Concrete Decking

Ok -

This will be short and sweet.

When considering your new pool (and of course the price) don't be afraid to put ample concrete pool decking around your pool.

If there was one thing that I regret not doing when I bulit my pool - it was paying a few extra bucks for a few more square feet of concrete decking. I'm looking at adding more concrete now - but I face problems with adding it after the fact.

The concrete will slope away from the edge of the pool (you don't want rain water running over the concrete back into your pool - that would yield a chemistry nightmare). If your builder does their job right - you will have to add drainage between the new and old concrete if you decide to add on later. The problem is usually that you have the grade of the ground outside the concrete the way you want it, and it can be difficult to continue the original slope away from your pool, which leads to having to add drainage slats or more complicated concrete work to get the water not to stand on the deck (causing future damage).

In hindsight - I would have spent an extra $1000 at build time to have more than the standard 4 feet of deck surrounding my pool.