Outdoor Living
Adding amenities such as outdoor lighting and sound systems can transform your backyard pool from a hole in the ground to a relaxing oasis. When you have lighting for ambiance and safety and add music with outdoor speakers, you will create a pleasant outdoor space that you can enjoy far into the evening. Why Add Outdoor Lighting to Your Yard and Pool While some homeowners have lap pools that they install strictly for exercise, most homeowners want to create an entertainment hub. Often, a pool is paired with a spacious deck, an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit, a hot tub, water features, and other features where friends and family congregate. To provide needed visibility without the glare of spotlights, overhead chandeliers, solar landscape lighting, and candles can do the job. LED lights, available in colors, when properly positioned can also add a dramatic touch. You can even add floating pool globes for additional flair, or colored lights to the edges of the pool that will reflect on the water. In addition to lights that illuminate the yard, lights installed beneath the surface of your pool can illuminate the water. Usually pools that are about 30 feet long have one or two LED lights, while longer ones have two, three, or more. While fiber optic and incandescent lights are sometimes used, now LEDs which have no filaments, produce no heat, and offer a long lifespan, are the norm. Lights installed in pools often have multiple settings to vary the brightness. While yard lights can be installed at any time after your pool is put in, lights in the pool should be installed during construction. LED lights run from $1,000-$1,500 for full-size models used for concrete or vinyl pools. Your pool contractor will offer these as an option when you buy your pool and will properly Read More
Surrounding your pool with concrete decking can create a beautiful and functional outdoor living space. While you want enough decking around the pool to make it easy to get in and out of the water, a spacious, well laid out deck can transform your yard into an exciting entertainment space. Why Choose Concrete Decking? Concrete is an excellent material for decks because it is durable in all kinds of weather. While it can be applied with a broom finish, it can also be imprinted and colored to look like tile, brick, natural stone, or even wood. While it bears the appearance of other materials, it avoids some of the shortcomings: Unlike wood, it does not mold or rot. Unlike flagstone or bluestone, it does not reach an uncomfortable temperature level and can be made cooler by coloring it in light tones. Unlike brick, it can be made slip resistant by adding nonskid grit into the mixture. Colors and Patterns to Suit Your Design Since the material can be enhanced by stamping designs and patterns and by coloring it, your pool designer can use concrete decking to give your home a high-end, custom look. Using the proper powdered pigments, stains, and antiquing agents, your pool deck can reflect the style and color of your home or present its own distinctive look. Through the use of molded concrete of different shapes and hue, the designer can add contrasting borders to define spaces. Concrete Pavers for Beauty and Convenience Concrete can also be formed in molds to make pavers, a popular configuration around pools. The joints between them absorb the moisture, which makes them cool to the touch. They are also resistant to chlorine and salt while being slip resistant. They can be produced in different textures that are comfortable to the feet and that have enough Read More
Selecting a pool contractor can make the difference between having a functional pool installed in your yard versus turning it into the pool of your dreams. Whether you install a pool to practice laps for fitness or competition or you want a backyard oasis that will be the center of family activity for years to come, you need a pool contractor experienced in design and construction. Selecting a Pool Contractor Goes Beyond the Portfolio Your first concern might be whether the contractor can create the pool you want, as an in-ground pool will be with you for decades to come. You might look at a contractor’s portfolio to see if he has done pools similar to what you want in the past. However the appearance of past results are only part of what you should consider when you decide to work with a contractor. Installing the pool is a costly endeavor where missteps can increase the cost. You want to make sure that your contractor is both experienced and a good businessperson. To find this out, you should research and then talk to several pool builders (at least three) to find out: How long has the company been in business under their current name and ownership? Are they bonded and insured? Do they have their own crew or use subcontractors? Do they have unresolved complaints lodged against them from homeowners or suppliers with the Better Business Bureau? How long will construction take? What do others who have used the contractor say about their quality of work and timeliness? Your Contractor’s Design Expertise Does Matter Once you have determined that the pool contractor is fair, reliable, and dependable, you can once again focus on design. A good pool contractor can build a pool just about anywhere, but if you have a yard that Read More