63 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com best place on your property to locate the pool and all associated equipment. POOL-BUILDING PERMIT While your contractor will help you obtain any necessary installation permits, your pool design will have to meet all codes and requirements per your property, especially if it is in any kind of flood zone. For instance, when designing and building a pool in a V-Zone (Velocity Zone), structural engineers are required to be part of the front-end design process and in some cases soil engineers, who run tests on the soil to determine the strength or bearing capacity of the soil. In other cases, either timber or helical piles are required. Deep piles may be required depending on the ground strength, even for some in-ground pools, depending on the soil quality. And if the pool is elevated above a certain criteria, then the BFE, or base flood elevation, will need to be factored into the planning process. “The needs and requirements for each individual property will differ and will be taken into consideration by your pool contractor,” Futeral said. POOL DESIGNS Pools can be designed in a variety of shapes and sizes, such as rectangular, curvilinear, geometric, freeform or others. They can be in-ground, elevated or partially elevated. And the property survey, along with your needs and desires, will help your pool designer determine what will work best for your goals and property. “Regardless of what style you can choose, we build only concrete pools,” Futeral said. “Total construction could take approximately 12 weeks plus, but for an elevated pool, it takes longer.” LOT COVERAGE ALLOWANCE Futeral pointed out that Lowcountry pools can occupy only a certain amount of home property, depending on the location. Mount Pleasant, for example, allows for a range of 30-50 percent for all lot coverage, which includes other structures, such as a pool. Your pool designer will help you determine the size of the pool and decking that is permitted on your property. “We’ve had to turn away clients until they got the extra coverage for a pool by demolishing an existing property covering, such as a driveway,” she said. “That’s happened with us on more than a few occasions.” LANDSCAPING/ASSESSING PROPERTY ACCESS Mount Pleasant contractor Adam Dukes doesn’t build pools. But he and his Grandscapes team of landscaping professionals often work with pool builders throughout the greater Charleston area to see that all necessary surroundings fit the design and enhance the pool. Dukes said one item that tends to get overlooked by owners is property access for landscaping equipment. “Property access can affect whether or not things run smoothly once pool construction begins,” said Dukes, who founded Grandscapes in 2009. “Because if a pool’s placement shuts off all access to the back yard, it makes it more difficult for us to go in with our machines to do the landscaping.” He added that being able to work alongside pool builders makes for a smoother operation and a better outcome for design items that accent the pool. “We do a lot of hardscapes installation – patios, tree planting, irrigation, driveways, etc.,” Dukes said. “We operate year-round, but I encourage people wanting a pool with a landscaping design to begin planning for it as soon as possible because this allows us time to work with the pool company in planning timelines and obtaining official permits.” FAST VS. EFFICIENT While it can feel exciting to want a pool now, Futeral pointed out that a custom pool is a considerable investment. “Cutting corners may save time upfront – but it could cost you so much more when easily-avoidable issues later arise,” she said. Aqua Blue Pools of Charleston. coastal dwellings
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