If you end up renovating the pool that you built, it’s likely you have been in business for quite some time. Hank Thompson is a 67-year old owner of Cascade Custom Pools, in Bee Cave Texas. He has been in business since 1981. One of his latest renovation projects involved the pool on his ranch in Dripping Springs.
Thompson’s two-year-long DIY project was a first for him. Pool builders are getting younger. “I’ve outlived most of my contemporaries.”
Thompson’s life has been everything he ever dreamed of. From building a duck pond when he was 12 years old to creating complex, high-end swimming pools that won his company numerous awards, Thompson is living the life he had always imagined. When the Coronavirus pandemic started in 2020, Thompson decided to expand the 37-year old pool that was one of his first projects.
The result? The result? A multi-tiered, freeform oasis in the style of a lagoon, that looks like an original pool, but on steroids. This project used a variety of materials in order to achieve a rustic appearance. More than 150 tons boulders were imported from Oklahoma. There was also a 300 square foot deck constructed over the equipment room. The project required additional support engineering to create a grotto. This meant drilling 20 feet deep into limestone.
The crews had to also work around palm trees that were decades old while installing new lighting, plumbing, electrical and automation equipment. The boulders had to be moved up a steep slope to the site, which required a dangerous skid-steer loading machine.
Thompson says, “I knew the pool was in need of a facelift but I put it off for several years because we were busy.” Then, when COVID struck, I thought we wouldn’t have any work to do. As we know, it was the exact opposite. So, I began tearing down the pool to keep my crews occupied. Next thing I knew, my phone was ringing and everyone wanted a pool.
Thompson’s crews had plenty of work to do without worrying about renovating his boss’ pool. He hired subcontractors that had worked on Cascade Custom Pools’ previous projects. Thompson didn’t use elaborate plans for this build, but instead shared his vision with workers, who would then engineer the project.
“I sketched something on a scrap of paper, but it was not a plan.” “It was just a kind of a plan,” he says. You have to keep in mind that this is the first pool I’ve ever built. “I didn’t make a lot of cash, and I did not have the experience I do now.”
Jimi Smith Photography
Two Big Challenges
Thompson and his crews were faced with many challenges during the renovation project.
Before shots of the extensive renovation: “You have to remember, this was the first pool I have ever built. I didn’t have a lot of money — and I didn’t have the experience that I have now.” —HT
Photos above courtesy Cascade Custom Pools
Thompson describes the ranch as a “compound” and says that all the construction materials had to be staged 150 feet below the site of the pool, at the base of a 45 degree incline hill. Thompson says he bought “the most powerful track-mounted skid steer” he could find. “I could not have built this project without it. I also rented a large forklift crane with a 40-foot extension to move boulders. Pallet jacks were used to move boulders beyond 40 feet. Some of the rocks had to be set with block and tackle.
Thompson drove the skid steer, moving boulders of different sizes up the slopes in small groups and larger ones at once. He recalls some tense situations. The skid steer had a warning system that told me, “Hey, your skid steer is about to topple over.” The alarm went off about 12 times. “Most of the guys in the crew would not drive it, it was too steep an incline.”
The extreme effort required to get materials to the construction site slowed the project down. Thompson, after the pool shell was completed, took a look at the equipment below the pool and decided that more work was needed. This further delayed the project.
I didn’t want my equipment to be visible from the deck. “I guess I’ll make it an equipment room,” I replied. He added that he chose concrete masonry units, instead of gunite and shotcrete, because his subcontractors were masons. “I thought about adding some space to the top of the room.”
The space has been transformed into a rooftop deck that cantilevers off the pool and overlooks the vast countryside surrounding Thompson’s 17-acre ranch. The construction of the deck and room took about four to five months, according to Thompson. Its straight lines are similar to those of the ranch’s main house, guesthouse, and cantina, creating a contrast with the freeform water bodies.
The gorgeous update comes to fruition. All told, the renovation cost about $500,000. Regardless of cost, remodeling your own pool offers the kind of freedom many pool builders unfortunately rarely have the opportunity to experience.
Photos above courtesy Cascade Custom Pools
Photo by Jimi Smith photography
Thompson applied a finish he uses on all his projects, the PebbleSheen texture finish by Pebble Technology. TJ, the vice president of Cascade Sales and Operations, had to convince Thompson that Desert Gold PebbleSheen, a natural color that mimics beach sand, and creates a greenish color in the water, was the perfect choice for the project.
Thompson says he was initially unsure if the color would work with the surrounding. It worked perfectly with boulders. Desert Gold gave me that natural look I was looking for, rather than the deep blue or white of so many other pools.
Photo by Jimi Smith photography
“THE MOST FUN”
This renovation cost approximately $500,000. The company website calls it “Showpool”.
If I find someone who wants a pool that is freeform, I invite them to come and see mine. Thompson adds that if the budget is there, then they will get one. It may not be as costly as mine because most of the half-million-dollars is in boulders.
No matter how much it costs, remodeling your pool yourself offers a level of freedom that many pool builders rarely get to experience.
Thompson explains, “I was not in a hurry.” “I had no boundaries and could do what I wanted. This was a project that I enjoyed. I was not going to be stressed. My wife would occasionally ask me: “When do you expect to be done?” I would give her a date. Three months later she would ask again. “But she would notice every day that something was changing.”
“I wasn’t in a big hurry. I didn’t have any boundaries, and I could do exactly what I wanted to do. This project was something that I was enjoying. I wasn’t going to get stressed out. Every once in a while, my wife would ask me, ‘When do you think you will be finished?’ and I’d give her a target date. And three months later, she would ask me again.” —HT
Photo courtesy Cascade Custom Pools
Each project has its own personality when you build pools as a profession. This one, however, stands out for Thompson.
He says, “I have built many swimming pools for wealthy and famous people and had fun doing it.” “But this was by far the most fun I have ever had.”
He also recommends that other builders, if possible, find a way of renovating their own pools: “My advice would be to do it – and have the best time of your lives.”
