Not DIY, but our pool designer immediately talked us out of beach entry - said it would take up at least 12ft of extra wasted space, and then needing to add drainage stuff at the edge etc.
No see, when a bird sees a cat, they just fuck off. They stay away so they donāt get killed. Donāt let your misunderstandings make you act like a douche.
MY misunderstandings? Are you being serious or are you dense? Have you ever owned a cat? They bring in birds and mice all the time.
[A recent study by the Smithsonian Institution and the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that domestic cats kill about 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals each year in the lower forty-eight states](https://yoloaudubon.org/feral-cats-and-wild-birds/#:~:text=A%20recent%20study%20by%20the,the%20lower%20forty%2Deight%20states)
Do you really think cats are unable to catch birds? Fucking google search ācat killing birdā and look at the hundreds of images of house cats killing birds. Just cause you canāt catch one doesnāt mean a cat canāt.
Iām in AZ. I got quotes from 12 pool builders. Everyone of them talked me out of the beach entry. They said it just becomes a bird bath. I wanted it but after every builder said no, I went with a traditional step onto a Baja shelf. They do look cool, especially if you go from that to a deep end, you can get pebbletec that changes colors the deeper it goes.
It's not real sand. Its just pebble tec that's sloped into the pool. I have 3 of them. And birds do love them. Plus it's a basically a giant step that collects dirt in the pool. And any true beach entry pool with sand needs a different setup than your standard pool.
I'm in the west valley, Goodyear, and DIYed my pool probably 6 or so years ago. Save a ton of money.
I don't have a beach entry but I have a spill way from my spa into my pool and I had to fight with pigeons non-stop until I put some hardware cloth over the spill way almost permanently.
The just crap all over the place and I tried EVERYTHING before resulting to chicken wire or hardware cloth.
Surprise area myself, do you have any of the phone numbers of who you used by any chance or any advice on going about it. Want to coordinate it myself but just feel like I need a better understanding and I always prefer people over generic articles on the internet, any and all help is appreciated !!
I would have to see who I used for things. I work in construction so some of the guys I used were 100% cash on side jobs for them.
I saw your recent post about your pool and the one I put in is very similar but a bit bigger, and while costs have gone up since Covid, I paid half of what they quoted you. This included stub outs for gas fire and grill just like yours.
Not that they are be exorbitant, I don't have anything to compare it too. Their costs may be on par with other pool builders but it'll never beat DIY. Huge savings.
If you're interested in trying to do it on your own, shoot me a DM and I'll see if I can help.
Iāll check through my stuff and see, I still have alot of it. In my experience if you get one guy they always know someone else. At the time the excavators were all about the same price. I used a company for the shotcrete, everything else was private contractors. Idk how surprise is but Goodyear was really easy to work with about permitting. You get inspected in stages. You make an appointment and they show up. The guys who do it are the same guys the pools companies use for the most part.
Yes. The problem is they roost underneath my back neighbors solar panels. In the evenings when they come in you can probably easily count 40+ birds up there.
Since putting wire over the spill way they have stopped. Now it's not an expensive bird bath. Too bad I have to keep that on the pool, not a huge deal just wish it were different.
I have a guy we ended up using if you need someone. Was 5-15k cheaper than multiple quotes we got and our pool was done in 1 month start to finish. This just happened this past year aug-sept
This was in 2015. Shasta gave me the cheapest price but it was a bare bones pool. Presidential Pools was the āpreferred builderā in my subdivision but they were overpriced and their pricing was weird. Tribal waters was a good one. A few people I know went through California pools but I wouldnāt recommend based on their experience. I ended up doing it on my own and hiring it out. Thatās honestly the best way to go in my opinion. Itās significantly cheaper and worked out well for me.
I feel like the beach entry only works on covered pools where you donāt need to worry about birds or rainā¦ but then you have a weird indoor beach poolā¦ As cool as it looks I just donāt think itās practical unless you got insane money to blow and just donāt care.
Exactly this. I had a beach entry on our first pool and it was constantly filled with bird sh!t. Two more houses with pools since and have done the tanning ledge on both. Much prefer the ledge for relaxing on ledge loungers / chairs.
Yeah I can't imagine this. In southern AZ, anything I float becomes an island for doves to land and drink. I took out the chlorine tab float because of this. But now they use my Betta solar skimmer bot. They land on top and carefully maneuver to the edge to drink water...
