Thoughts on deck off house please - digging pool and cabana in 2 weeks

[Apearl]

Thought I would reach out to the group as we are stumped regarding what to do for a deck off the house leading to new backyard oasis. I have read numerous posts and have found there are so many helpful folks on this forum!!

Our backyard is a clean slate except for an existing deck off the house which my husband has already begun to demo. Plan is to make it flow with the new pool and cabana to be built. Here is a link to the general layout of things (not final product as pool will have 90 degree corners, couping and building material colours and deck colours and layout are yet to be determined).

pearlstone v5 0 - YouTube

Questions I have:
Does the deck appear to be to large?
I would love for a large part of the front pool side part of the deck to just be stairs going down to the pool rather than two staircases stick out like sore thumbs as in the video. We would have to shrink the deck by about 5 feet otherwise the steps would run into the pool. Right now there is 7 feet from the edge of the pool to deck skirting.

Any thoughts? We have 3 young kids 5 and under. Have had one summer at this house but barely used the deck as it was extremely hot last summer and I was 8-9 months pregnant. We back onto a forest so come dawn their a loads of mosquitoes hence the pool cabana where is where I think we will eat and hide most of the time.

Also does it appear as though we have enough concrete pool decking? If we shrink the deck obviously that will give us more.....

Thanks in advance!

 

[grumpiebk]

How cool is that video! I especially liked Hulk Hogan on the TV in the cabana.

I completely agree with stairs that lead to the pool straight on versus on the corners. But I also think you are limited with concrete patio space in that current design. It looks a little tight from deck to pool. The deck might feel a little big for the space, but with the deck railings it will feel smaller when in use.

Two options: what about stairs stepping down only in the middle of the deck with both sides extending further out with railings? It would give that grand entrance feel and you could have two great spaces on each side of the stairs for hanging out "by the pool" while still enjoying the higher elevation. One side could be a couch and another could be a fire pit! Alternatively, you could trim the deck down in the current space and extend it the other way (to the right when looking at the house). It looks like you have another 8-10 feet before the corner of your house. Potentially even doing some type of L shaped deck to that side of your pool to give you the wide stairs you want but still enough raised deck seating space. This would also give you true "pool side" decking.

Lastly, could you push the pool back a few feet without losing the diving board? This would also give you more space in the area you are trying to plan for and may also better tie the cabana into the pool. It feels a bit disconnected in the video. It's far away from the deck and patio space and also not that close to the pool.

Curious to hear your thoughts.


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[kimkats]

Love grumpie's idea of the steps!

What I would like and really need to help your spend your money is a picture or 5 of where the pool is going.

I love the video! That is cool!

Kim

 

[grumpiebk]

By the way I do love the cabana design. I wish we had the yard layout to do one. We did an attached covered patio which is nice, but a separate destination from the house is always such a cool feel.


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[Apearl]

Thanks for your replies....much appreciated!!
I've tried to attach two pictures....one is a birds eye view from Google with the white lines being the property boundary which is a very odd shape; hence the cabana location.
I completely agree with your disconnect comment and think we need to incorporate some seating to bring it more together.....I think? Perhaps firepit should go back there...
There is 7 feet between the deck skirting and pool in our most recent version of things, which might be on the tight side with the seating. The video has 9 feet and a larger deck then what currently exists...my attached picture shows the current deck from a distance (hard to see) ...I can take a recent picture tomorrow.

Few other changes from video to current version is that the pool is planned to be 36 feet now from 34 feet which is why the space between the deck went from 9 feet to 7 feet. As well we are not extending the existing deck to 32 feet long (as in the video) but keeping it at 24 feet long and therefore unable to do the cascading steps as in the video which I do love but they stick out to much towards the pool; hence the need to figure out how to rebuild them as currently they are not to code ....I will take a picture tomorrow to show how they go.
To the right of the deck is a grassed space and we are trying to maintain it as that for the kids so we don't plan on extending it that way but good thought. I would love to come straight down as suggested but afraid there is no room with the 7 feet between deck and pool. The width of the deck (from house to pool) is 14 feet which we could shorten but then it might be to small width wise for dining.
Another idea is we could shift the pool and cabana possibly a foot or 2 towards the property line (cabana way) and up towards the back to gain a few more feet between the pool and deck. We aren't doing the diving board....sticking to a shallower sports pool ��

Thanks again .... more to come!

