5 Swimming Pool Design Mistakes to Avoid
August 23, 2022A swimming pool can be a great addition to your custom home design. There are a lot of details to consider for a custom home and for a swimming pool too; there is a lot that can go wrong if you’re not careful or working with a reputable contractor. Here are a few common swimming pool design mistakes to avoid:
Mistake #1 – Thinking About Only the Pool
One of the biggest swimming pool design mistakes to avoid is thinking about only the pool and forgetting about the rest of the lot and the house. A swimming pool may be something fun, which is one of the classic backyard must-haves, but it has to work with the rest of your home design.
Plus, you also want to consider the area surrounding the pool that will support and enhance it. Pool decks or patios, furniture, amenities, and more are all considerations you have to make outside of just the pool itself. You have to think about the big picture and how a swimming pool and everything related to it best fit into that.
Mistake #2 – Making the Wrong Landscaping Choices
Part of seeing the big picture with pool design includes the landscaping around the pool as well. There are many pool landscaping ideas, but not all of them will be a good idea and not all will fit your situation. Plants can help enhance the look and feel of your pool, but choosing the wrong plants or placing plants in the wrong areas can cause issues and detract from the atmosphere instead.
You can create a pollinator-friendly garden in your backyard, but you probably don’t want to put it close to the pool. Thorny plants can become painful trip hazards if they are around footpaths for the pool. Plants that tend to lose leaves, drop petals, or drop other debris aren’t the best fit for reaching over the pool or pool deck.
Including invasive and/or non-native plants in your backyard is one of the common landscaping mistakes to avoid and it can make pool and yard maintenance a nightmare as well. Similar to designing the pool itself, you also have to think about the big picture, the future, and what happens next with the landscaping decisions you make.
Mistake #3 – Not Accounting for Site Grading and Cleanup
Site grading is an essential consideration for any new construction project. Whether it’s your custom home or the pool that is being installed, they have to be graded properly, inspected, and more. This makes a lack of accounting for site grading and cleanup after the construction process some common swimming pool design and construction mistakes to avoid.
The considerations for proper site grading will depend on the specific characteristics of your lot. When it comes to the pros and cons of sloped lots, grading challenges can be one of the cons. Generally, a reputable and experienced builder is more than capable of handling those challenges.
In addition to proper grading for your pool, you want to work with someone who thinks about the rest of your yard and has a plan for cleanup. It’s one thing to dig a hole for your pool, grade it properly, etc., and it’s another thing entirely to have a plan for where those piles of dirt are going to go and how to put the finishing touch on the rest of your landscaping once the pool is in place.
Mistake #4 – Choosing the Wrong Pool Patio Material
Whether you opt for a deck or patio to surround your pool, it’s important to choose the right material for it. One of the common pool design mistakes is choosing the wrong pool patio or deck material.
You need something that doesn’t tend to get slippery when it gets wet, that can hold up long-term against that moisture, doesn’t absorb and retain heat easily, and is durable enough that it won’t crack easily.
For pool patios, a natural stone like travertine tends to be a popular choice. Not only does it meet the standards necessary for a pool patio, but it also comes in a variety of colors and can be used to create patterns on your patio as well. This is also why travertine tile is one of the popular flooring options.
Mistake #5 – Not Going for a Custom Pool Design
You may be able to find a standard pool that fits your needs, but you’ll likely still want to add some customizations to get the look, atmosphere, and amenities you want. Ignoring all of that and avoiding any customizations could leave you with a pool that doesn’t complement your custom home or isn’t what you need or want.
A pool can be a big addition to your custom home design, so you want to make sure what you’re adding is going to work for you and be what you want. Plus, opting for a completely custom pool design or at least an approach that allows you to customize from a standard base allows you to take advantage of pool design trends that you like and built-in amenities that you love.
There are pros and cons to swimming pools. If you decide to include a swimming pool in your custom home design, working with a reputable, experienced custom home builder can help you avoid these common swimming pool design mistakes. Even if the custom home builder doesn’t specialize in swimming pools, you can bet they have a trusted resource they work with to make sure customers get a pool that works with their custom home.
If you’re ready to start bringing your dream home to life, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090!