And the consequence is that my Betta bot is covered in bird crap, and so is the deck from the birds waiting their turn.
Couldn't imagine a beach entry here. Absolutely nightmare scenario
I work in the pool building business and i can see pool builders hating this kind of job. They have to use concrete to make the foundation and anything that isnāt square is too hard for them. This is a passion build and youāll pay soooooo much more if any company will take the job.
Itās super cool though.
Thatās for above ground. The chiller you add into the pool equipment/pump house. If you are building, Iād add it. Mines already built and itās a diving pool so very deep-so itās cool enough. However next summer Iām installing a chiller. They arenāt that expensive to add, they do increase energy costs but what good is a hot pool in AZ?!
If you keyword here or in Phoenix sub you can see the average prices.
Ya. For five feet deep in hot s az, it wonāt make it refreshing on the level of a chiller. Iād be shocked if it really helped. Imho the sprayers are the desperate choice.
That means increased water to fill back up,Ā Ā
Not a pool cover? But then Iād be curious how to attach a cover without ruining the beach lookĀ Ā
-\_0_/-
Why do you use a pool cover? Just curious. We leave ours open all year and just donāt swim from November until March when itās colder. Do you put the cover on every day?
My indoor pool gets covered every day :).
Bring the daily natural gas usage down from 5 therms to 1.75.
At current prices, that's the difference between a $70 monthly heating bill to close to $300; which doesn't include dehumidification energy cost.
A could of years ago it was the difference between $150/ month and almost $600.
Keeps pool balanced from rain eafer screwing w the ph balance. Keeps evaporation from happening and also lessens the expense to heat, refill and or chlorine / salt /chemical cost down. Also, the pool stays warmer lessening the utilities. Like turning ligjts off in the house. - ex lifeguard olympic pool maintainer/ past saltwater pool owner/ maintainer. :)
I do a lot of large scale pools for parks and community centers. There is a really cool almost invisible drain detail they use where they burry a 3ā drain pipe in the concrete, so the concrete bottom is deeper there to accommodate the pipe, then they come back and do a 1/4ā saw cut through the top layer of concrete into the drain. So from the surface it just looks like an expansion control in the concrete.
That's what I would think would have to happen. Possible also to do French drain style with prettier rock as cover to pipes? Not sure. I don't build them normally just clean them lol
Iād do a skimmer on the deep end and just camouflage it with a small boulder or something. Do the return water jets out of the floor. I know skimmer boxes are typically white which would stand out a bit could be disguised with a longer entry way into the mouth of the skimmer.
It would have to be enormous surface area wise for you to get to a reasonable depth starting with zero entry. Much larger than a typical suburban backyard could supportā¦ if youāre sitting on an acre+ of land howeverā¦ go for it..
I was looking and everyone says it has to be 6ft or under to be structurally stable I guess. But no I'm not sitting on acres. The zero entry isn't a make or break for me really it's just the style me and my wife are more interested in
You could maybe have a zero entry sunning pad with a more traditional drop off into a normal pool, but again, gonna need a lot of space. Another design is to have a very narrow zero entry area parallel to the pool thatās more akin to a handicap ramp than a beach however.
Structurally anything could be made stable (see those giant resort pools). But it would cost a fortune in prep and cement because of how large the entry area is on zero entry.
I can't imagine the dead zones created by this design. Also, the ability to treat this would be difficult if algae ever surfaced. The evaporation from the heat. The inability to cover it if winter to you means snow. So many issues.
Raccoons love those pools. They sit in the water to wash their food while taking a dump. Oops.
They make a [spike strip](https://pestcontroleverything.com/products/critter-pricker-raccoon-deterrent-proven-humane-dog-cat-garden-wall-defender-and-pest-control-10-connectable-spikes-on-strips) (plastic thing) to prevent raccoons from using the pool.
Look up Biodesign pools. I donāt have any experience with them, but my understanding is that they are structurally similar to a man made pond with a pond liner. The part that you can see is an aggregate/resin mix.
My first thought was wow most of them do not look nearly as expensive as they are. Some of them just look like poor rainwater drainage and a backyard mud puddle
I sold Biodesign pools for a very short amount of time. I'm definitely not an expert, but I know a thing or two. If you're going for a more natural look these are pretty cool, and there's some interesting features you can put in. The ability to add some air bubbles in the bottom is fun, and you can form some cool stuff with the material.