 

[grumpiebk]

I love your yard! We have a pie shaped lot too. Makes sense with the yard for the kids. Ours is the same on the side (for our 3 young kids also).

7' isn't a lot of patio space unless it's just meant to be a walkway (you seem to have plenty of patio space on the side of the pool). Most chaise loungers are 7' and that would put it right up against the coping if you ever wanted to use it for that purpose. If you are not doing the diving board, sliding the pool back a few feet might be valuable and may also better align with the cabana (maybe put a bench along that side of the pool for a social hangout area).

As for the deck stairs, my recommendation was hard to explain. Imagine the first pic below but with deck extended out on both sides of the steps. But now imagine it crisp and clean like the second pic.

Like Kim, I like to spend other people's money, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt.


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[Apearl]

Glad you like the Hulk Hogan....lol...there is a huge wrestling fan here as I am sure you figured....
Thanks for spending my money both of you!
By the looks of it Brian you like to spend money as well.....I lurked and what you've recently built looks amazing!!! Way to go, hope you have been able to enjoy it a lot thus far.

I like your steps idea but am struggling a bit....would they be cut into the existing deck in order to set them back and not cut into the 7 foot of concrete between deck and pool?

I have sketched out steps going to the side....currently they are 5 feet wide but could get extended to 8 feet to give it a better look possibly. My sketch is to scale (1 foot per box), do you think it would look okay if the centre stairs don't work (as that would be my preference)?

You are right we have quite a bit of seating perhaps some potted plants are the way to go for the space between the deck and pool if we can't do the stairs there ....it is the main walkway from the grassed area to pool.

 

[kimkats]

Grumie! I get it! Do the cascading steps coming down off the side! That does add a flare to them for sure! One pair naturally leads to the pool's steps and the other side leads to the kid's grassy area! NICE!

The best of both worlds-big upper deck for dining, NICE steps with such flare, good seating at the house side of the pool.

Kim

 

[grumpiebk]

I like your steps idea but am struggling a bit....would they be cut into the existing deck in order to set them back and not cut into the 7 foot of concrete between deck and pool?.

I was thinking about them being cut into the deck (set back). But after seeing the dimensions on the graphing paper, you likely won't get the wide inviting steps you want and still maintain usable decking on the sides of the steps. Looking again, I think you've nailed it with the steps on the side or on the corner angles. Like Kim said, they flow great to the steps in the pool and the other side is perfect for kids to go play. As for the patio space between the deck and the pool, making that a dedicated sofa or chair area. I'd still like 1-2 more feet of space tho as 7' is enough for 3' wide sofas, some leg room and 3' or walking clearance. But with the overhang of the deck, it may "feel" smaller.


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[grumpiebk]

Thanks for spending my money both of you!
By the looks of it Brian you like to spend money as well.....I lurked and what you've recently built looks amazing!!! Way to go, hope you have been able to enjoy it a lot thus far.

Thank you! We've certainly spent our fair share of our own money. It is so worth it seeing the kids (3, 1, 1) enjoy it and being able to bring the party to us.

 

[Apearl]

Thank you both once again!! Yeah we would definitely lose quite a bit of deck by cutting steps into them into the centre of the deck, which then makes me wonder what I would do there. We don't want to make the pool any shorter than 36 feet so that we have a decent stretch of 4 feet deep with a little 6 foot deep area at the back. So I think stairs out the side will have to be the way it goes.

I am finding with this entire project it is so hard to achieve everything you want....somethings just have to give unfortunately. I guess I could have worse problems....lol

Glad to hear the family is enjoying it and creating memories I can't wait for it all the be done....I am getting nervous and anxious about seeing so much of my lawn disappear. ....again it is impossible to just have it all.....deep sigh ��