Hillside Pool Builder for Los Angeles Properties
A sloped yard calls for a pool plan that works with its access, elevation, usable space, and views. Hillside Pool Builder designs and constructs custom pools for hillside properties from its Sherman Oaks base. Tell us the location, share photos of your yard if you have them, and describe the pool you want. We can discuss what the site may require before you commit to a design.
What We Review Before a Hillside Pool Build
The first conversation starts with what you want to build and where it will sit. We look at the change in grade, the route for construction equipment and materials, and how the proposed pool will connect to the house, deck, and landscape. A view may make an infinity edge attractive; it does not make one suitable for every property.
Some projects call for pool excavation, caissons, or retaining walls. These are confirmed project services, but the site and the proposed design determine which, if any, belongs in the construction scope. We do not promise a structural solution before the property is evaluated.
What to Send for a Project Discussion
Share your ZIP code or address, yard photos, the direction of the slope, any narrow access points, and your preferred pool features. If you have a view to preserve or want an attached spa, include that too. You do not need finished plans to start the conversation.
Why Property-First Hillside Planning Matters
A pool can be designed for a hillside, but it cannot be constructed the same way as one designed for flat ground. Designing for a hillside influences all aspects of the design and the relationship of the various elements to each other. Addressing the design in such a way can help minimize an inefficient design.
The main benefits include:
- Better use of elevation and views
- Preservation of comfortable deck and gathering space
- Consideration of construction access prior to design
- Integration of pool with landscaping and other outdoor areas
- Avoidance of complex features that do not improve use of backyard
A hillside pool design should help minimize the effects of the hillside.
How a Hillside Pool Project Moves From Planning to Construction
Construction of a hillside pool is different from a pool in a backyard setting. Before we can select finishes and features, we must analyze the pool’s setting. Where is the best location for the hillside pool? Is there sufficient access? What is the relationship of the pool to the house? Once we answer these questions, the design of the hillside pool begins to take shape.
In addition to pool design, other elements need to be incorporated into the site plan, including pool deck design, spa and water features, equipment locations, and circulation.
As the plan begins to take shape, other site constraints, including construction challenges, need to be addressed. Based on the site conditions, other work, in addition to the pool construction, may include site preparation, retaining and/or shoring work, and demolition.
We take a ‘big picture’ approach for the design of the pool and the site. Our goal is to integrate the pool and the building in a cohesive, well-balanced design.
Construction Access and Hillside Pool Logistics
Site access needs to be determined prior to the construction of a hillside home. The location of access points determines the optimum location of construction trailers and materials staging areas. Contractors and equipment need to be able to circulate freely throughout the building site. Access points on a hillside building site determine the construction sequence and may increase the overall cost of the project.
Construction conditions for sites with adequate side yard access may be different from sites with narrow and/or steep access to the rear yard. Site conditions, including surrounding land use, may require off-site construction activities.
Because there are many factors to integrate in the design of a swimming pool, it is beneficial to review access issues before the final pool design is completed. Some of the factors to be considered may be the pool size, pool location, pool decks, and site furnishings.
Narrow access issues are generally apparent during the initial project review and may impact the initial project costs.
What Affects Hillside Pool Construction Cost?
The construction of each and every hillside pool is unique.
Two properties with similar views can have widely different construction conditions.
The following can affect the extent of the work required:
- Size and design of the pool
- Slope of the site
- Access for construction
- Amount of excavation required
- Site related structural work
- Design and materials of the pool
- Arrangement of the spa
- Design and materials of the deck
- Other work related to the landscape and outdoor areas
Because of all of the above, the best way to start the estimate of a hillside pool is to visit the site.
Drainage, Decking and the Area Around the Pool
There are other features of a hillside backyard that need to be considered along with the design of a swimming pool.
Planning a pool usually means considering items such as decking and various changes in grade and drainage. Often an adequately designed pool and surrounding area provides many useable outdoor recreational opportunities.