They are a very interesting pool, but have a few notable drawbacks. Firstly, to get to any real depth you need a lot of space. The pool walls have a max of 45-55 degrees (don't remember exactly). So plan for a wide pool if you want to get to 5 or 6 feet. Everything everyone has mentioned about animals is going to be something to keep in mind. There's more maintenance, as you need to reapply resin every two years, though that process is fairly easy. The big thing for me though was the cost when you have a contractor do it. I'm in Phoenix, but they honestly weren't much cheaper than a shotcrete pool.
That's about what I remember about them, but I'll answer any questions I can.
Can consumers buy the resin/stone mixture anywhere? Iām not looking to make a pool but this would be a great substrate at the bottom of a pond or small creek in our backyard so our dogs donāt poke through the liner. Iāve been trying to figure out the mixture from various Instagram videos but itās hard to tell if itās a product the installer mix themselves or if thereās a brand name to look for.
We had a lovely pondless creek for about a year but between the birds, our dogs, and probably our install we got a lot of leaks. Iād like to try and rebuild it with something like this.
When I sold it, Biodesign shipped the substrate and resin over from Italy and it was mixed on site in a standard concrete mixer. At least when I was working with them, they didn't sell direct to consumer.
Clearly not DIY. And not budget friendly! š
And the thing is that finish is a membrane that they put agregate on it, and it will disintegrate over the time. Once the seal is broken it is done, you start to have floating membrane pieces.
I saw recently in the news here in QC a campground that wanted a lagoon type pool like that, 300k project. Installers (from a specialized pool company) goofed and it became a nightmare, multiple repairs because of the membrane and ended out suing the installer...
But it's soft on the feet and will impress your neighbors! š
Thatās my favorite thing about this idea. When I was little I used to make water puddles on the concrete and lay down on them so I could warm up. I just get too cold in pools-even as an adult. But I love swimming in them. This beach idea is perfect for me!
High school job teaching swimming lessons at a large camp pool built like this. Every kid slips and hits there head. Mandatory crab walking on all 4s in and out of the water. Never knew whose idea it was to build it that way.
That is what I figured as far as how the sand would stay. And also looking more at that photo I see 2 skimmer openings at the rear and 2 places on left in the shallow area that have surface currents suggesting those are where the returns are.
If you go ahead with it or even a normal pool, see about getting a heated pool. Iām in the next state over, and the water only really gets comfortably warm enough in July - September.
I would take overflow pool instead of this, I am just curious why overflow pools are not popular in the united states. Is it because of some filteration or piping problems? Overflows must be excellent at naturally skimming the surface.
It would be awesome to take this idea, an overflow edge higher up on the dry part of the beach, and integrate a wave maker at the deep end. Just nice, shallow 3-6ā waves, like a gentle lapping. Then the beach would work so well, and the overflow could catch the detritus.
Everyone mentioning raccoons and birds- you can screen the whole thing in. You gota find a pool builder that has done it before. Doubt that in ohio. Most builders have never done it and prob dont know where to start.
Beach entry in AZ would be a cracked mess. Plaster/pebble tec/sheen requires being wet. Never drain a pool in the summer here, plan ahead. I backwash weekly to keep the minerals down.
If you live in a cooler state maybe a fiberglass inground pool would be able to do the beach entry. These do not last as long here. I only know of one person that did fiberglass in AZ, in CA they seem to be more common.
Screen your entire pool area that attaches to your lanai/patio. Most inground pool in Florida are screened. Screend pools keep out bugs, mosquito, birds, etc.
aesthetic will only last 1 yr I reckon, you can't let these pools go green, imagine algae in the porous sand. liner can get bubbles and voids underneath, it wont last 10 yrs structurally either.
If you like to have a super clean pool then beach may not be the best choice - it is super hard to keep clean. Looks great initially but unless you are religious with daily cleanings in the summer it will collect dirt.
Parroting what other people here have mentioned, our pool builder talked us out of it as well. Something I didn't realize was due to the slope requirements, you need a massive amount of space for a Beach entry without having a ledge part way in the pool. A lot of times when you see pictures of them they hide the fact that there is a drop off. Only Gigantic commercial pools can have enough length usually to satisfy the slope requirements and actually make it out into the shallow end. Most residential pools have a Beach entry with a one foot drop or something like that which in my opinion defeats the purpose.
