, long time lurker and previously active long long long ago during my first go around with putting in a pool. We relocated from Massachusetts to North Carolina a couple years back, and first priority was finding a pool builder and transforming our swampy backyard into our area of respite- similar to our previous pool and home in MA.
Back in 2008-ish, we went through this process in the Boston suburbs. The build was long and painful. I learned a lot from the experience but in the end the result was spectacular. For anyone interested, our build was documented in the old Garden Web site...a fragment of it still exists on that site: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2546615/david-pool-build-almost-done-used-to-be-our-pool-build
Fast Forward to 2023 and our move to North Carolina. We found a beautiful home, nestled in a very wooded neighborhood with large lots. Privacy and space!
We are on a 4 acre lot but much of it is wooded and the trees are protected. The previous owner had designed the backyard poorly. Drainage and standing water were a big problem, and to add insult, he erected a strange rock wall (more concrete than rock) that enclosed a moss covered dirty stone patio. I was seriously concerned a pool might not be possible, but we found an excellent full service builder that assure us, the problems were not insurmountable. We signed up in October of 2023 and waited a few months for the design presentation. We were absolutely stunned with the beautiful transformation plan....$$$$!! Slight budgetary modifications were made and we embarked (we were familiar with their work given my work colleague had completed a massive project with them...truly outstanding workmanship, communication, and goal to make it perfect).
We went with a free form pool, spillover spa, rock water feature, paver patio, and a fire pit. This is stage I, later we will do plantings and landscaping per their original plan which encompasses both front and backyard. We chose a roman travertine coping, Eva techno Blok pavers, and a stone fascia for the spa and fire pit that matches our home's chimneys.
The hole was dug in mid September but significant rains delayed progress until late October when the shell was shot. While it cured, the demolition of the old patio and wall proceeded. November and December saw rapid progress with drainage, grading and the patio. The January brought things to a grinding halt due to the rare severe cold and snow. Things picked up again in February and we are about done. We added a dry creek along the back of our cleared property to divert water away from the pool area and dry up the surroundings. It turned out quite nice to our eyes.
Our equipment and electrical were done this past week and now the rains have come back. The remaining things to complete are the fence and plaster.....AND YES we are struggling with the final choice of YOU guessed it.....Blue Granite, Blue Surf, Prism Blue pebble sheen lol!
The one thing we were always disappointed with in our previous build, was the water color. We had hoped for a rich darker blue. Our builder in Massachusetts used RiverRok and he recommended using a mixture of two blues. It turned out very green..yuk! It wasn't a pretty teal green but rather a darker green with blue hints. The photos in the previous build thread do not truly capture the green. It looks lighter and blue-er than it appeared in person. So obviously we are struggling with this choice and hope to avoid the same result.
Here are some pictures of the original plans, choices, and build to date. We have tentatively decided on Blue Granite and keeping our fingers crossed. Comments and suggestions welcomed!
Cheers
CD
PS Ignore the telescope in the picture....only one I had of the previous patio area. More to come....
Back in 2008-ish, we went through this process in the Boston suburbs. The build was long and painful. I learned a lot from the experience but in the end the result was spectacular. For anyone interested, our build was documented in the old Garden Web site...a fragment of it still exists on that site: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2546615/david-pool-build-almost-done-used-to-be-our-pool-build
Fast Forward to 2023 and our move to North Carolina. We found a beautiful home, nestled in a very wooded neighborhood with large lots. Privacy and space!
We are on a 4 acre lot but much of it is wooded and the trees are protected. The previous owner had designed the backyard poorly. Drainage and standing water were a big problem, and to add insult, he erected a strange rock wall (more concrete than rock) that enclosed a moss covered dirty stone patio. I was seriously concerned a pool might not be possible, but we found an excellent full service builder that assure us, the problems were not insurmountable. We signed up in October of 2023 and waited a few months for the design presentation. We were absolutely stunned with the beautiful transformation plan....$$$$!! Slight budgetary modifications were made and we embarked (we were familiar with their work given my work colleague had completed a massive project with them...truly outstanding workmanship, communication, and goal to make it perfect).We went with a free form pool, spillover spa, rock water feature, paver patio, and a fire pit. This is stage I, later we will do plantings and landscaping per their original plan which encompasses both front and backyard. We chose a roman travertine coping, Eva techno Blok pavers, and a stone fascia for the spa and fire pit that matches our home's chimneys.
The hole was dug in mid September but significant rains delayed progress until late October when the shell was shot. While it cured, the demolition of the old patio and wall proceeded. November and December saw rapid progress with drainage, grading and the patio. The January brought things to a grinding halt due to the rare severe cold and snow. Things picked up again in February and we are about done. We added a dry creek along the back of our cleared property to divert water away from the pool area and dry up the surroundings. It turned out quite nice to our eyes.
Our equipment and electrical were done this past week and now the rains have come back. The remaining things to complete are the fence and plaster.....AND YES we are struggling with the final choice of YOU guessed it.....Blue Granite, Blue Surf, Prism Blue pebble sheen lol!
The one thing we were always disappointed with in our previous build, was the water color. We had hoped for a rich darker blue. Our builder in Massachusetts used RiverRok and he recommended using a mixture of two blues. It turned out very green..yuk! It wasn't a pretty teal green but rather a darker green with blue hints. The photos in the previous build thread do not truly capture the green. It looks lighter and blue-er than it appeared in person. So obviously we are struggling with this choice and hope to avoid the same result.
Here are some pictures of the original plans, choices, and build to date. We have tentatively decided on Blue Granite and keeping our fingers crossed. Comments and suggestions welcomed!
Cheers
CD
PS Ignore the telescope in the picture....only one I had of the previous patio area. More to come....
