3 Important Design Features to Consider When Building Your New Shotcrete Swimming Pool
The time has finally come. You and your family have made the commitment to get your new shotcrete swimming pool installed - yay! First of all congratulations. The memories you and your family are about to make in your backyard will be priceless. Now comes the fun part - designing the pool. Now you may seem a bit overwhelmed and there may be some components you may not understand but fear not I am here to help! Of course there will be many things to contemplate and hopefully your pool builder will be able to help you with any questions you may have, but for now let’s go over the 3 most important design features you need to consider.
1 - Pool Tile
First let’s begin with the pool tile color/style and placement. Now, depending on your contract with your pool builder, you may or may not be limited on the type of tile you can or can’t choose. My best advice to get started with tile is to look up inspo pics. You can use Pinterest or simply Google Images. After browsing some images, first decide on where you want to place the tile. More often than not, when building a shotcrete pool most pool builders include a waterline tile, meaning they included some tile to be installed along the perimeter of the pool, usually in a 6” band or so. If your builder did not include this I HIGHLY recommend adding this as the waterline tile not only enhances the appearance of your pool, but it actually provides a barrier to prevent debris/oils/etc. from forming a scum line at the top of your pool over time. Next, depending on the style of your pool I would also recommend placing some tile along the edge of any steps, sun shelfs, or benches for an additional luxury touch, but this is not necessary.
Once you have the location(s) picked out for your tile now is the time to think about the color and style of tile you desire. First, reach out to your pool builder and ask them for a brochure/website link so you can browse the various tile options you can choose from. In the meantime, I would suggest using the following website as a guide: NPT Pool Tile. When it comes to the color and style of pool tile it is really your complete preference - there is no right or wrong answer. My only advice when it comes to pool tile is to realize pool tile is expensive. Here at my company, Resilient Outdoor Living, we make sure to include a pretty high budget for pool tile in our contracts that why you are not frustrated going through pool tile pamphlets and feel like every tile you are picking out is not in your budget. But, if your pool builder included a low budget for tile, expect a change order.
2 - Pool Plaster
Second, so now that you have your pool tile location and color/style picked out let’s move on to the plaster. Again, similar to the pool tile, depending on your contract with your pool builder, you may or may not be limited on the type of plaster you can or can’t choose. More likely than not your pool builder listed the type of plaster in your contract and all you need to choose is the color. However, if you still want to browse the various options out there I would recommend checking out this guide: NPT Pool Finishes. Here you should even find the type of plaster your pool builder listed in your contract, just make sure to touch base with them to make sure the color you choose is available in your region. Now my best advice for choosing a plaster is to keep 2 things in mind: how do you want your pool’s walls/floors to feel like, and what color do you want your water to be?
Now, let me explain. First, the plaster type that you or your pool builder choose will impact how the pool’s walls/floors will feel like. Some plaster choices are smooth, some are rough, and some are in-between. Make sure to express to your pool builder which texture you are looking for and they will guide you in the right direction on which type is best for you and your family. Second, the plaster color will impact the overall water color of your pool. For example, a white/light blue/light grey plaster will make your pool water appear light blue. A dark blue plaster will make your pool water appear dark blue. And, a dark plaster such as black or dark grey will make your pool water appear dark green. So as long as you keep in mind what color you want your overall pool water to be, picking your plaster color should be a breeze. And remember to keep your pool tile style and color in mind when picking your plaster color.
3 - Pool Coping
Finally, once you have your pool tile and plaster both picked out it’s time to pick out your pool coping. Now you may be thinking - what the heck is pool coping?? I do not blame you. If I didn’t work in this industry I would not know either. Pool coping is the top edge surrounding the entire perimeter of the pool. In the photo above it is the black brick surrounding the pool. Again, similar to the pool tile and plaster, depending on your contract with your pool builder, you may or may not be limited on the type of coping you can or can’t choose. First, the coping depends on the surrounding pool decking you and your pool builder have chosen to install. Most of the time, if you are doing a concrete pool decking you will have a concrete coping installed and if you are doing a brick paver pool decking you will have a brick paver coping installed. At my company we usually like to steer our clients into getting brick paver coping always even if they get a concrete pool decking - but that’s just our personal design preference.
If you are doing a concrete coping then there is not much to choose other than color and this is easy - you can either choose a “seamless” concrete coping that’s the same color as the rest of your concrete pool decking, or you can choose a dyed color, usually a darker color, to create some contrast between the concrete pool decking and coping. Consult with your pool builder on this to discuss your options.
If you are doing a brick paver coping then there are quite a few choices here! Similar to the concrete coping you will need to choose if you want a “seamless” paver coping that’s the same color as the rest of your paver pool decking, or you can choose another color to create some contrast between the paver pool decking and coping. Other than color the other style item to keep in mind is the coping edge. Some brick paver coping edges are rounded, such as Techo-Bloc’s Bullnose Coping and some are straight-edged, such as Techo-Bloc’s Raffinato Smooth. Now, if you are getting a curved shaped pool I do not recommend getting a straight-edged coping as the cuts will not look good in my opinion around the pool so I highly suggest sticking with a rounded coping, but if your pool has no curves then you are free to choose either option.
Now that you have your pool tile, plaster, and pool coping all picked out pat yourself on the back - you have your 3 most important design features selected and my job here is done. Congratulations on your new pool once again and remember as much fun as it will be designing and building the pool, it will never compare to the endless memories you will create in the actual pool once it’s complete ☺