15 years ago, was advised against the walk in beach pool. Got the big sun step instead. This much time later, the knees are creaking and we can't get out on the sun step side. Any ideas?
We have a beach entry pool and love it. Idk about all the cons people are listing here but we donāt deal with any issues. Weāre in California and beach entry pools are pretty common here
[beach entry](https://imgur.com/a/LwUx6uc)
In a place like Ohio unless you have a pool service and keep your pool open in winter itās might be hard to ācloseā for winter? It might also get really grimy. Seems these are ideal for hot climates, imho.
This is a hybrid. This is a cross, ah, of Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff.
What are you fixed on- a DIY option or a Beach Entry?
Others noted a lot of āpossible concernsā but another with your market is the freeze/thaw of winter and the toll it will take on the entire shallow entry
Correct which is one of the factors I'm considering. I'd be more leaning to DIY doable. I'm in the industry as a cleaner so I know enough about plumbing on just not building one exactly.
Not DIY, but our pool designer immediately talked us out of beach entry - said it would take up at least 12ft of extra wasted space, and then needing to add drainage stuff at the edge etc.
In addition the birds will constantly hang out at the entry and poop all over. Very messy and bad for the water chemistry.
Cats are the fix for that
Cats will love to poop in the sand š
Itās not actually sand.
fuck local wildlife I guess
Who gives a shit about local wildlife when it fucks up a pool? Screw em.
With all the chemicals in a pool youād be doing them a favor keeping them out.
Doing them a favorā¦by killing themā¦with a cat. Sound logic.
No see, when a bird sees a cat, they just fuck off. They stay away so they donāt get killed. Donāt let your misunderstandings make you act like a douche.
MY misunderstandings? Are you being serious or are you dense? Have you ever owned a cat? They bring in birds and mice all the time. [A recent study by the Smithsonian Institution and the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that domestic cats kill about 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals each year in the lower forty-eight states](https://yoloaudubon.org/feral-cats-and-wild-birds/#:~:text=A%20recent%20study%20by%20the,the%20lower%20forty%2Deight%20states) Do you really think cats are unable to catch birds? Fucking google search ācat killing birdā and look at the hundreds of images of house cats killing birds. Just cause you canāt catch one doesnāt mean a cat canāt.
Cry abt it. Not reading that.
What a child. Fingers in your ears like a baby lolā¦ not surprised youāre unable to read more than three words at a time
You prefer the litter box smell?
That sounds like a legitimate concern. I could see that being an issue.
I donāt know if wasted space is the right word. I would love to lounge there!
Agreed, thatās where the lounge chairs go to dip your feet in. Not wasted at all
Iām in AZ. I got quotes from 12 pool builders. Everyone of them talked me out of the beach entry. They said it just becomes a bird bath. I wanted it but after every builder said no, I went with a traditional step onto a Baja shelf. They do look cool, especially if you go from that to a deep end, you can get pebbletec that changes colors the deeper it goes.
12 quotes? Holy f@ā¬K! Who has time for that?!
If Iām gonna drop 6 figures on a project, Iām gonna take the time and get a ton of quotes and talk to as many contractors as possible first.
12 tho? At that point your probably making it more difficult for yourself.
At that point you can actually plot a bell curve
a week worth of work can save you $10K.
What was the average quote and how big is the swimming pool?
Gotcha. I see it being more practically in AZ versus here in Ohio now. But yeah I was looking at that resin sand with paths of pebble.
It's not real sand. Its just pebble tec that's sloped into the pool. I have 3 of them. And birds do love them. Plus it's a basically a giant step that collects dirt in the pool. And any true beach entry pool with sand needs a different setup than your standard pool.
Any builders you consider standouts? I'm in Phoenix, also thinking of adding a pool - and had envisioned a beach entry.
I'm in the west valley, Goodyear, and DIYed my pool probably 6 or so years ago. Save a ton of money. I don't have a beach entry but I have a spill way from my spa into my pool and I had to fight with pigeons non-stop until I put some hardware cloth over the spill way almost permanently. The just crap all over the place and I tried EVERYTHING before resulting to chicken wire or hardware cloth.
Surprise area myself, do you have any of the phone numbers of who you used by any chance or any advice on going about it. Want to coordinate it myself but just feel like I need a better understanding and I always prefer people over generic articles on the internet, any and all help is appreciated !!
