So this happened

[Newdude]

Did @kimkats even gave him his own set of links?

Those are for plaster. But she did send me 'my own set of links' for when I had shoulder surgery. It was the full Kim treatment with everything from med schedule hacks to ice packs.

 

[Apsuhead]

Pool water and liner look great! Congrats

 

[Tcadwall0]

With the dogs, I have been really happy with artificial turf and hardscape inside the fenced-in part of the yard. Might want to consider it - but it would be pretty expensive to do your entire lot with it... The base gravel required to do it correctly would be MANY tons.

Mine are in the pool any time I tell them they can. They trained very quickly that they needed permission (time-outs mostly). They never had a solar cover incident. Maybe your's don't do a lot of swimming. That was part of why I did fiberglass. The Boykin (brown one) will even pull himself out on the coping when he wants to take a dive.

 

[Newdude]

The base gravel required to do it correctly would be MANY tons

I bet. Lol. I am seriously considering having a mason come in and do coping and then using some gravel like stone around the pool with the big 2 foot stepping stones. We don't have little kids anymore who will be hurrying around the pool all time. I could do it myself and it wouldn't break the bank. If patio prices fell to earth in a few years I could always revisit a change then. If not we'd be totally functional for as long as we needed.

Kinda like this but with larger gravel/rocks instead of grass. I could do it right away and It would also be real easy to fix as the ground settles.



I will likely do a mulched area around the perimeter of whatever we go with to keep the grass clippings further away from the patio.

 

[Tcadwall0]

I like that look, you could even cut the artificial to fit, and the base work might not be as important in little strips. Wouldn't you worry about the dogs kicking in stones all the time? I have a 20' x 18" strip of pea gravel between my decking and house, and daily blow the pea's back to the house.

I have seen some YT videos on a semi-permeable 'sealer' that you can use on the gravel that will keep it glued together.

 

[Lake Placid]

That is a cool look. My OCD self would go nuts though with either the line trimming or edging to keep the turf perfect around those pavers. I’d straight turn into rain man and then my head would explode!

 

[Newdude]

Wouldn't you worry about the dogs kicking in stones all the time?

I'd use bigger chunks of whatevs. Like golf ball size instead of milk duds. And if I mulched a rectangular horseshoe around the back side, the dogs would likely avoid it altogether because the pool would block the shortcut trying to cut across it all.

. My OCD self would go nuts though with either the line trimming or edging to keep the turf perfect around those pavers.

Oh yeah. That's why I'm thinking rocks of some kind.

 

[Noreaster]

I like the artificial turf idea, and the rocks idea. Its your pool, do as you like. However i highly recommend not getting grass anywhere near a pool. Grass needs to be cut and clippings will end up in the pool every week its cut. Even when a commercial mower with a bagger is used, those clippings still find a way to decorate the waters surface.
My rule for the pool we just built, no grass in the pool area. In fact my rule with the grass is if i cannot get to it with the ride on mower, then grass cannot go there.

 

[Noreaster]

That is a cool look. My OCD self would go nuts though with either the line trimming or edging to keep the turf perfect around those pavers. I’d straight turn into rain man and then my head would explode!

In that example, how many hours with a string trimmer would be needed for just the first cut? Never mind the, "Dang that one is not straight" time spent. lol

 

[JamesW]

Architects love to design these elaborate landscapes, but they are a nightmare for maintenance.

Unless you have a full time gardener and landscaper and unlimited money, it's just not worth the hassle.

 

[kul]

I had grass up to the edges of my pool courtesy of previous owners and replaced it with turf. My backyard isn’t giant so while I thought it was pricey, it wasn’t completely over the top. I like your rocks/stones idea. So many rock color choices to pick from! Can’t wait to see it.

 

[Mdragger88]

I'd use bigger chunks of whatevs. Like golf ball size instead of milk duds. And if I mulched a rectangular horseshoe around the back side, the dogs would likely avoid it altogether because the pool would block the shortcut trying to cut across it all.

Oh yeah. That's why I'm thinking rocks of some kind.

