Custom Pool Building

If you’ve ever envied your neighbors’ pool and you’re thinking about investing in your own, start your research months ahead of the actual construction day. For custom pool building, nothing is more important than proper planning. This will be one of biggest additions to your house; it will impact how the exterior looks, and how your family passes the free time. Also, it will add up some costs to your regular budget, for cleaning and regular maintenance, so it’s vital to make sure you don’t bite more than you can chew.

Before starting your custom pool building project, ask all your family members – all those who’ll have access to and use the pool regularly, that is – to draw or to show you a picture of how they envision your new pool. Don’t get into a lot of details at the moment, just ask for what they want, in general terms –but with an image to back that up (this is important, as descriptions can be vague or misconstrued – you’ll need something to make sure you’re on the same page at the end).

Once you have all the pictures and drawings, file them away, and let them rest for a few days. Then, give each family member a written checklist, and ask them to fill it in. This should include all important aspects of custom pool building, such as:

• pool shape
• pool size
• location, if you have more than one option available
• main planned usage (relaxation, swimming, partying, etc.);
• decking
• interior surfaces
• filters and water levelers (this may be too technical for some – so you might want to list the options available, and explain why these are important)
• purification and cleaning systems
• lighting and water features
• additional features and landscaping (how about that outdoor fireplace you’ve always wanted?)

Now, compare the results of the written description against the pictures that you filed away. Here’s why: with all these details and with all the technical and budgetary restrictions that will pile on during the actual construction project, it’s easy to get lost and forget what you wanted to build in the first place. Maybe you just want a place where you can relax and enjoy a cocktail in the afternoon, but you think that adding some party elements would also be good, so you can invite your friends over once in a blue moon, and your spouse thinks she might want to dive, though she’s never been into diving before, and so you make the pool a lot deeper than originally intended, and the children want a stone dolphin that sprouts green water into the pool, and you say they can have that without realizing how expensive the maintenance is going to be… and so, once the custom pool building project is complete, you end up with something that’s not even remotely suitable for relaxation and an afternoon cocktail.

Those early pictures will help you stay focused on what you want; and the detailed description that follows is there to insure that all the details are in place and nothing will be added without proper consideration. Now it’s time to call a family meeting and compromise where needed (not all details will fit together, of course), before you call your chosen contractor and finally start that custom pool building project you’ve been dreaming about.

The project depicted in the photos, located in Hainesport, NJ, is from Elite Renovators. The entire project can be viewed HERE.

Find Out If DESIGN BUILD PLANNERS Is Right For You click here →