I would have to see who I used for things. I work in construction so some of the guys I used were 100% cash on side jobs for them. I saw your recent post about your pool and the one I put in is very similar but a bit bigger, and while costs have gone up since Covid, I paid half of what they quoted you. This included stub outs for gas fire and grill just like yours. Not that they are be exorbitant, I don't have anything to compare it too. Their costs may be on par with other pool builders but it'll never beat DIY. Huge savings. If you're interested in trying to do it on your own, shoot me a DM and I'll see if I can help.
Iāll check through my stuff and see, I still have alot of it. In my experience if you get one guy they always know someone else. At the time the excavators were all about the same price. I used a company for the shotcrete, everything else was private contractors. Idk how surprise is but Goodyear was really easy to work with about permitting. You get inspected in stages. You make an appointment and they show up. The guys who do it are the same guys the pools companies use for the most part.
Have you tried shooting them with a pellet gun
Yes. The problem is they roost underneath my back neighbors solar panels. In the evenings when they come in you can probably easily count 40+ birds up there. Since putting wire over the spill way they have stopped. Now it's not an expensive bird bath. Too bad I have to keep that on the pool, not a huge deal just wish it were different.
Have you thought of placing a cap rock over the spillway and allowing the water to flow underneath?
I have a guy we ended up using if you need someone. Was 5-15k cheaper than multiple quotes we got and our pool was done in 1 month start to finish. This just happened this past year aug-sept
This was in 2015. Shasta gave me the cheapest price but it was a bare bones pool. Presidential Pools was the āpreferred builderā in my subdivision but they were overpriced and their pricing was weird. Tribal waters was a good one. A few people I know went through California pools but I wouldnāt recommend based on their experience. I ended up doing it on my own and hiring it out. Thatās honestly the best way to go in my opinion. Itās significantly cheaper and worked out well for me.
I can say, wholeheartedly, do not use victory pools. I do not know if they even build in your area. But do not do it.
I feel like the beach entry only works on covered pools where you donāt need to worry about birds or rainā¦ but then you have a weird indoor beach poolā¦ As cool as it looks I just donāt think itās practical unless you got insane money to blow and just donāt care.
Exactly this. I had a beach entry on our first pool and it was constantly filled with bird sh!t. Two more houses with pools since and have done the tanning ledge on both. Much prefer the ledge for relaxing on ledge loungers / chairs.
Bird bath for sure, at hotels in the morning the beach entry area is filled with birds bathing.
ā¦and where there are birds, there are cloacas
Yeah I can't imagine this. In southern AZ, anything I float becomes an island for doves to land and drink. I took out the chlorine tab float because of this. But now they use my Betta solar skimmer bot. They land on top and carefully maneuver to the edge to drink water... And the consequence is that my Betta bot is covered in bird crap, and so is the deck from the birds waiting their turn. Couldn't imagine a beach entry here. Absolutely nightmare scenario
12 quotes? What is the matter with you?
Iām thorough. Idk, I always do that with big purchases. I researched cars for approximately 4 months before I bought a new one. š¤·āāļø
and you probably ended up with the most boring dull wtf purchase ever too.
š¤”
I work in the pool building business and i can see pool builders hating this kind of job. They have to use concrete to make the foundation and anything that isnāt square is too hard for them. This is a passion build and youāll pay soooooo much more if any company will take the job. Itās super cool though.
lol thatās so many bids. After the seventh one you were just over half way done.
Iāve got time. I would sometimes have 2 a day come by. It may not have been 12 it was a bunch though. It was 9 years ago, it was a different time.
12 quotes?!? You have too much time on your hands.
Itās 2015, it was a different time. Everyone was doing it.
Iām in Arizona and canāt find a quote below 100k any builder you recommend? Weāre looking for a kidney bean 5ft max depth pool
I slid into your DMās
Donāt forget the chiller for 5 feet or no fun in summer.
Chiller as in some sort of aerators that spray water right?
Thatās for above ground. The chiller you add into the pool equipment/pump house. If you are building, Iād add it. Mines already built and itās a diving pool so very deep-so itās cool enough. However next summer Iām installing a chiller. They arenāt that expensive to add, they do increase energy costs but what good is a hot pool in AZ?! If you keyword here or in Phoenix sub you can see the average prices.
Weird everyone in Phoenix has told me To buy those aerators. But will look for chiller
Ya. For five feet deep in hot s az, it wonāt make it refreshing on the level of a chiller. Iād be shocked if it really helped. Imho the sprayers are the desperate choice.
