Blue Haven Pools: Three Factors to Consider When Building a Swimming Pool

Completing a major home improvement project is a lot like building a house itself. How you start—the foundation you build—bears greatly on your final project outcome.

When it comes to adding a swimming pool to your property, the same is true. That’s according to Blue Haven Pools, a leading pool contractor. Experts with the company highlight three key considerations to nail down at the outset when embarking on a new pool.

First, consider how large you want your pool to be. Don’t allow dimensions to become an afterthought, as you may come to regret it down the road.

Imagine having a newly done pool and taking a dip in it for the first time with your family members. Your aquatic retreat looks great, but you suddenly realize that with one child swimming across the pool, two others splashing around in the shallow end with your spouse, and you trying to relax on the tanning ledge, it may feel surprisingly crowded.

Extra space would have been much better for accommodating everybody and his or her individual activities. Among pool buyers, Blue Haven’s specialists say that the leading “do-over wish” is larger pool dimensions.

Second, consider where the pool entry goes and its configuration. Pool buyers often miss the important nature of steps—where they are built, as well as their style and dimensions.

Their arrangement and position play a larger role than you might imagine. For example, poorly placed ones can obstruct a lap swimmer’s path and disrupt his or her routine.

Steps can also provide an opportunity to include an increasingly popular pool feature, a tanning ledge (also called a sun shelf). Ask your builder about creating a first step that does double duty as this functional feature.

If seniors or those with mobility challenges may be using your pool, consider making the steps wider; they offer more space for an easier foothold for greater balance.

Third, think about whether a pool alone will provide maximum use and enjoyment for your family; with the wonderful hydrotherapy its jets and warm water deliver, perhaps a spa would be an excellent addition as well.

If you decide to include a relaxing spa with your pool, take advantage of the design opportunities it provides as well.

For example, have your contractor build the spa elevated—higher than the pool. Doing so allows for a spillover that creates a sleek water feature above your pool’s surface.

Starting your pool project off right is as easy with help of a qualified pool designer. Along with the factors outlined here, your designer will carefully review a number of decorative options and functional feature that suit your family’s lifestyle.

Blue Haven Pools: How a Backyard Pool Promotes a Healthy Lifestyle

A swimming pool can enhance the appearance and value of your home, and it can also provide an avenue for improving your family’s health and sense of well-being, according to highly rated pool contractor Blue Haven Pools.

A private aquatic retreat can boost opportunities for healthy living in a variety of ways. First, using a public pool poses health risks your family can more easily avoid in your backyard pool.

Here’s why: The swim facilities at community centers, schools, gyms, and clubs are constantly in use—and by numerous bathers. Unfortunately, some may carry contagious pathogens from open sores and illnesses. Meanwhile, others who are healthy may not be exactly the most hygienic; they may not practice effective sanitary habits. (Need we say more?)

The ugly truth is that even chlorine can’t destroy all of the dangerous nasty microbes in some public pools. And some are not properly maintained. So, for the best odds for avoiding waterborne illnesses and infections, it’s best to swim at home.

Second, swimming is a superb activity for shaping up. You can do laps for a cardio workout or engage in other forms of aquatic fitness with special weights and fitness accessories designed for use in the water.

Because of water’s buoyancy, you can work out your entire body without placing stress on your joints. In fact, swimming is even more low-impact than exercises such as cycling, walking, doing yoga, or using a stepper, rowing machine, or elliptical

For that reason, swimming is particularly helpful for those with limited mobility or with conditions such as obesity or arthritis. And with the ultimate convenience of a pool just steps outside your backdoor, keeping a regular workout routine just got easier.

Finally, hydrotherapy can improve your quality of life in more ways than you imagine. Splashing in the pool with the family can be a lot of fun, and so can simply laying out on the tanning ledge to relax.

In some cases, you don’t even need to go in the water; you can simply listen to water flowing from your pool’s waterfalls and experience a dose of tranquility.

And if you love spas, include one when building a new pool. The warm water and massaging jets will take relaxation to a whole new level. A bubbling spa can help soothe aching muscles and help wash away the stress of the day. A hot soak before bed can lead to a better night’s sleep as well.

