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We recently
completed a major
landscaping project in River Oaks which involved a
significant amount of pool remodeling. Originally, the
swimming pool had been constructed as a simple rectangle set
into the patio behind the home. The client requested that we
change the appearance and grade of the pool to bring it more in
par in relationship to the house. While
pool remodeling is a common element in most landscaping
jobs, what made this project so unique was the space limitation
we were forced to work within. Due to the size of the patio and
surrounding ornamentation, we could not enlarge the sides or
ends of the pool. All remodeling would have to be done by
reducing the dimensions and sculpting a new design in the
process.
In order to bring the patio more in par with the home, we added
a coping around the perimeter of the pool. In normal pool
remodeling jobs, this coping would be at the same elevation as
the patio, and the pool deck would be slightly lower. In this
instance, however, the depth was already fixed just like the
ends and sides. We had to create a raised coping that offset the
pool deck and leveled out the appearance of the patio in
relation to the house.
Once this phase in the pool remodeling project was complete, we
then went to work on changing the actual shape of the pool
itself. Again, we had to transform the interior by reducing
space, not increasing it. There was no way to tear out the patio
or use any portion of the yard to add cubic feet to the
structure. Instead, we made use of a
 special
technique that applied concrete to the inside of the swimming
pool. This was no ordinary concrete, either. It was actually a
dry cement mixture that was pressurized and sprayed through a
hose. Once it was in place, it was dampened at the end and
shaped. This allowed us to remodel the pool’s interior
dimensions from that of a plain rectangle into a quadrilateral
with arched and contoured corners. Although this reduced the
cubic feet of the pool, it created several new underwater
structures and actually had the optical effect of making the
pool look larger after it was remodeled than it had before.
At one end of the swimming pool, we cut a spa into the new
cement to create a special, separate space for people to relax
in the water. We also added steps for two reasons. The first and
most obvious reason was safety. It is much easier to slip even
in the shallow end of a swimming pool without firm footing that
allows one to maintain balance and take one step at a time. From
an aesthetic perspective as well, adding steps helped balance
the overall proportions of the remodeled pool in relationship to
the new spa we had just installed. We also added decorative urns
along the coping, and installed pool jets to maintain water
pressure and water flow through both the spa and swimming areas
within the pool.
This pool remodel was just one element in a very complex
landscaping plan that also included new walkways, new fountain,
better
landscape lighting, and the replacement of an old
outdoor kitchen with an arbor.
For an estimate on pool remodeling as a part of a larger, more
comprehensive landscaping project that blends structure with
architecture and Nature, contact us today by email, or call
Exterior Worlds at
(713) 827-2255.
For more the 20 years
Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's
fine neighborhoods.
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