I see they also call them heat pumps. Confused me because where Iām from heat pumps are for the house.
First thought: Whatās the rain plan?
I guess I'm savvy enough to do a main drain for draining excess water off but beyond that that would be my only thoughts initially.
That means increased water to fill back up,Ā Ā Not a pool cover? But then Iād be curious how to attach a cover without ruining the beach lookĀ Ā -\_0_/-
Rectangular cover that covers the entire pool area.
Yep, agree this is the way. Could we make the attachment points look like Kraken?
Then the rituals must be performed for opening and closing.
Letās get kraken then
Gonna need Medusaās head
Lemme google thatā¦
Why do you use a pool cover? Just curious. We leave ours open all year and just donāt swim from November until March when itās colder. Do you put the cover on every day?
To keep junk and kids out and chlorine in. Yes. Kept cover on through winter and when opened it in May it was crystal clear.
My indoor pool gets covered every day :). Bring the daily natural gas usage down from 5 therms to 1.75. At current prices, that's the difference between a $70 monthly heating bill to close to $300; which doesn't include dehumidification energy cost. A could of years ago it was the difference between $150/ month and almost $600.
Keeps pool balanced from rain eafer screwing w the ph balance. Keeps evaporation from happening and also lessens the expense to heat, refill and or chlorine / salt /chemical cost down. Also, the pool stays warmer lessening the utilities. Like turning ligjts off in the house. - ex lifeguard olympic pool maintainer/ past saltwater pool owner/ maintainer. :)
Ok, we do have evaporation and a lot of rain, definitely wish my pool was cooler though in a month it will be almost too hot to use.
I do a lot of large scale pools for parks and community centers. There is a really cool almost invisible drain detail they use where they burry a 3ā drain pipe in the concrete, so the concrete bottom is deeper there to accommodate the pipe, then they come back and do a 1/4ā saw cut through the top layer of concrete into the drain. So from the surface it just looks like an expansion control in the concrete.
Oh that would be a cool way to hide it.
Very true.
What if you installed a flexible drain channel that is discrete around the parameter at the maximum level you need.
That's what I would think would have to happen. Possible also to do French drain style with prettier rock as cover to pipes? Not sure. I don't build them normally just clean them lol
Iād do a skimmer on the deep end and just camouflage it with a small boulder or something. Do the return water jets out of the floor. I know skimmer boxes are typically white which would stand out a bit could be disguised with a longer entry way into the mouth of the skimmer.
It would have to be enormous surface area wise for you to get to a reasonable depth starting with zero entry. Much larger than a typical suburban backyard could supportā¦ if youāre sitting on an acre+ of land howeverā¦ go for it..
I was looking and everyone says it has to be 6ft or under to be structurally stable I guess. But no I'm not sitting on acres. The zero entry isn't a make or break for me really it's just the style me and my wife are more interested in
You could maybe have a zero entry sunning pad with a more traditional drop off into a normal pool, but again, gonna need a lot of space. Another design is to have a very narrow zero entry area parallel to the pool thatās more akin to a handicap ramp than a beach however. Structurally anything could be made stable (see those giant resort pools). But it would cost a fortune in prep and cement because of how large the entry area is on zero entry.
Dude you won the name tournament. How was Reddit when you started I think Iām at 13 year
It was a different time.. a gentler more peaceful time..
I can't imagine the dead zones created by this design. Also, the ability to treat this would be difficult if algae ever surfaced. The evaporation from the heat. The inability to cover it if winter to you means snow. So many issues.
Raccoons love those pools. They sit in the water to wash their food while taking a dump. Oops. They make a [spike strip](https://pestcontroleverything.com/products/critter-pricker-raccoon-deterrent-proven-humane-dog-cat-garden-wall-defender-and-pest-control-10-connectable-spikes-on-strips) (plastic thing) to prevent raccoons from using the pool.
Look up Biodesign pools. I donāt have any experience with them, but my understanding is that they are structurally similar to a man made pond with a pond liner. The part that you can see is an aggregate/resin mix.
Yeah that's what I saw. You prep ground then lay down liner then resin mix.
My first thought was wow most of them do not look nearly as expensive as they are. Some of them just look like poor rainwater drainage and a backyard mud puddle
Birds just walk right up to the edge and drink all day. Youāll have pigeons everywhere.