With a liquid oasis on your property, your family can access greater opportunities for feeling better, looking better, and ultimately achieving a more enjoyable, healthier lifestyle.

Blue Haven Pools: New House Has No Pool? Build One

Purchasing a house that already comes with a swimming pool might be exactly what you want. But as the Rolling Stones sang, you can’t always get what you want.

Still, no existing pool may not necessarily be a bad thing: According to national pool builder, Blue Haven Pools, if your new home do not come with an swim-ready aquatic resort, you can have one built—on your terms.

“Your terms” means you can create a pool of any shape or style you want. You dictate the size. You get to pick your favorite decorative features—like a tanning ledge, spa, or bubbler fountains. And it’s your call as to what exterior materials—like stone, tile, interior finish—your pool will get.

“Building your pool—versus inheriting one from your home’s previous owner—means you can even tailor your backyard for outdoor entertaining. Add your choice of amenities, such as a fire pit, tiki hit bar, island barbeque, or outdoor kitchen.

The first question you need to ask, though, is about the property’s suitability for adding a pool: Can the backyard at the house you want to buy accommodate a pool? Factors to evaluate include:

• Enough space for your desired pool design
• Complete environment for comfy outdoor living
• Space for other backyard and patio amenities
• Backyard conditions that are construction friendly

Space is the most critical variable. The lot must be large enough for a residential pool—the majority of which run between 28 and 40 feet long and between 14 and 20 feet wide.

However, with a concrete (gunite/shotcrete) pool, a custom pool design can be configured to maximize the available space; designer can often develop creative solutions to square-footage constraints. For example, they can develop a plan that puts part of the pool in the side yard, with one section curving around the house and into the backyard.

With the assistance of a qualified pool contractor, you can determine whether a pool will work in the particular outdoor space.

Your contractor can also help determine what shape, size, and style of pool will be most appropriate for fulfilling your family lifestyle and aesthetic preferences for long-term value and enjoyment.

Blue Haven Pools: 3 Factors to Consider When Starting Your Project Design

When you’re ready to embark on a pool for your backyard, you’ll no doubt have a series of design-related decisions to make. And like many homeowners, you may find yourself changing your mind about your plan details at least once or twice. Or maybe even three times, according to national pool contractor Blue Haven Pools.

But that’s okay. After all, it’s critical that your new pool adequately fit your functional and lifestyle priorities. The most important matter is that you get your plan all worked out before the building phase begins. Otherwise, you could end up facing construction delays and paying for alterations that could have been avoided.

To begin, you have three key pool-design decisions that revolve around size, depth, and inclusion of spa. Although many other design choices will follow, these three are among the most fundamental ones.

When considering pool dimensions, you have several factors to evaluate. For example, yard size and project budget are among those that weigh heavily in any choice about size.

Another part of the size equation comes down to how you plan on using your pool: Small and medium pools may work for some yards and some families. However, a larger one is generally more desirable if you have a large family or plan on lots of entertaining in your aquatic resort.

Another important pool design factor? The steps leading down into your pool. These steps are often overlooked and not give the attention they deserve. Paying close attention to your steps’ position, as the wrong position will block your swimming path and end up disrupting your routine. In other words, incorrectly built steps will make your backyard resort a lot less functional and thus less enjoyable for you and your loved ones.

Finally, a third essential factor to consider when designing a pool is whether you plan to include a brand-new spa with your pool. If you do, you need to determine if your spa will be level with the pool or will rise above the pool’s surface. A raised spa is popular because it offers convenient seating and additionally makes it much easier to enter your spa.

Blue Haven Pools: Think About Building a New Pool in Wintertime

It’s raining, snowing, and cold outside, so building a new swimming pool is likely the last thing that’s on your mind, right? But maybe it should be. In fact—according to Blue Haven Pools, a leading swimming pool contractor—the off-season may be the perfect time to start thinking about a new backyard pool.

Why? Because you can get ahead of the crowd—the rush of other homeowners who plan the construction process during the spring and early summer months.

