Landscaping around your backyard pool is more than just planting a few bushes and calling it a day. Your swimming pool will end up looking like a body of water on your yard unless you enhance the surrounding area further with a pool deck.
Your goal is to create a pool environment that’s inspirational, attractive, easy to entertain around, and more importantly, hard for you and your guests to leave. It’s a place where you create a tranquil environment to combat the effects of everyday stress and soothe your mind, body and soul.
Aside from the pool itself, your deck is the foundation for your landscape design and achieved in many different ways. Poolscaping your deck can be attained with many types of material such as wood, stones or pavers. Whichever material you decide to incorporate in your design plan, a pool deck will greatly upgrade the look of your swimming pool. It will create a stunning accent area while increasing your property value.
Layout Consideration
You want to plan your deck in a way so that you can take advantage of your surrounding views from within and outside the pool area. While most deck layouts have people sitting with their backs to the house, this seating arrangement is not always the best. A striking, well-landscaped rear façade can be accomplished and more aesthetically pleasing if your home is bordered by natural views, such as mountains, lakes or sunsets. These natural settings should be accentuated whenever possible by the positioning of your deck. If this isn’t feasible and you have unwanted views, consider a fence to orient the deck and minimize undesired sights.
Privacy Considerations
Both fencing and/or landscaping are ideal solutions for maintaining privacy. The lounging areas and congregation spots should be as far away from your neighbour’s property as possible. In addition to security, fencing diminishes the sounds that travel from neighbouring houses or traffic. Landscaping also plays an important part in acquiring privacy using trees, hedges, rockery and oversized bushes acting as buffers in maintaining privacy as well as dampening sound.
Material Trends for Pool Decks
Most pool decking falls into one or more of the material choices listed below. Some of these materials are highly variable with dozens of options, while others are more static.
Concrete: One of the biggest trends for inground pool deck designs is tinted, textured and decorative concrete that provides a safe, durable and slip-resistant deck. New techniques for stamping offer stunning designs that are unique, functional and affordable.
Pavers: Quality pavers are available in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and colours. They are valued for their low cost, long term durability and permeability, and ability to move with the ground to eliminate cracking. A big advantage of precast pavers is that they are small enough to be moved by hand without special equipment and can stand alone on sand or gravel without any mortar. There are numerous types of pavers that can be used for a pool deck. Some designs are ideal for permeable paving that complies with the zero runoff building codes.
Here is a list of types of pavers:
• Natural Stone
• Brick
• Flagstone
• Concrete
• Interlocking
• Permeable
Wood: Most types of wood can be used for a pool deck provided that it is pressure treated for outdoor use. If you are opting for a dramatic look around the pool, you may want to consider exotic hardwoods such as Ipe or Teak. Teak, in particular, is popular due to its intricate design, durability and ability to hold natural oils, resulting in this type of lumber being bug repellent and resistant to mold. However, wood is more high maintenance than some other materials and requires proper care on a regular basis.
Rubber: Homeowners might want to consider rubber, which is a relatively unknown surface option for pool decks. The material provides not only a soft and nonslip surface, but it’s capable of withstanding outdoor climate variations. One such product is PebbleFlex® which uses advanced bond-in-place technology. Millions of pebbles bond together, creating a safe and durable surface. Traditionally used in playgrounds, this material is making headway as a viable option for a pool deck surface.
If all of this information is overwhelming, consider Evergreen Landscapes to construct your ultimate poolscape. Based in Waterdown, Evergreen Landscapes services Burlington, Aldershot, Ancaster, Dundas and the surrounding areas.
