Project Manager
Bradley Cross
Builder
Waterworks Pools & Spas
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Sometimes a pool design serves double duty. In this case, the homeowner wanted not only a beautiful pool to swim in, but also an attractive feature to view from her yacht on the river.
After the home builder and designer decided on the pool’s placement in the backyard, Bradley Cross was tasked with crafting it.
He conceived and built a vinyl-liner pool that is nothing like any project the firm had done before. This one features a vanishing edge, glass tile, automatic pool cover, travertine decking, tanning ledge and floor lighting.
“I believe it’s one of the first of its kind to incorporate several features all at once,” he says. “It took a lot of work to figure out how these elements would fit together.”
Two features that required meticulous planning were the vanishing edge and automatic pool cover. A vinyl liner couldn’t go over the vanishing-edge weir. As a solution, Cross developed a system in which he would finish the wall with glass tile. The catch basin would then be lined in vinyl.
To make way for the automatic cover to move back and forth, he lowered the vanishing-edge wall.
Despite all the moving parts, Cross says the project still came together with no major issues. One added challenge was the location. The property is an hour and a half from his shop, requiring some hotel stays during the building process.
The planning and hard work led to a pool that provides the main attraction in the backyard. It complements the house and serves as a focal point when the homeowner sits in her yacht on the river.
This view is particularly striking at night. Lighting mounted into the vinyl-liner floor of the vanishing edge catch basin reflects up to illuminate the glass tile wall. Several dozen landscape lights around the pool add to the night-time view.
What the Judges Thought
The project seamlessly combines several elements for design and function. With nothing that appears too indulgent or out of place, Cross has created a work of art for the homeowner to appreciate, whether in the pool or on her yacht from the river beyond.
