I would ask each PB about what they plan to do for drainage, if you are wet now wait until you put the pool in, it will get much worse.

As far as where to place it I personally would have to see the lot. If after taking down the tree's it is still wooded I woud do so, if not I would probably settle for a little smaller pool.

Where in CT do you live? Just curious because I am just over the border in Southwick, MA and am also looking to get a pool installed first thing next season.

I'm not always a proponent of "bigger is better", but when it comes to pools, you do want the pool properly sized so it can do for you what you intend it to do; swim laps, just lounge, play volleyball, etc.

When the pool is in, you are done. That's it. In three years, five years, or eleven years, you'll have forgotten about the extra money spent to take down those trees. But if your pool is the wrong size, you'll always regret it each time it fails to meet your expectations.

You want a free form, the PBs are pushing you towards a rectangle. Why? Is it for their convenience (in stock, easier to excavate and install, etc), or because based upon how you say you'll use the pool, they think a rectangle is best for you? Differences like that, you need to find out who's interests are best being served...

If you go vinyl free-form in a custom size, don't forget about possible down-line maintenance...getting a replacement liner for your custom free-form versus the ease of getting a replacement liner for a standard-sized rectangle. I don't know if that is indeed a factor as I don't own a vinyl pool, but it's worth asking about.

FWIW, I'm in CT too. I have a gunite pool with medium gray plaster. Pool temps in the summer are regularly in the high 80s and even into the sometimes too warm low-90s simply due to daytime solar. I swim from early April to mid-November. Friends with vinyl pools? They are always complaining about how cold their pools are.

Thanks for the replies. I've attached some pictures of the yard. The first one is taken from the patio. The 2nd shows the backyard beyond the patio and the 3rd was taken from my neighbor to the left. The backyard is not wet now (it is in the spring). We do have a slope that goes towards the house from the left.

Suffice it to say, trees are going to have to come down. Depending on whether we put it to the right of the patio and try to "fit" it into the landscape or we put it straight in back (after the trees come down).

We live in Burlington, CT. I love a gunite pool, but I think it is not within our budget. I'm thinking of doing the liner without the "tile" and going with a cantilever edge. I have 3 boys (16, 14, and 11) so they are going to need an area to "play" (basketball, volleyball,etc.) and a diving area. We are not doing a diving board, but I am considering a diving rock.

I like the lagoon shape, as opposed to the rectangle. My guess as to why they are leading me towards the rectangle is that it is easier to install, it will give me more pool area, and it is less money.

Again, thanks for the help. We are in the very beginning stages, but I want to get it right.

This post was edited by Susandances3 on Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 13:11

Picture #2...backyard beyond the patio.

Picture #3...from the side.

Gunite pool here, too, but our neighbor has vinyl. The only thing I can tell you is to please, please, please make sure that whichever poolbuilder you choose does not skip on whatever it is you put under a vinyl pool for drainage. We have a high water table and the neighbor's liner floated every spring. He finally had to install some French drains and a sump pump, which he thinks is something that DEFINATELY should have been done during the building process and would have saved him a ton of money and aggravation. Good luck with your design and build. It's frustrating sometimes but oh, so worth it!
Beautiful setting for a pool.

Gunite pool here, too, but our neighbor has vinyl. The only thing I can tell you is to please, please, please make sure that whichever poolbuilder you choose does not skip on whatever it is you put under a vinyl pool for drainage. We have a high water table and the neighbor's liner floated every spring. He finally had to install some French drains and a sump pump, which he thinks is something that DEFINATELY should have been done during the building process and would have saved him a ton of money and aggravation. Good luck with your design and build. It's frustrating sometimes but oh, so worth it!
Beautiful setting for a pool.

Keep in mind taking down tree's will allow more Sunlight as well as cut down all the leaves and stuff from the tree's getting in the pool. I love tree's also, but if it were me I would go for the bigger pool and take down a little more tree's.

Very Nice Yard!!

Agree with Carnut12.

I have a heavily wooded lot, and I do enjoy me trees. But I've been taking down a few deciduous trees every few years and planting evergreens in their place.

For the most part I've been putting in Cryptomeria Japonica, either "Yoshino" or "Radicans." Unlike arborvitae or many other evergreens, deer don't nibble on these. Once established, they pop about 3' a year and the oldest ones, now maybe 35-40' tall, have kept their lower branches.

I have some that have been in for three years, others in for 15 years.

Less leaf debris and yard work for when I turn into a geezer, and the evergreens provide more privacy as well as a bit of a wind break.

Good luck with your build!

Hello,

We're in New England also and just put a pool in our backyard. We have a vinyl freeform pool and our yard has a slope (we had to put in a few retaining walls), so I thought I'd share a picture of how our pool turned out. We also had an ill-placed well head to work around but we did not have to worry about trees because our lot was cleared when our house was built.

Good luck!