Think of pool construction kind of like commuting home from work through a busy city. It’s harder to do when everyone else is trying to do the same thing as you are.

So, instead of starting your building project during “rush hour,” why not start earlier, when there’s likely to be higher levels of attention and fewer pool customers competing for on the building schedules.

During the winter months, pool contractors may have more they can offer. When it’s the busy spring and summer months, a slew of pool buyers come out of the woodwork to start work on a new pool.

With an inground concrete (gunite/shotcrete) pool, the construction process involves multiple phases and takes time. As a result, construction crews are slammed with projects, and plenty of other customers are vying for your builder’s attention.

However, in the off-season, you may find that a pool builder’s client service levels rise to optimal levels. In some cases—because there’s less work for their crews—builders may even be able to complete your project more quickly.

And because there are fewer pool buyers on the market shopping builders, you just might even negotiate a better deal or barter for some value added on your pool contract.

The months between September and January—the off-season in most regions of the country— may be the best times to optimize your pool-building journey

 

This may be particularly true if you have any special requests for custom features or a complex design that will require greater project supervision. The same goes if tricky backyard building conditions warrant unique special handling during pool construction.

Building in winter can also be advantageous if your home is out of the way. Say you live 100 miles to 150 miles away from the pool company’s home base operation. The long trek may not make the project as worthwhile for your contractor during the busy months; after all, that’s when they likely have many other closer-to-home clients needing their services.

Of course, you can’t go wrong with an expertly-designed pool any time of the year. But if you want to boost the odds of arriving at your destination faster, easier, and with greater value, consider breaking from the herd, and kick off your pool construction when it’s cold outside.

Blue Haven Pools: On-Ground Pools Offers Unique Benefits

When you imagine a swimming pool, an in-ground one typically comes to mind. But were you aware that you can also build a custom pool entirely or partially on the ground?

And yes, we are talking about a concrete (gunite/shotcrete) pool—not one of those flimsy prefabricated ones sold at retail store and become an eye-sore in your backyard.

On-ground concrete pools deliver some special benefits, according to pool company Blue Haven Pools.

For example, if you want a water-based outdoor addition, but your yard features some construction challenges, it may be worth taking the plunge into building an on-ground concrete pool. The same goes you are seeking a distinctive design for your aquatic retreat.

Swimming pools constructed at a position fully or partially on the ground—like this example—can help overcome the challenges posed by backyard lots with slopes.

To begin, understand the basics of a custom concrete pool. All or part of the pool’s structure—the floor and side walls—are built on the ground or above it.

Like their in-ground counterparts, on-ground and partial-on-ground pools feature shotcrete or gunite material and steel reinforcing bars just like typical in-ground concrete pools.

And like their in-ground counterparts, on-ground pools offer versatility in design, durability, and longevity. These are essential qualities you want when it comes to making a major investment in your property.

One outdoor building challenge that may make building an on-ground pool your best option is a backyard with an uneven grade or slope. You might also need to go with this type of concrete configuration if your property has rocky soil or groundwater issues that can cause headaches during the building process.

However, some homeowners want an on-ground concrete pools not necessarily because their yard requires one, but instead because they prefer the striking style. If you likes to stand out in a crowd, then an on-ground pool can be a superb choice for your outdoor living space.

One of the aesthetic benefits of an on-ground design is how it adds a unique visual dimension to your poolscape. For example, its exterior wall is visible, and when adorned with decorative tile or stone, the structure enhances the overall beauty of your pool.

Another advantage of an on-ground pool is functionality in certain outdoor setting. One case in point: The tree-laden backyard that drop plenty of leaves on the ground. These leaves may easily blow into a typical in-ground pool with water surface that’s a few inches lower than the ground. However, the walls of an on-ground pool provide a barrier that may prevent leaves from entering the pool water.

Ditto for wild critters that seek out a water source; the on-ground walls make it difficult for them to find their way into the pool and accidentally drown. A well-built, strategically configured on-ground pool is sure to deliver the relaxing, aesthetically pleasing aquatic escape you have always wanted in your backyard.