We’re in Texas and it’s warm most of the year. We can swim pretty much any month, it’s not just a summertime thing. Most of the homes we build have pools designed from the beginning, the architects we work with know how much joy and comfort a backyard oasis can provide. It’s actually rare when a brand new home design doesn’t have a pool on the blueprints.
With already built homes, many remodels and additions start when the homeowner decides they want a pool. The changes we then make to the home are to accommodate the new backyard lifestyle. The architect will design an addition to include features such as a pool bathroom, outdoor seating areas, maybe a second living room/game room or even an entire suite for guests to enjoy.
So when you’re building your dream home from scratch, or remodeling your space to better fit your new backyard pool-filled life, exactly WHEN should you build the pool?
Pool First, or Pool Second? Now or Later? Before the house, or after?
Lots of people want to build the home first, move in, get settled, figure out the money and THEN build the pool. Others want the pool to be ready on moving day, so they build it with the house.
What if you don’t have a choice of timing? Some home designs require that the pool happen first. How do you know if you’re in that category?
BACKYARD ACCESS is the key. Once the structure is built, is it possible to get the pool built easily? Can we get heavy equipment around to the backyard, or is access cut off by the home? Does it back to something that makes it inaccessible from behind? Is it just smarter to build the pool first, then the structure in front of it? Just imagine cement trucks and backhoes and the path they’ll take to your backyard. Does it look easy?
The pool in the photo above was built on a slope, those foundation forms are 16’ tall in some areas. With this remodel we had to open up a tunnel through the lower floor of the home in order to build the pool. The backyard is Barton Creek Greenbelt, the sides of the home were narrow and too close to the property line to bring equipment down. So the only way to build the pool on this remodel was to go through the house. It was an anticipated wrinkle in the plan, so we budgeted around the tunnel. If you can plan around something like this, it’s always best.
Below is a photo of a home that had a pool in the original drawings but the homeowner decided to wait to build it….then after we began the addition they decided to build the pool. We dismantled the new living room so we can bring the heavy equipment through the new structure to the backyard. Anything is possible and we don’t mind the sudden change, but this development meant we had to stop work on the addition/remodel and focus on the pool. We’ll have to build the living room a second time after the pool is complete. It adds expense, time, and hassle, but it is possible. Building the pool first would have been more efficient.
When considering the timing of adding a pool, think about the access around the sides of your home and whether or not you’d like a roadway built through your living room. If there’s ever a question of timing, build the pool first!
