Coping is the key

         In part 2 of my blog about materials we are going to discuss Coping material.  Coping can be stone, brick or even decking that sits on top of the beam around the edge of the pool.  This is possibly the most noticeable part of a swimming pools construction.
        Through the years there have been many trends as far as coping goes, but 3 materials have remained steadfast as the leaders in popularity.  Pre-cast concrete coping, stone, and brick.  By far the most popular is stone.  There are many different option when it comes to stone ranging from affordable to extremely expensive.  Oklahoma flagstone is one of the more common stones used in southern regions and is quite versatile in application.  It is one of the denser flagstones and can be harvested in many different shades from light to very dark.  Because of the broad shades of natural (earth tones) colors you can get from one pallet of flagstone and its reasonable price tag it is a very common selection amongst people installing a new swimming pool.  There are numerous other shades of flagstone to choose from such as Tennessee (gray/slate color) Arizona buff (generally lighter tone than Oklahoma) Arizona pink (the name speaks for itself) and Granbury limestone (white/yellow tones).  Another popular but more expensive stone selection is travertine.  Travertine is a limestone generally put through a tumbled process and requires a coat of sealant as it is quite soft and takes stains quite easily.  That being said, travertine is easily my favorite.  It comes in numerous colors from ivory to chocolate and numerous textures from tumbled to honed.  Travertine coping can be cut to most any shape needed to cope a pool and is generally installed in a square cut pattern. Most of our high end projects use travertine as the pool coping and often time as a cap for walls and kitchen counters as well.  I have an ivory travertine coping on my own outdoor kitchen in my backyard  (left over from a job of course  :o)

          Precast concrete coping is exactly what it sounds like.  A mold poured piece of concrete often poured with a color infused die to give it different shades.  This is a fairly basic material (sometimes simple is good) and can be used in most any application from free form to geometric shaped pools.  They can be used in 6" up to 24" pieces and even larger can be custom ordered.  There are many shades available to make use of the color detail designed into the pool concept..  I have even seen people use multi color bricks in both regular and irregular sequence, though I caution using to many different shades to avoid making the pool look to busy..
          Brick coping is actually quite similar to the brick that you would use on the outdoor walls of your home.  It is essentially fired clay and is very cost effective.  Brick has its place in the market but I generally push my clients away from it as it does not age well and has very little visual interest in my opinion..
           Traditionally, people have used a gray mortar joint for there coping and vertical veneer in there swimming pool, but guess what.  You CAN add color.  One of my favorite looks is a dark mortar trim joint with a darker material such as the darker shades of Oklahoma.  Another popular option with the Oklahoma flagstone is a buff mortar joint (sand color) that really blends the mortar joint into the stone giving it a very natural look.  adding color to your mortar joints is not a very expensive option and can really add some flair to the pool coping and vertical veneer.
            Stay tuned for my next material blog.  We will be tackling a material that many people struggle to make a decision on.  Concrete decking.  There are many different styles, patterns, and colors to choose from.  Next time we will be breaking down some of the more common and in my opinion, best looking and most versatile.

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MATERIAL SELECTION PART 1

       When designing a swimming pool, there are more things to think about then you realize.  One of the most important factors visually is material selection.  Lets face it, We all want a pool as a place to cool off on those 105 degree days but we also want it to be as visually appealing as possible.  Many times, in an effort too cut cost, the material selection is the first item to be downplayed.  Often times, when trying to work within a budget this is unavoidable but as a designer I really push my clients to think about the aesthetics of the pool.  You want a pool that functions well and is as efficient as possible but you also want to make sure you are getting something that is also visually appealing.  Over the next few blog posts I am going to attempt to break down some key elements of swimming pool material selection.

       Today we talk tile.  Tile is probably the most under appreciated part of the swimming pool as far as trim go's.  Most people want to make the tile either match the interior finish or the coping selection on the swimming pool.  To me, I hear this as " I want the tile line to dissappear".  I believe this to be flawed logic.  There are so many different types of tiles to choose from these days and I believe that there is no reason to shy away from a bold tile.  One of my favorites is a glass tile preferrably in 1".  A popular selection amongst the glass tiles is a gloss black.  This tile lends a very clean look and is a very versatile tile.  It is often used not only as tile line tile but also as spa veneer, ledge veneer, negative edge weir walls as well as veneering entire pool bottoms ($$$$$$).  I have found a number of translusent glass tiles that really pop in the sunlight as well.  These tiles can not even be assigned a color because depending on where you are standing you will get a different color response.  One of my FAVORITE tiles that I have used to date however is a  horizontal bar travertine/glass mix.  This tile was picked up by the client on clearance at a builder surplus store in fort worth.  (learning point..  listen to your clients..  sometimes they can pull you into another realm of possibility that you may not have thought of.. lots of creative people out there and there's always more than one way to skin a cat)  upon first glance I thought that the tile would not look good with what she was trying to do.  Boy was I wrong.  Looked great!  Lesson learned.

There are lots of options when it comes to tile selections so dont let youself get pinched into a " ceramic tile" corner. Be bold, be creative, be original..  Tile can sometimes be the difference between your pool "standing out" or just "blending in"..

Part 2 coming soon.  In the next blog I will delve into some of the design options that are out there for swimming pool coping.. 

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                Obviously in today's market swimming pools are considered a luxury item. With the cost of material goods, gasoline and labor driving prices up it is getting harder and harder for the white picket fence American family to justify the cost of installing a pool. For this reason you should have a hands on designer/builder to help conceptualize and develop a plan for the project that will not only suit your families needs and desires as well as be aesthetically pleasing to look at. In most case you only get one chance to do it right. :o)
              While the physical correlations are not there, there are some philosophical similarities in purchasing a swimming pool and purchasing a car. Not all Cars are built the same, in turn not all builders are the same. Every builder has different specs. that they choose to build to. So when deciding on a builder for your project it is always important to look for the builders emphasis on quality standards in there projects. For example, many builders build every pool the same regardless of the conditions, while others look at the conditions of the soil and other factors to develop the steel matte and shell thickness. Obviously, the later is more concerned with long term structural integrity of the swimming pool. It can be very easy to be persuaded by the rock bottom cost associated with an under built pool, but very much in the construction industry the old saying rings true, "you get what you pay for". Always know what your looking at when you are comparing bids. A under built pool will always cost you more.. eventually.
               As a designer, aesthetics are very important to me. I feel that a prospective client deserves the time from me to nail down a preliminary plan with a budget. Upon confirmation of budget and the desire to move forward then we can sit down and delve in the minute design details such as material selection and colors.. Many companies like to come into a home, slap a stencil down and give you a prefigured cost.. There is a market niche out there for these builders as they generally have a very low price based on there building standards. I like the hands on approach to the design process though and feel that there are many aspects that should be addressed during this phase of the project. I often run across many different types of architectural elements when working around custom homes and not all houses are well suited for an altadina (kidney bean shaped) pool. In the last 10 years free form pools have been the norm but on almost all high end projects we end up with a very linear (geometric) shape to the pool. Geometric pools age very well and can be very complex or very simple but either way (with the right material selection, features, etc..) always scream "classy". On the flip side though, sometimes the clients personality may drive the direction that the design takes. I often find that clients with a more structured personality tend to like the geometric design while people with a more laid back personality tend to gravitate towards the flowing design of the free form design.
                In the end, a well designed swimming pool should not only be a place for friends and family to gather and have a good time but with a little thought and quality control can (and should) also be a work of art. Aquatic art.

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