Pools are a huge expense but provided that you get your fair share of use out of it, they are worth the investment. Most anyone would tell you that you will never get 100% of your investment back on a pool so don't buy one with the hope that you will make money on it. They certainly are a selling point but they are not an investment you should hope to make money on.
Why would you want to refurbish a pool?
You moved into a home with an existing pool. The home is great, just your style, but the pool is boring.
You were building a home and decided to have the pool done during construction of the home but the pool builder that was contracted didn't offer anything other than a standard, no frills pool.
Your pool is old. Perhaps you built it 10 years ago and besides being out-dated it needs repairs to the structure itself.
You had limited money to invest in the pool when you had it built but now you have a little extra money to invest in the look of your pool and you plan to remain in your home for additional years.
What do you do? How do you make the pool more your style? It's not as if you would dig up the pool and start totally over. Could you imagine the financial investment that would take? So what are your options? Some decking options and considerations are below:
Concrete stamping. I have heard that it is expensive. Well, that would be relative to your own personal point of reference but also relative to the other options you are considering as concrete stamping is much less than some other options. Concrete stamping is essentially a concrete coating that changes the appearance of boring concrete. It can make your deck look more like stone, brick, slate, etc. It is becoming more popular these days due to the options available as well as the comparable cost to other alternatives.
Brick pavers. Brick pavers are also a very popular option these days. They are one of the primary options offered by pool builders. Your standard pool is built with a concrete deck coated with cool decking materials. Brick pavers are offered as an upgraded option. They are not that much more expensive because you do not have a concrete deck poured under the pavers. Pavers come in all sorts of shapes, designs, and colors.
Travertine. Travertine is a beautiful, natural stone but is quite expensive. As an example, the travertine that I had priced was going to raise the cost of the pool deck by double the amount. It would match or complement anything but it more suitable for clean lined pools in a more ellaborate setting.
Other natural stones. Slate, flagstone, etc are very beautiful but expensive also. They can also get very hot so might not be the best option for a home with children.
Some general considerations when refurbishing your deck:
If you have an existing concrete deck and decide to use thin pavers or another thin product to update the look of your pool note that they will be laid on top of your existing deck. This means that the draining will not be what it would have been with no concrete deck under the replacement materials. Typically they are not going to tear up your concrete to place a new deck. That would be quite costly.
If you have a canterlever edge on the pool and are planning to use thin pavers to cover the deck, you should realize that you will probably be able to see the canterlever deck edge underneath the new coping material. There will be a gap consisting of the original material between the new coping and the existing tile. Because canterlever edges are rounded I'm not sure you can get around this.
Another option might simply be to extend your existing deck with a different material to add not only real estate but also depth and variety. We have a great pool with a beautiful paver deck but plan to extend the deck with perhaps a small wooden deck with a gazebo or something on it. We feel that this will just add a little more interest to the back yard. In addition, we are going to grow a butterfly garden just beyond that additional deck. We have even considered adding a small, winding stream as well.
There are all sorts of things you can do to add interest to your pool. If you use it for entertaining that is an even better reason for spending a little more money to enhance your pool. The only limitations are your imagination and your funds.
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