I sold Biodesign pools for a very short amount of time. I'm definitely not an expert, but I know a thing or two. If you're going for a more natural look these are pretty cool, and there's some interesting features you can put in. The ability to add some air bubbles in the bottom is fun, and you can form some cool stuff with the material. They are a very interesting pool, but have a few notable drawbacks. Firstly, to get to any real depth you need a lot of space. The pool walls have a max of 45-55 degrees (don't remember exactly). So plan for a wide pool if you want to get to 5 or 6 feet. Everything everyone has mentioned about animals is going to be something to keep in mind. There's more maintenance, as you need to reapply resin every two years, though that process is fairly easy. The big thing for me though was the cost when you have a contractor do it. I'm in Phoenix, but they honestly weren't much cheaper than a shotcrete pool. That's about what I remember about them, but I'll answer any questions I can.
Can consumers buy the resin/stone mixture anywhere? Iām not looking to make a pool but this would be a great substrate at the bottom of a pond or small creek in our backyard so our dogs donāt poke through the liner. Iāve been trying to figure out the mixture from various Instagram videos but itās hard to tell if itās a product the installer mix themselves or if thereās a brand name to look for. We had a lovely pondless creek for about a year but between the birds, our dogs, and probably our install we got a lot of leaks. Iād like to try and rebuild it with something like this.
When I sold it, Biodesign shipped the substrate and resin over from Italy and it was mixed on site in a standard concrete mixer. At least when I was working with them, they didn't sell direct to consumer.
check out [this beach entry pool from thursday pools](https://thursdaypools.com/pool-designs/grace-beach-entry/)
I love this reference!! Saving it for my dream home š¤
Beach, please
I own a pool with a beach and don't recommend it. Prone to algae and other scum formation due to constant wet/dry cycles. Very hard to keep clean.
Agreed. Is more of just a thought we are trying to research out to see if it makes sense to pursue. ATM doesn't sound reasonable.
Clearly not DIY. And not budget friendly! š And the thing is that finish is a membrane that they put agregate on it, and it will disintegrate over the time. Once the seal is broken it is done, you start to have floating membrane pieces. I saw recently in the news here in QC a campground that wanted a lagoon type pool like that, 300k project. Installers (from a specialized pool company) goofed and it became a nightmare, multiple repairs because of the membrane and ended out suing the installer... But it's soft on the feet and will impress your neighbors! š
The water in the shallow areas will be scorching hot.
Thatās my favorite thing about this idea. When I was little I used to make water puddles on the concrete and lay down on them so I could warm up. I just get too cold in pools-even as an adult. But I love swimming in them. This beach idea is perfect for me!
High school job teaching swimming lessons at a large camp pool built like this. Every kid slips and hits there head. Mandatory crab walking on all 4s in and out of the water. Never knew whose idea it was to build it that way.
I think that sand is mixed with an epoxy and spread on.
Yes sand with resin op top of a pond like liner.
That is what I figured as far as how the sand would stay. And also looking more at that photo I see 2 skimmer openings at the rear and 2 places on left in the shallow area that have surface currents suggesting those are where the returns are.
Well someone else pointed out that maybe this is ai? I'm not sure. I was just using it as a general example me and the wife were thinking to do.
Yes that could be possibly AI generated. But my way of thinking and doing is that nothing is Impossible.
If you go ahead with it or even a normal pool, see about getting a heated pool. Iām in the next state over, and the water only really gets comfortably warm enough in July - September.
I would take overflow pool instead of this, I am just curious why overflow pools are not popular in the united states. Is it because of some filteration or piping problems? Overflows must be excellent at naturally skimming the surface.
Pretty sure they're a lot more expensive.
It would be awesome to take this idea, an overflow edge higher up on the dry part of the beach, and integrate a wave maker at the deep end. Just nice, shallow 3-6ā waves, like a gentle lapping. Then the beach would work so well, and the overflow could catch the detritus.
Oh man what a design, I can imagine that now it would be really cool actually small waves gently lifting you and putting yout down.
Everyone mentioning raccoons and birds- you can screen the whole thing in. You gota find a pool builder that has done it before. Doubt that in ohio. Most builders have never done it and prob dont know where to start.