Care should be taken to integrate pool design and construction with the surrounding changes in grade to provide optimal usability. It is important to design at various elevations to incorporate multiple uses.
Incorporating a swimming pool into a hillside site requires integration of the pool into the site and a flexibility in design to accommodate many different uses. Often a rigid design to integrate a swimming pool into a hillside site does not provide the most effective design solution for usability.
Connecting the Pool With the Finished Outdoor Space
The placement of a hillside pool affects a number of design considerations including what views are available from the house and what access is available from the house and other flat areas. Other design elements of the yard must be integrated with the pool to create usable and comfortable deck areas.
For some lots, pool design may need to take into account other considerations such as the need to provide a particular view or the need to integrate an outdoor living area, terraces, and landscape elements at several different yard levels. The integration of a pool with other outdoor features can increase the available area for outdoor recreation.
Prior design decisions may have limited the options forpool integration.
Design of a pool should integrate with the adjacent grade and other outdoor elements to create an effective, pleasing, and safe hillside environment. With this design philosophy, the pool and hillside become a unified element in the overall site design.
Do All Hillside Pools Need Caissons or Retaining Walls?
No.
This is an important distinction because homeowners researching hillside construction often encounter structural terms.
Caissons may be relevant for some. Retaining walls may be relevant for others. Neither should be automatically included just because the yard is sloped.
The approach for each case is specific to the individual property and project.
For more information review pool caissons or retaining wall construction.
Hillside Pool Design and Construction in LA and Southern California
Hillside Pool Builder is located in Sherman Oaks and provides construction services to LA and a number of neighboring cities in Southern California.
Our service area encompasses Los Angeles and the surrounding communities of Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Pacific Palisades and other underserved hillside markets.
These areas should not be considered as consisting of property of equal elevation. Each of these hillside locations must still be considered on a case by case basis.
For more information on each of our service areas, browse pool builder service areas.
For our main market area, please visit Sherman Oaks pool builder.
For our extended market area in Los Angeles, please visit Los Angeles pool builder.
How do you communicate your hillside property?
It isn’t necessary to have a thorough understanding of whether your project will require caissons, retaining walls, or other construction methods in order to reach out to us.
A few details would suffice to begin:
- Your project’s location or zip code
- If the yard has sloping terrain (upslope or downslope) in relation to your house
- Any notable access constraints
- The type of pool you have in mind
- If you want to maintain a view on your property
- If your property has certain features like a spa, or has a proposed pool with an infinity edge
- Photos of the current backyard (if you have them)
Then we can have a more project-focused dialogue rather than hypothesizing about what your particular hillside may require.
Hillside Pool Construction: General Questions
Many hillside properties can support a pool, but feasibility depends on the lot, access, grade, proposed design, and applicable approvals. We can discuss those conditions for your property.
Potentially yes. Access and excavation become more difficult due to terrain and elevation differences, as well as issues with site stability and the need for additional construction.
No. The need for caissons or retaining walls depends on the site conditions and the approved design. A project-specific evaluation determines the structural approach.
Infinity edge pools, technically, can be constructed on hillside locations. If a hillside location has the requisite elevation changes and sight lines, it can support an infinity edge pool. Ultimately, what determines if a construction site can support an infinity edge pool is the site itself and the design.
There are a lot of elements that impact cost, like grade and access, excavation, needed structures, pool finishes, pool features, deck construction, required outdoor work. The most accurate number is a quote that reflects the work on the particular site.
It depends on the design, the site, the complexity of the project, needed approvals, and the overall size of the project. We can give a better estimate of the project after we look at your site and the work you want us to perform.
Hillside Pool Builder is located in Sherman Oaks and serves Los Angeles County and other parts of Southern California.
We can assist you with the solution for any problems related to your hillside construction project. Give us the location, elevation changes of the back yard, the type of pool design you're considering, and your goals for the finished yard.
Include if you have limited access, a spa, infinity edge pool, or other hillside pool features that you want to incorporate.
Contact Hillside Pool Builder to discuss your property.