When you design a
pool for a client who
previously owned an
insurance company,
there’s no need to pitch the safety-related
reasons for adding an automatic
cover to the project. Its inclusion is
simply a given.
Instead, in the case of a massive
55-by-25-foot rectangular pool in the
backyard of that client’s new home in
Southlake, Texas, the challenge centered
on the size of the cover.
“When we were discussing this
project, the question came up: What is
the biggest project we can put a cover
on?” says Mike Farley. “And this was the
largest single cover that they could do.”
Farley is a pool designer for
Southlake-based Claffey Pools in Texas.
He designed this project that took
Gold in the 2023 Awards of Excellence
program and is also co-founder of the
Million Dollar Pool Design Challenge.
Putting an APC on this hillside project
was a relative rarity for him since he
moved to the Lone Star state.
“I worked in Northern California
for 12 years, and covers were a much
bigger deal there than they are here,
because of safety concerns in Northern
California,” Farley says. “I had one
neighborhood where I did probably 30
covers. But here, not so many.”
Granted, some of his recent Texas
projects with covers were designed
for members of the same insurance-business
family. But pool covers
obviously do more than protect people
(and pets) from falling into the water.
They also keep debris out and heat in,
saving owners both time and money.
According to the U.S. Department of
Energy, automatic pool covers conserve
water by reducing the amount of makeup
water needed by up to 50% and
reduce a pool’s chemical consumption
by up to 60%. Those statistics alone
make a pretty strong case for the
installation of an automatic cover. But
they’re often overshadowed by aesthetic
concerns, which is one of the most
common reasons pool owners turn
their backs on a pool cover.
Farley’s solution to those concerns
is a big reason why this covered
pool succeeds so well from a design
perspective.
Photo courtesy Mike Farley
IN SUPPORT OF WALK-ON LIDS
Every project Farley has designed in
the past 25 years that includes a pool
cover also features walk-on lids over
the space where the cover is rolled up.
The hinged stainless steel trays can
be topped with masonry that matches
the deck, and — as Farley says — “at a
casual glance, you can’t tell that there’s
a cover under it at all.”
For the Southlake pool, the walk-on
lids blend with the rectangular Travertine
pavers for the deck, patios and porches.
“That was important to them, from
an aesthetic standpoint,” Farley says
about the client, for whom this was the
second pool he designed. He adds that
not offering the walk-on lid option is a
“disservice” to clients — even though it
can add $10,000 or more to a project’s
price tag.
They may be expensive, he adds,
“But I’ve yet to have a client who says,
‘Oh, I don’t want that.’ My job is just to
give people information.”
For this project, the built-in spa and
tanning ledge are located flush at the
shallow end, opposite of where the
cover is stored. That way, it’s easy to
access either amenity without having to
retract the entire pool cover. (Subway
glass tile was used to match the ledge,
the waterline and the spa dam wall with
the water color.)
“One of the things that we usually
[consider] is putting the spa and the
steps going into the pool next to each
other, which gives a lot of functional
space in the pool for general activity,”
Farley says. “[The homeowner] wanted
to play basketball, volleyball, plus have a
diving board. That’s one of the reasons
the cover was 55 feet long — to fit all
those things in there.”
Another client might want the spa
located at the opposite end of the pool,
away from the cover mechanism but
perhaps closer to a patio entrance or
a breathtaking view. The key, Farley
emphasizes, is to share with the client
the pros and cons of each desirable spa
and cover location.
‘WE BASICALLY SAT FOR
ALMOST A YEAR’
Aesthetic challenges and convenience
priorities aside, this project also
required the implementation of an odd
construction schedule.
Despite the hilly backyard, the
pool was built at original grade and
supported by a retaining wall, but
there were several existing oak trees
on the property that Farley and the
homeowner wanted to protect. Because
of where those trees are located, pool
construction crews would not have
access to the backyard once the house
was built without damaging the oaks.
So the pool was dug and set with
gunite before the house foundation
was poured.
“[The home construction crews] put
the forms of the house up after we got
the gunite done, and then we basically
sat for almost a year waiting for the
house to get far enough along before
we started the rest of the job,” Farley
says. “We usually don’t start a pool until
the masonry’s done on the outside of
the house. That way, the scaffolding’s
down — the brickwork and stucco is all
finished — and they’re not going to put
up scaffolding again and damage the
deck. But in this case, we just had to get
the shell in first, because we wouldn’t be
able to get our equipment in to dig it later
on once the walls of the house were up.”
The retaining wall that the Claffey
Pools crew built features stone to
match the house, with the wall’s cap matching the limestone decking.
For landscaping, the homeowner
opted for synthetic turf to create a
unified geometry of space and a blanket
of green that looks the same all the
time — despite the heavily wooded lot.
No brown spots or dead grass, and no
mowing required.
“The first job I did like that was
about 14 years ago,” Farley says. “I was
like, ‘What in the world would you want
synthetic grass for?'”
Now, he knows.
Today, Farley includes turf on
about half of all projects he designs.
First, it primarily was used to accent
areas in which homeowners wanted
the landscaping to look perennially
pristine — such as areas frequented by
the family dog. Turf also emerged as
a greater necessity in Texas and other
states where droughts are frequent
and lawn irrigation can be too costly or
even restricted.
“Some people don’t want wall-to-wall concrete or pavers, or a lot of
landscaping, around their pool. But
they also don’t want it to look sterile,”
Farley says. “So if we can come in and
add these turf accents, it brings a little
bit of greenery in, softens things up and
helps the place feel more ‘natural.’ It
has been really popular.”
In fact, some projects — maybe three
or four per year, according to Farley —
don’t include a pool deck at all.
“The green comes right up to the
edge of the pool, and people put
furniture on it. Kids will lay out and play
on it, just like it’s carpet,” he says.
Durability can be a concern in
these cases. Through trial and error,
Farley determined that overly soft turf
doesn’t last as long as more resilient
turf, especially when covering large
areas with heavy foot-traffic patterns.
Over time, he adds, the turf will wear
down (just like indoor carpeting),
and it should be noted that outdoor
synthetic turf is more expensive than
concrete pavers.
Other key design elements of this
project include a pool centerline that
can be viewed from the home’s family
room, and the stairs that lead to an
extended fire table are centered on the
game room doors. The fire element
itself is placed safely out of the tree
root zone , and the seating area is
surrounded by the synthetic turf on
three sides with stunning views of the
woods beyond.
These design elements, along
with the turf, extensive decking and
multiple gathering areas, combine with
the automatic pool cover to create a
picture-perfect backyard scene in which
form and function seamlessly blend.
“Some people use a cover all the
time when the pool is not in use, and
other people just put it on seasonally —
and then there’s everything in between,
too,” Farley says. “I can’t answer how
this particular homeowner uses their
cover. They just wanted it to look good.”
Mission accomplished.
