7.0 SURROUND DEVELOPMENT

Under the area of Construction, we covered the finishing of the bondbeam & its relationship to the pool, now we need to consider the relationship to the House & other surrounds.

7.1 How Much Area

• Think about how you want to use the pool & how many people you may want to get around it in the most crowded time.

  Remember that in some States, the County/Council will not let you have a relaxing area inside the pool fence, only out side the fence. (see fencing 7.3)

  You don't necessarily need much area on "The other side of the Pool" but you should have considered this in the siting of the pool.

  Make sure that there is enough area for a table & chairs & some where to lay around & still keep back from the edge of the pool some.

• Adjoin Garden, House, Driveway,
  Look at the types of material which you have used for garden edges, back of the house paths & any adjacent driveways, you will need to use a deck finish which blends in with these or is totally contrasting to these.

• Types of Materials
  We discussed many types of materials to use for the pool surrounds, but remember that you will have to live with it for a long time so try to check with people who have had various types of finishes around their pools for 2-5-10 years to see what they look like.

• Covered or uncovered
  With the understanding now of the effects of the sun & skin cancer, it is becoming common practice for many people to provide a large amount of area around the pool & in some cases, part of the pool to be set under cover.
  This does not need to be a solid cover but in many cases, it is a shade cloth or sail type cover which allows light & breeze through but keeps out a large proportion of the UV light.

• Drainage
  This is a very over looked component of designing the surround area for a pool. There will always be water splashed around a pool with people entering & leaving the pool & the deck area is a positive collector of rain water (unless it is timber decking which allows the water through). Make sure that you provide correct falls & collection & pipework for the disposal of the area water.

7.2 Excavating the Surrounds

• This should have been done as close as possible at the time of the excavation for the pool hole unless the area was left to help with keeping the work site clean. If it has not been excavated & any grass areas removed then do so being careful to observe the following.

• Check for any underground utilities which may have been away from the pool excavation but which come under the surround area.

• Check the relationship of the finish of the surround to the ground/grass/building/other decking it is matching up to. You don't want to have water running off the deck into the house. You also don't want water running off the lawn on to the deck.

• Install any necessary drainage grating & pipeing from the area, especially from the areas where the decking meets other surfaces. This drainage will normally have to go to your stormwater system, dependent upon local regulations.

• Install any conduits necessary for out door lighting or outdoor powerpoints in the area, remembering to allow for clearances of lights, powerpoints etc from the pool in accordance with the local electrical regulations.

• Install any conduits necessary for outdoor speakers etc in the area, you can now buy very natural looking rock speakers & garden gnome speakers, which can be used to provide a very interesting effect around the area.

  
  

• Many Councils & Counties now require swimming pools to be fenced from the general yard & the house, whereas others only require the yard in which the pool is situated to be fenced & the house may be incorporated as part of the fence as long as it has automatic closing, child proof doors leading to the pool access.

  Fencing of either style must be done before the pool is filled, so if you are having your pool Marble sheen or Marcite finished, then the fence must be completed prior to the application as the water has to be added as soon as the marble finish is applied.

  
  

• The fence will have to be to suit local regulations in relation to height, distance from ground to cross bars & distance between cross bars, Gates & the way they swing, heights of latches on the gates & various other items. This does not mean that you are tied to very ugly looking fences, the rulings are normally broad enough to allow the use of many different materials & looks.

• Post Installation. Be careful when installing the posts that you don't dig into any pipes & conduits, plan the position of the posts carefully before hand.
  Preferably incorporate the post in the deck so that you do not have to cut the lawn around the posts.

• Don't use a fence which blocks the view of the pool from the house, that would be a waste of the hard work you have gone through in constructing the pool & also takes away the ultimate safety feature of always being able to see what is happening in the pool.

Consider the following points which are more than just the visual privacy.
• Stormwater: Make sure that the surround you have to your pool does not allow water from adjoining properties to flow under fences & in to your pool area, you could have changed the whole drainage layout of the area in construction your pool to a particular level.
  This water may need to be diverted along the boundary or in to a stormwater system.

• Leaves & other Debris: One point which should have been possibly mentioned in the positioning of your pool is the consideration of where the neighbours have trees which drop their leaves in Autumn (Fall) & which way the wind blows at that time of year.
  You may wish to construct a lattice barrier along a section of that fence & a little higher than the existing boundary fence which you can grow an evergreen climber on to so that it deflects the leaves from your pool.

• Visual Privacy: You may need to consider the lattice as above or a hedge or some other natural barrier between your pool area & the neighbours as part of your surround development.

Happy Swimming.