It's winter in Texas -
Time to plan your pool

by ANNE MOORE
photography by VERNON WENTZ

Yes.You need to start now if you want to be swimming or entertaining in your own pool this summer. Make your plans now so building can start in the spring.

“Why rush?” you may ask. Well, since there are so many new designs and water elements now available to you, and since this is really going to be a lifestyle change, there are a lot of decisions to make.

For example, you need to think about how you’re going to use the pool. Will it be mostly for your family’s own recreation and enjoyment? Do you have children and grandchildren for whom you might want a wading area? Or are there those old enough to play water sports like water polo, basketball, and volleyball? If you or someone in your house is a serious lap swimmer, perhaps a long, straight and narrow area with a depth of four feet or so will be important to you. If space is limited in your backyard or other area you’re considering for a pool, a small plunge pool, with jets to create water currents to swim against, might suit your exercise needs as well as your aesthetic needs. Adding a heated water spa can provide a fun, relaxing place for every age and might also provide some health benefits, too.

Salt water pools are becoming a hot item, according to Debbie Pendley, of River Oaks Pools. One plus is that salt water pools produce their own chlorine. Don’t worry about scratchy, irritated eyes because there’s the equivalent of only one-half of the saline of one teardrop in the water. However, there could be some corrosion considerations for some types of furniture and some decorative features.

Popular features of new custom-built pools include beach entries (sloping, no steps) and negative edge or “infinity” pools that flow over one end as if there were no wall. In reality, water is captured and is constantly re-circulated. Swim-up bars and tanning shelves (where you can sit or lie in only a couple of inches of water) are popular along with many more innovative designs.

Automated pools offer a whole new bag of tricks. From an internal location, a computerized control panel allows you to control the pool and other outdoor lights, the heater temperature in the pool and/or the spa and the timer for the filtration, on or off. You can also have a spa-side remote.

So, does your pool dream take you to a lagoon where you can simply mellow out among the tropical plants and water? Or maybe you see yourself in a rock cave, hidden behind a sheer stream of water. By just combining rocks and water, you can create a wonderful waterfall or a stream running down through the rocks. Even the sight of water just hugging the rocks and slowly drizzling downward creates visual and textural interest.

Friends with pools (FWPs) agree that the upkeep associated with their pools is a good trade-off for the family’s enjoyment and the opportunity for bonding, along with, of course, the relaxation the pool provides. Some have taught their children how to swim and water safety right in their backyards. These FWPs like the entertainment opportunities involving the pool as well … like barbecuing with friends of both the adult and kid variety, playing or lounging in and around it all day. And for that special party at night for friends or for business entertaining, a lighted, landscaped pool adds a wonderful, even romantic, visual experience to the evening.

Swimming pool construction is complex. Most pool companies agree that building pools in San Antonio is a bit more complicated than in some other cities because of our shifting soil. Many pool companies use steel reinforcement in their construction process for strength, and many use gunnite pool construction. This state-of-the-art pool construction involves many steps for the reinforcing; the plastering, which requires experienced and knowledgeable plaster craftsmen; the tile work, and more. After all, you can choose a color for the plaster, you can have a pebble finish or a design on the bottom of the pool, a tile mosaic and on and on. Pendley says they sometimes use small colored and tumbled pebbles that add color, are stain resistant and prevent the streaking effects pools sometimes get.

San Antonio has a great many pool companies, but they all get busy when the warm weather returns, so you better make an appointment and start planning your pool now if you want to be a FWP (family with pool) and swim in your own pool during the summer of 2008.

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