No snap decision: Nestled on a bluff with three hilly sides made this property, near the Illinois River, a perfect fit for this design. “We went back and forth on how you get the most bang for your buck on this small space,” says Russ Hinderliter. Having a vanishing-edge pool allowed the vessel to be pushed to the edge of the hillside, creating an entertainment space near the house that wouldn’t have been possible if decking had completely surrounded the pool. To get this look, Hinderliter chose the Blue Stone Iridium color of the iPool2 model by San Juan Fiberglass Pools, and added interest with two stone columns topped by copper bowl fire features. “On the vanishing-edge side, San Juan customized the mold to build the pool the way we wanted it,” Hinderliter says. The angle of the shell’s edge usually is 30-degrees, but he had it modified to be a 45-degree angle to hide the track of the automatic pool cover by Cover Pools.
Access point: Hinderliter faced an unexpected challenge when the excavation unearthed an abandoned septic field. After an engineering consultation, his company found a way to secure and build on top of it by pouring footings and added rebar with backfill to ensure the old septic field wouldn’t be disturbed. “It was a little challenging getting materials back there,” he adds. He also found a way to hide the equipment pad from view by building a covered area along one of the sides of the pool.
