avid Tassin saw a tough job ahead of him.
The customer had laid down some rules for the co-owner of Sabine Pools & Spas in Lake Charles, La. For example, the family wanted the big silver maple tree spared, and they preferred to leave the kids’ play area and swing set right where they were.
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The builder placed the pool to leave space for the play area and swing set, while still providing plenty of open backyard. Meanwhile, brick accents in the new deck tie into the existing brick walkway.
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On top of all that, the backyard was full of slopes and grades that Sabine was not accustomed to dealing with. The challenge was to meet all the homeowners’ requests while coping with the sloped yard and still keeping everything within budget.
Of course, the above-average budget helped significantly. The builder was able to overcome the sloping backyard by installing a freeform pool at the top of the already tiered property and incorporating the yard’s existing retaining wall into the design.
Explain the design concept and how you thought of it. Why this particular shape?
We came up with this design because the yard itself is a kind of “flowing” yard, if you will. And I knew the customers were looking for something natural-looking. So we wanted to do a little different shape, something with a natural look.
Freeform shapes are somewhat unusual for vinyl-liner pools. How would you build it?
You have a certain configuration of panels that make up all the radii. With a normal rectangular pool, you have just a bunch of straight panels and the walls bolt together. Freeform is the same principle, but there is more to it. It’s trickier than a regular pool. It’s like putting together a big puzzle. The panels are various sizes and shapes. With a rectangular pool, you might have different lengths, but most of them are pretty straight, except for the corners.
Why did you place the pool the way you did?
Because of the way the yard is laid out, to have a pool this size, it made the most sense to put it in that area. It still leaves the play area with the swing set intact, and that made sense. It groups everything all in one area nicely and still gives [the clients] plenty of open backyard. We set it to tie everything into the walkway that leads to the upper tier. The angles of the deck and walkway were able to match with the angles of the pool so, geometrically, it all fit.
What struck you about the property?
The property itself is really unique. We don’t normally see as much elevation change as they have in this yard. It seems to be a neat, well-kept backyard.
How did you deal with the elevation changes?
The backyard already had some terracing. From the existing patio, they have a brick retaining wall that holds the yard in at that height. I thought we would have the pool at the same elevation as the retaining wall. The way I see it, the yard is already terraced, so you’re keeping it all at that [upper] elevation anyway.
What did you notice most about the clients?
They seem to be a middle-class family that wanted a play pool for the kids, but yet they wanted it to look nice for entertaining. They wanted to have a social life.
What kind of liner pattern did you choose, and why?
A dark blue pattern all the way up to the edge. It’s more natural than one with a tile pattern. This one gives more of a deep, blue water kind of look.
What kind of coping did you choose? What does it look like?
We did a red brick coping to match the brick retainers that they currently have. It’s bull-nose brick, smooth on the front so it will be comfortable for the kids. We used the same brick as expansion joints to match the coping.
We added a Kool Deck, a textured deck, and made this tan — a soft, natural color. It looks better than regular concrete. It’s more comfortable and cooler to walk on.
Are the steps and love seat white plastic?
The inside of it is white under the water, but we are bordering the brick behind it, just like the step on the other side of the pool.
Tell us about the fencing. Why iron? And what style is it: straight or ornamental?
It’s ornamental iron fencing. It’s a very nice-looking fence and we would do it in black. It gives the backyard a very nice look. It’s better than picket or wood. The house lends itself more to this iron fence look. It’s like a courtyard look.
This pool has a lot of automation features. Tell us about them, and why you chose them.
It has an automatic fill, chlorinator and cleaner. It’s strictly to make life easier. With a majority of the people these days, any automation that helps them save time, they love. With the auto fill, you don’t have to drag a hose out there and fill it up, which is a nice feature. With the budget we had, it’s usually a given that you want those types of automations. The auto chlorinator makes it simple because you can fill it up with chlorine and regulate the flow, which makes it last [longer]. It’s a convenience and makes the pool easier to maintain.
Why did you choose a sand filter as opposed to DE?
We like sand filters because of convenience and ease. They are very consumer-friendly: low maintenance and easy to operate. Just backwash them once a week by turning a valve and that’s it. With DE and cartridge, you literally have to take them apart and clean them.
How did this exercise constrain you compared with actual projects?
The toughest thing was just not being in the actual yard. Pictures were good, but not being able to see the yard in person or meet the homeowners was tough.
What would you have done differently if you were dealing with actual people?
Nothing, really. The profile was pretty comprehensive.
How does the budget compare with what you’re normally used to on this type of project?
For a vinyl pool, it was a rather large budget. Typically, when we get those types of budgets, it means that we’re usually doing a gunite pool.
What were you able to do with this budget that you normally couldn’t?
I was definitely able to make a nicer than average vinyl-liner pool [thanks to a large budget]. The freeform design is not something you can get with a small budget. Plus, all the brickwork, coping and expansion joints — it’s definitely something we can only do when we have a big budget. I put pretty much everything that I wanted on it.
