Seamless Travertine Deck + Coping + Deck + Auto Cover = Pipedream?

[eFoil_Pilot]

I'm seeking to build a small rectangular pool (max 12' x 24') in Austin Texas this year. The deck and coping will be about 250 sqft total. The pool will be ~5' from the house, ~5' from an existing 16'x16' covered patio, and the other two sides of the pool will be 1' wide coping elevated 12-24" out of the natural slope of the backyard.

Because the deep end will be a retaining wall above the natural grade, I am planning to put the automatic pool cover will be on the shallow/entry side of the pool.

My dream is a seamless half-offset subway pattern of natural stone tiles (travertine, bluestone or similar) that flows from the house over the cover well and into the coping - see my attached Excel mockup. I've done a lot of research here, Reddit, and Google images, and I've seen a few pictures of what I am looking for, but no build threads. For the pool cover, the stone would be on top of metal trays with L brackets, so it can be R&R'd when need be for service of the cover. Obviously, it will be more labor versus other types of cover lids, but I'm okay with that. FWIW, I'm leaning toward a Hydramatic cover so the hydraulic pump and electrical can be installed remotely, reducing the service required for the cover.

I worry my dream will turn into a nightmare of failure, delays, finger-pointing, and disappointment trying to get all the dimensions perfect and everything implemented as intended between a lot of subcontractors, no matter how good my GC is. IE despite my micromanagement, the deck/pours will be off by enough that the end result is wonky/wavy and 5 figures down the drain versus doing a basic stone coping and concrete deck.

I'd love your thoughts on:

1. Am I setting myself up for failure trying to achieve perfect cohesion of tiling across a deck, auto cover well, and coping? IE is the reason my concept is rarely executed is that it's only a good idea in theory?
2. Anyone have a trouble/regret putting their autocover under the entry to their pool? Given that I'll only have 10-12' span for the cover, I am fairly confident that enough brackets + metal trays like this fellow TFPer did last year will work for me, but I fear I'll have to micromanage the build process to get it right.
3. How do you drain rainwater from travertine decks that are between a structure and the pool? Do you slope the concrete or sand under the travertine toward a couple of small grates that flow out to french drains in my yard? Or do you just slope the deck into the pool and use a pump to remove the water from on top of the cover?
4. For the skimmers, do you recommend the metal trays that you install stone into? Or just bare stone with a hole cut out to use a tool to lift it?

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[kimkats]

Anything is possible with the right amount of money AND finding the top shelf crew available. The right crew will be hard to find but worth looking long and hard for. Don't worry about the owner of the company. The thing to work on is knowing the actual people who will be doing the work. Ask to see their past work and go from there.

 

[ajw22]

Am I setting myself up for failure trying to achieve perfect cohesion of tiling across a deck, auto cover well, and coping? IE is the reason my concept is rarely executed is that it's only a good idea in theory?

Really depends if you can find a builder who has craftsmen as anal as you are with the details.

Talk to your local builders and see if you find someone who you have confidence In to execute your vision. If you were in So Cal I would tell you to hire @AQUA~HOLICS

1. Anyone have a trouble/regret putting their autocover under the entry to their pool? Given that I'll only have 10-12' span for the cover, I am fairly confident that enough brackets + metal trays like this fellow TFPer did last year will work for me, but I fear I'll have to micromanage the build process to get it right.

You can do it but I think having people constantly walking on the cover lid will cause long term maintenance issues. Be prepared for the Issues you create.

1. How do you drain rainwater from travertine decks that are between a structure and the pool? Do you slope the concrete or sand under the travertine toward a couple of small grates that flow out to french drains in my yard? Or do you just slope the deck into the pool and use a pump to remove the water from on top of the cover?

Pools should be elevated above the surrounding land so that water runoff flows around it rather than into it. You can try and put drains around to collect water before it gets into the pool but they usually fail in heavy storms.

There is enough of a gap on the side of autocovers that much runoff water will flow into the pool and not onto the cover.

Having storm runoff flowing into the pool will effect your water chemistry and make algae more likely.

You definitely will need an overflow drain that keeps the pool at the correct level.

1. For the skimmers, do you recommend the metal trays that you install stone into? Or just bare stone with a hole cut out to use a tool to lift it?

If you are building a gunite/shotcrete pool the skimmer mouth will be formed by the gunite and feed into the plastic skimmer mouth.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Auto cover installed in the shallow end.

 

[eFoil_Pilot]

Anything i possible with the right amount of money AND finding the top shelf crew available. The right crew will be hard to find but worth looking long and hard for. Don't worry about the owner of the company. The thing to work on is knowing the actual people who will be doing the work. Ask to see their past work and go from there.

Fully understand this - I'm taking my time with research and diligence to ensure I make the correct decision hire for my needs.

You can do it but I think having people constantly walking on the cover lid will cause long term maintenance issues. Be prepared for the Issues you create.

I'm aware that I'd probably need to R&R the stone and the cover every couple of years (along with adjusting/re-sanding the stone on the deck), so I am okay to add the extra cost and headache to do stone over a metal lid.

Alternatively, I am looking at the Lift Lid from Aquamatic, as it rests on the bond beam when the cover is open or closed, so it should not have the flex that the regular cover lid would have. I don't see any feedback on it on TFP, which does give me pause.

Auto cover installed in the shallow end.

Looks great! What autocover manufacturer do you recommend, and what sort of service interval do you recommend for preventative maintenance of covers?

 

[MAPR-Austin]

Could you put the autocover lid on the deep end of the pool and just widen that retaining wall accordingly? I think everything you are wanting is possible to the level of execution you are after, but I agree with ajw22 that having people walking on the stones that are supported with brackets could become an issue over time. Much easier to keep the stones as level as you are looking for if you keep traffic off of them as well.