Medium sized Rocks are awesome- mulch floats, flies, deteriorates, etc. u definitely don’t want mulch runoff in your pool.
I grew quite tired of the semi annual mulch go round & went with #57 medium washed gravel (since it matches my pebbly concrete) in every bed & around the pool. Its a $45 a truckload mostly permanent solution. I can always go add a few bags of fancy rocks here & there if i like later. Before adding rocks, be pretty sure about your lay out & plant placement wants - changing things up later requires a bit more work than in a mulch bed. I don’t have landscape fabric (mostly because it’s expensive) but using preen twice a year & round up works well. I only need to occasionally pick a weed/stray grass here & there. I like that i can just blow the leaves out of the beds & no more washout with heavy rains.

 

[Newdude]

mulch floats, flies, deteriorates, etc. u definitely don’t want mulch runoff in your pool.

That's why I'm thinking a layered defense. Yard, then a 4 ft(?) Mulch barrier, then a 5 ft pavers with rocks barrier, then the pool. Grass clippings will be trapped by the mulch, the mulch will occasionally enter the first foot of the patio area but get caught in the rocks between the stepping stones and the pool stays pretty clear. I can stand at the pool and blow anything encroaching, back to where it belongs when the need arises.

At least. Scribbled in crayon on the napkin in my head

I specifically made the pool a few inches higher so it will slope down on all sides away from it. Doing that at the old place kept the mulch around the patio where it belonged 'downhill'. Mowing got some grass in the much but it didn't get to the pool.

We watched our existing brick patio get overrun by ants since we moved in and it's all out of whack now. If we go with bricks or pavers around the pool it's only a matter of time until they are all sinking and all that sand gets blown into the pool. It was a never ending battle at the old place and I had several handfuls of sand a week to vac out.

I'm not sure how we will like a cement patio cracking over the years, need to get some quotes to talk to the cement pros. Last time they were all against it here but would install one if I wanted them too. We love stamped concrete but took their advice last time.

That leaves me with the stepping stone idea which just so happens to be the most affordable.

The more I think about it, the more my head hurts.

 

[Newdude]

Being able to flop in the pool until the 'what ifs' stop making my head hurt : PRICELESS.

 

[Newdude]

But WAIT !!!! What if my FC falters while I'm preoccupied with patio what ifs ???????

*SWG chugging along at 11 FC*

Goooooooooood GIRL !!!!!! Whossa good girl ?????
It's YOU !!!!!!

*pets SWG*

 

[W.J.Christy]

*SWG chugging along at 11 FC*

Goooooooooood GIRL !!!!!! Whossa good girl ?????
It's YOU !!!!!!

*pets SWG*

This reminds me i need to hug my SWG tonight.

 

[Newdude]

This reminds me i need to hug my SWG tonight

They like it when you scratch right under the fins.

 

[Snoobug]

Much better today.

View attachment 429861
View attachment 429862

The stairs are blue-ish and no longer yellow / brown / green tinted.

View attachment 429863


Lots of dirt needs sucking up, but other than that I think it's good to go.

I LOVE IT!!!! The bench in the deep end...

 

[Snoobug]

Just so we're clear, you only have to pave a few more feet to our house so then our kids can run back and forth, right?

 

[Orion7319]

That's why I'm thinking a layered defense. Yard, then a 4 ft(?) Mulch barrier, then a 5 ft pavers with rocks barrier, then the pool. Grass clippings will be trapped by the mulch, the mulch will occasionally enter the first foot of the patio area but get caught in the rocks between the stepping stones and the pool stays pretty clear. I can stand at the pool and blow anything encroaching, back to where it belongs when the need arises.

At least. Scribbled in crayon on the napkin in my head

I specifically made the pool a few inches higher so it will slope down on all sides away from it. Doing that at the old place kept the mulch around the patio where it belonged 'downhill'. Mowing got some grass in the much but it didn't get to the pool.

We watched our existing brick patio get overrun by ants since we moved in and it's all out of whack now. If we go with bricks or pavers around the pool it's only a matter of time until they are all sinking and all that sand gets blown into the pool. It was a never ending battle at the old place and I had several handfuls of sand a week to vac out.

I'm not sure how we will like a cement patio cracking over the years, need to get some quotes to talk to the cement pros. Last time they were all against it here but would install one if I wanted them too. We love stamped concrete but took their advice last time.

That leaves me with the stepping stone idea which just so happens to be the most affordable.

The more I think about it, the more my head hurts.

This popped up on my YouTube feed the other day. I kinda like the way they did the concrete forms with the river rock in between. Also a ground level pressure treated deck could work. Those don’t even require a permit in most places.