Anyone want to share their pool makeover?
- Thread starter Mia Marie
- Start date
Mark Davis
Member
That’s awesome, congrats! I redid my pool deck last spring swapped out the old concrete for pavers and added some LED lighting around the edge. Totally changed the vibe at night. Still working on landscaping though. Would love to see pics of your makeover!
Ryan Brooks
Member
Nice! I helped a buddy redo his last summer. We installed a new waterline tile and resurfaced the pool with quartz plaster. Made the water look way brighter and cleaner. I’m planning to upgrade my own coping stones next. Pool projects never end
.John Miller
Member
Haven’t done a full makeover yet but added a couple of fun things — floating lights and some deck furniture from Amazon. Made a big difference for weekend hangouts. Saving up to resurface the whole thing next year. Would love some inspiration from what you did!
Amber Chase
Member
Just wrapped ours up last month, and it was a total game changer. We replaced the old concrete deck with travertine, added a few lights, and switched to a darker interior finish, which makes the water look super clear and deep. Still figuring out furniture and landscaping, but it already feels like a completely new space. I’ll try to dig up a before pic to show the difference. Can’t wait to see what everyone else has done!
Lucas Moore
New member
That’s awesome! We redid ours last month—added new tile and some lights, and it totally changed the feel at night. Can’t wait to see how yours turned out!
Katherine Morgan
Member
We actually gave ours a bit of a refresh earlier this year. Instead of doing a full renovation, we focused on the surroundings, added a pergola for shade, some outdoor speakers, and a few planters with tall greenery to create more of a private, resort-like feel. Honestly, the small changes made a huge difference, and now it feels like a whole new spot to relax. Curious to see the details of your makeover too!
Henry Graham
Member
Just finished ours last summer, and it was such a transformation! We resurfaced the pool with a quartz plaster finish, added LED lights along the perimeter, and swapped out the old concrete deck for natural stone pavers. Threw in some floating loungers and a few planters for a resort vibe. It honestly feels like a completely new backyard now, much more inviting for evening swims or weekend hangouts. Can’t wait to see everyone else’s projects too!
Henry Graham
Member
Ours wasn’t even planned as a full makeover at first. We started with boring stuff, fixing a cracked step and swapping out a couple old chairs because the summers here have been brutal and the backyard just felt tired. Once everything around the pool looked cleaner, that’s when the water started bugging me. After a few friends over, it kept going dull and hazy even though chlorine was holding and pH was sitting around 7.4. Filter pressure kept creeping up too, which was a pain in the neck.
Turned out the extra bather load plus all the sunscreen junk was just overwhelming things. I ended up using aquadoc flocculant after a weekend party, shut the pump off overnight, and the next morning the pool floor was covered in this fine gunk. Vacuumed to waste, watched the pressure drop a few psi, and the water finally looked glassy again. Like you could barely tell where the water started.
Kind of wild, but once the water was actually clear, everything else looked ten times better. The plants popped more, the deck looked cleaner, even the lighting felt brighter. Didnt expect chemistry tweaks to be the thing that made the whole makeover feel done, but here we are. Anyone else get surprised by that?
Turned out the extra bather load plus all the sunscreen junk was just overwhelming things. I ended up using aquadoc flocculant after a weekend party, shut the pump off overnight, and the next morning the pool floor was covered in this fine gunk. Vacuumed to waste, watched the pressure drop a few psi, and the water finally looked glassy again. Like you could barely tell where the water started.
Kind of wild, but once the water was actually clear, everything else looked ten times better. The plants popped more, the deck looked cleaner, even the lighting felt brighter. Didnt expect chemistry tweaks to be the thing that made the whole makeover feel done, but here we are. Anyone else get surprised by that?
Jacob Foster
Member
Love seeing these. It’s funny how a “small” change snowballs into a full vibe shift.
Ours started with replacing the coping because it was cracked and honestly ugly. Then we figured if we’re draining it, might as well resurface. Went with a medium gray pebble finish and swapped the old single bulb light for an LED. That one change at night made it feel like a different house. The water went from flat blue to this deep, glassy look.
The unexpected part was how much better circulation made it feel. I adjusted the return eyeballs after startup to get more of a slow circular flow instead of random turbulence. After busy weekends, debris started moving more predictably toward the skimmer instead of hanging out in one dead corner. Filter pressure stayed steadier and I wasn’t brushing the same spot every other day. Sounds boring, but when the water behaves, the whole backyard feels dialed in.
We also added two simple loungers where the afternoon shade hits naturally. Didn’t even change landscaping yet, but now that’s where everyone gravitates. Morning coffee, late swims, random Tuesday evenings. The space finally gets used instead of just looked at.
It’s kind of crazy how once the water is clear and the lighting is right, everything else around it looks intentional. What was the biggest change in yours, surface, lighting, or layout?
Ours started with replacing the coping because it was cracked and honestly ugly. Then we figured if we’re draining it, might as well resurface. Went with a medium gray pebble finish and swapped the old single bulb light for an LED. That one change at night made it feel like a different house. The water went from flat blue to this deep, glassy look.
The unexpected part was how much better circulation made it feel. I adjusted the return eyeballs after startup to get more of a slow circular flow instead of random turbulence. After busy weekends, debris started moving more predictably toward the skimmer instead of hanging out in one dead corner. Filter pressure stayed steadier and I wasn’t brushing the same spot every other day. Sounds boring, but when the water behaves, the whole backyard feels dialed in.
We also added two simple loungers where the afternoon shade hits naturally. Didn’t even change landscaping yet, but now that’s where everyone gravitates. Morning coffee, late swims, random Tuesday evenings. The space finally gets used instead of just looked at.
It’s kind of crazy how once the water is clear and the lighting is right, everything else around it looks intentional. What was the biggest change in yours, surface, lighting, or layout?