 

[eFoil_Pilot]

Could you put the autocover lid on the deep end of the pool and just widen that retaining wall accordingly? I think everything you are wanting is possible to the level of execution you are after, but I agree with ajw22 that having people walking on the stones that are supported with brackets could become an issue over time. Much easier to keep the stones as level as you are looking for if you keep traffic off of them as well.

That is one of our options we're considering, though the contractors have given wildly different numbers as to how wide that retaining wall needs to be to have the cover on that side.

In my case, I have easements for power lines on that side of the pool that would slightly cut into my desired dimensions of the water, so that's part of my decision framework. IE if that wall needs to be 30-36" thick to house the cover, that may cut 1-2' off the length of my pool.

@MAPR-Austin @AQUA~HOLICS - out of curiosity, have you ever seen a side serviced autocover, where the cover is mounted on some sort of a frame and you can unbolt and slide the entire unit out in one piece for service? IE like the entire drivetrain of an M1 Abrams tank is easily removed in one piece for service? I'll have daylight on one side of my cover well, so I could potentially service it that way.

 

[MAPR-Austin]

I haven't seen such a configuration, and I don't do much work on autocovers. Access from the backside instead of the top could work, but then there is nowhere to secure the cantilever pieces which hold the cover stones.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Same as above, auto covers are so different from manufactures and I have yet to see that type of configuration.

 

[clarkboy]

I'm seeking to build a small rectangular pool (max 12' x 24') in Austin Texas this year. The deck and coping will be about 250 sqft total. The pool will be ~5' from the house, ~5' from an existing 16'x16' covered patio, and the other two sides of the pool will be 1' wide coping elevated 12-24" out of the natural slope of the backyard.

Because the deep end will be a retaining wall above the natural grade, I am planning to put the automatic pool cover will be on the shallow/entry side of the pool.

My dream is a seamless half-offset subway pattern of natural stone tiles (travertine, bluestone or similar) that flows from the house over the cover well and into the coping - see my attached Excel mockup. I've done a lot of research here, Reddit, and Google images, and I've seen a few pictures of what I am looking for, but no build threads. For the pool cover, the stone would be on top of metal trays with L brackets, so it can be R&R'd when need be for service of the cover. Obviously, it will be more labor versus other types of cover lids, but I'm okay with that. FWIW, I'm leaning toward a Hydramatic cover so the hydraulic pump and electrical can be installed remotely, reducing the service required for the cover.

I worry my dream will turn into a nightmare of failure, delays, finger-pointing, and disappointment trying to get all the dimensions perfect and everything implemented as intended between a lot of subcontractors, no matter how good my GC is. IE despite my micromanagement, the deck/pours will be off by enough that the end result is wonky/wavy and 5 figures down the drain versus doing a basic stone coping and concrete deck.

I'd love your thoughts on:

1. Am I setting myself up for failure trying to achieve perfect cohesion of tiling across a deck, auto cover well, and coping? IE is the reason my concept is rarely executed is that it's only a good idea in theory?
2. Anyone have a trouble/regret putting their autocover under the entry to their pool? Given that I'll only have 10-12' span for the cover, I am fairly confident that enough brackets + metal trays like this fellow TFPer did last year will work for me, but I fear I'll have to micromanage the build process to get it right.
3. How do you drain rainwater from travertine decks that are between a structure and the pool? Do you slope the concrete or sand under the travertine toward a couple of small grates that flow out to french drains in my yard? Or do you just slope the deck into the pool and use a pump to remove the water from on top of the cover?
4. For the skimmers, do you recommend the metal trays that you install stone into? Or just bare stone with a hole cut out to use a tool to lift it?

Thank you in advance for your help!

1. Am I setting myself up for failure trying to achieve perfect cohesion of tiling across a deck, auto cover well, and coping? IE is the reason my concept is rarely executed is that it's only a good idea in theory?

We wanted this type of effect for our deck, but it was difficult to accomplish. We did have a running bond patterned installed. The sizing of the travertine we selected was the biggest issue. To get the pattern laid near perfect you’ll need to work with the builder to determine the proper size of stone to order. They will likely need to lay out some dummy stones and then measure everything. We didn't do that and had some irregular cuts on the side of the pool with the slot drain. The grout lines line up to the opposite side of the patio. Overall I think they did a great job.


2. Anyone have a trouble/regret putting their autocover under the entry to their pool? Given that I'll only have 10-12' span for the cover, I am fairly confident that enough brackets + metal trays like this fellow TFPer did last year will work for me, but I fear I'll have to micromanage the build process to get it right.

We installed the autocover in the deep end. We were able to tie all the drains to the existing downspouts drains that run out to the street. There was a drain installed in the cover box.

How do you drain rainwater from travertine decks that are between a structure and the pool? Do you slope the concrete or sand under the travertine toward a couple of small grates that flow out to french drains in my yard? Or do you just slope the deck into the pool and use a pump to remove the water from on top of the cover?

We had a 40 ft 316 stainless slot drain installed between the house and pool. The drain is supposed to handle 11gpm per liner foot. The drain came in sections and are pre-sloped. There’s a catch basin at the end of the drain which discharged into the existing underground downspouts. The patio where the drain is installed is sloped on each side of the drain to create a valley for the water to flow into the drain. The travertine is installed on a concrete base with a sand and mortar mixture. On the opposite side of patio a french drain was installed the length of the patio and around the deep end, and that drain also tied into the downspouts.

1. For the skimmers, do you recommend the metal trays that you install stone into? Or just bare stone with a hole cut out to use a tool to lift it?

We went the stone with a hole in the top. The builder wanted to charge another 1k for the hide skimmer covers. We didn't have any more money in the budget that's the only reason we didn't opt for the hide solution.