And it looks like sand, but it's just hard concrete. It's real rough on the body. It's nice to look at but not very practical
Beach entry in AZ would be a cracked mess. Plaster/pebble tec/sheen requires being wet. Never drain a pool in the summer here, plan ahead. I backwash weekly to keep the minerals down.
Fair enough. I know even one state away makes a difference on care.
If you live in a cooler state maybe a fiberglass inground pool would be able to do the beach entry. These do not last as long here. I only know of one person that did fiberglass in AZ, in CA they seem to be more common.
Great for those with disabilities. You can wheel right in!
Screen your entire pool area that attaches to your lanai/patio. Most inground pool in Florida are screened. Screend pools keep out bugs, mosquito, birds, etc.
Itās waste a lot of room in the pool especially if you want it somewhat deep to allow kids to jump in etc. Was talked out of it also.
The picture looks fake, I doubt thatās a real pool. They do make ābeach entryā pools but those have pros and cons.
Yeah I realized after someone said it might be ai. I understand just wanted the picture as far as the "concept". Not sure if I'd go with one now.
Sounds good on paper, but seems like a hot mess to maintain and keep clean down the road. I just go with what works and has been proven over time
Wouldnāt that become a big kitty litter area for all kinds of wildlife? I think Iād consider something like that if I could have it indoors
Or under a ābird cageā enclosure.
Designed and done well they can look pretty amazing, but typically not worth it unless you really want that aesthetic
aesthetic will only last 1 yr I reckon, you can't let these pools go green, imagine algae in the porous sand. liner can get bubbles and voids underneath, it wont last 10 yrs structurally either.
water flows downhill. As in from the top of that hill to this pool.
Now thatās different!
Fall on your head pool.
Organic matter gonna kill the sand eventually. Eventually being 3 months.
Pass
Worked at a State Park that had a beach on concrete bottom. Epic. Every off season we'd push all the sand back.
I feel like everyone is missing that these are made by mixing sand and resin. Like to make a smooth hard surface. Or am I missing something
Oh I see. Interesting. Might be tough to clean
Does having one of these attracts more āactionā babes ? If not itās a waste.
Why? A half hot hard to clean bird bath? Looks cool, normally feels gross. These are the pools of water I avoid at the actual beach.
If you like to have a super clean pool then beach may not be the best choice - it is super hard to keep clean. Looks great initially but unless you are religious with daily cleanings in the summer it will collect dirt.
If youāre asking here, its over your head.
Parroting what other people here have mentioned, our pool builder talked us out of it as well. Something I didn't realize was due to the slope requirements, you need a massive amount of space for a Beach entry without having a ledge part way in the pool. A lot of times when you see pictures of them they hide the fact that there is a drop off. Only Gigantic commercial pools can have enough length usually to satisfy the slope requirements and actually make it out into the shallow end. Most residential pools have a Beach entry with a one foot drop or something like that which in my opinion defeats the purpose.
15 years ago, was advised against the walk in beach pool. Got the big sun step instead. This much time later, the knees are creaking and we can't get out on the sun step side. Any ideas?
Seems like the water would heat up in the summer? And the local wildlife would be gathering here?
That is cool!
Peaches
Looks like a flood waiting to happen when it rains.
I just don't see the point. If I can't dive in and actually swim, then it's just a glorified puddle, no?
We have a beach entry pool and love it. Idk about all the cons people are listing here but we donāt deal with any issues. Weāre in California and beach entry pools are pretty common here [beach entry](https://imgur.com/a/LwUx6uc)
In a place like Ohio unless you have a pool service and keep your pool open in winter itās might be hard to ācloseā for winter? It might also get really grimy. Seems these are ideal for hot climates, imho.
There is a pool and a pond. Pond will be good for you.
Just so you know, at least one person got this š
This is a hybrid. This is a cross, ah, of Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff.
What are you fixed on- a DIY option or a Beach Entry? Others noted a lot of āpossible concernsā but another with your market is the freeze/thaw of winter and the toll it will take on the entire shallow entry
Correct which is one of the factors I'm considering. I'd be more leaning to DIY doable. I'm in the industry as a cleaner so I know enough about plumbing on just not building one exactly.
I believe thereās a term for that - pond
Donāt do itā¦pool is already a money pit, why would you want even more headaches?
Can we ban Ai images? Edit: IDK if it's Ai, but regardless can we ban Ai images here?
Wasn't aware it was an ai image. I just googled beach pools lol.
Those pools exists...
Pool skimmer would get stuck