 Homeowners throughout the West often ponder installing an in-ground swimming pool - especially when temperatures reach the triple digits. By turning the backyard into an aquatic paradise, you can beat the heat and create a place to relax, exercise and play.
If you are disappointed, thinking another year is closing and the backyard is still a perennial field of dirt and weeds - it’s not too late. In fact, installing a pool in the fall and even into the winter is often the optimum time to undertake this complex construction project.
Pool contractors slow down in the fall and are scrambling to garner any “end of the season business”. This in-turn can provide you the consumer with the following benefits:
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PERSONAL SERVICE: Your pool designer/consultant will be able to spend more time with you. Many decisions will need to be made regarding pool design and styles, tile, plaster or pebble-tek finish, pool equipment, chlorine or salt water purification, decking types and so on.
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COST: An end of the season project will always save you capitol which can be appropriated towards upgraded pool features, such as a spa, waterfall, stamped concrete or flagstone. Or you can use the additional funds toward a professional landscape design and installation to complete the backyard paradise.
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CONSTRUCTION TIMELINES: Builders are not “overbooked” and aren’t skipping between jobs. Pools built during the spring and summer often takes months to complete.
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READY TO SWIM: Slip on the bathing suit and crank up the solar heat in late spring. You won’t miss any of the swim season with a pool built in the fall/winter season.
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OPTIMUM PLANTING TIME: With the pool finished (and a good landscape design on the table) you’ll be ready to complete the backyard and bring the project to fruition in a timely manner.
Before contacting pool builders for consultation, it’s best to do some homework on your own and develop some insight and direction. Designers are invaluable, but you are the one living with their creation.
The following should be helpful.
Firstly, the type of pool to install is limitless. Sometimes the  architecture of the home or lot configuration may dictate which way to lean. For instance, formal architecture or a contemporary home design might best be paired with a straight line classic pool design. A heavy tiled roof with a Spanish flavor could easily accommodate a tropical, free -form design. Also, a property with limited depth might be a good candidate for a lap pool.
A natural boulder waterfall set at the rear of the swimming pool should be approached with caution - as this feature can turn out to be a disaster. Setting boulders to look natural requires an artist - and there are few out there that are qualified.
Be certain that you look at the work of the individual mason that will actually be building the waterfall, and if you like it, get it in writing that he or she will be doing the work. A variety of boulder sizes should be incorporated into the design - as in nature is variety.
A waterfall built of all basketball size rock looks unnatural and contrived. Also, be certain that there is ample planting room behind the waterfall. To appear natural you’ll need adequate space for plantings.
If a natural boulder water feature is not your style, then perhaps a formal design is to your liking. A sheer decent water feature is timeless and will always be in vogue. Built into the pools raised backdrop wall or the spa overflow, sheer decent waterfalls come in a variety of shapes and sizes – including radius configurations.
Deck fountain sprayers, also known as laminar jets add a whimsical touch to the pool area. Seven to eight foot high arcs of water are emitted via brass nozzles embedded in the decking (or can be hidden in planters) and are aimed at desired locations into the pool. 
The zero edge pool or vanishing edge pool is used where a view beyond the property line is aesthetic, such as a lake, ocean, panoramic hillside or simplistic planting theme. (One caution with this type of pool to note.) The overflow trough for the vanishing edge will need its own built in pool cleaner – be certain to discuss that with your designer.
If your garden is tiny fret not. A Spool is a pool/spa hybrid which offers a cool place for a dip in the summer and a heated spa for winter use. You won’t keep it heated all winter- like a mass fabrication above-ground spa, however with today’s rapid heat technology you’ll be soaking before you know it.
Once you figure out which type of pool suits your fancy, the following structural features should be considered.
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Always install two skimmers with valves for volume control. Note that placement is extremely important.
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Make sure the pool is plumbed with two inch or larger service and return lines. Smaller pipe will increase filter run times needed to process pool water through the system - which will increase energy costs.
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Oversize the pool filter. The larger the filter the less it will need to be cleaned.
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Always install an auto fill, which will eliminate having to add water manually during the summer.
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Make sure the pool floodlights are not aimed at the house.
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Check out Pebble-Tek or Pebble-Sheen instead of plaster. Because it’s a concrete base product, (unlike calcium based plaster which actually changes pool water balance continually) chemical or salt balance remains constant and brushing is generally not required.
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Talk to your designer about a tanning shelf or Caribbean entry. Water depth is generally 8 to 12 inches deep and makes a great place for relaxing on a deck chair, or a place to carefully sit and watch the little one splash around.
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Bench placement is important. It will allow for ingress and egress from the deep end of the pool.
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Contemplate umbrella sleeves for shade in bench and sitting areas.
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Safety fencing around swimming pools can vary. Most governing authorities require a non-climbable configuration of 5 to 6 feet.
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Make sure the patio lay-out is large enough. If space allows add multiple sitting areas for chaise lounges and gathering spots.
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Think twice about diving boards due to liability and injury potential.
In closing, remember that the pool you decide on should be one matched to the needs of your family. Also, a picture is worth a thousand words, so start a collection of your favorite designs before your design consultant knocks on your front door for the first time.
Rod Whitlow is an ISA Certified Arborist, California Certified Nurseryman, Licensed Landscape Contractor and consultant to Sunset’s Western Garden Book. He has been designing pools and landscapes in the Sacramento area for over 20 years.
You can check out his website at www.rodwhitlowdesign.com
Contact Rod via email at treemanrod@frontiernet.net
Office phone is 916 687-TREE
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Good Morning on Friday July 30, 2010
