Did you regret anything after finishing your pool makeover?

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Ethan Wells

Member
I’m planning to redo my pool soon and keep wondering if there are common regrets people have once the job is done. Was there something you wish you had added (or skipped) during the project?
 
When we redid ours, the biggest regret was not planning for enough shade. The new surface and design looked great, but once summer hit, we realised there wasn’t much relief from the sun around the pool area. Adding umbrellas later helped, but it would’ve been smarter to build in a pergola or some permanent shade from the start. Another thing I’ve heard from friends is skimping on lighting at night; it makes a huge difference for both safety and atmosphere. If you’re in the planning phase, it’s worth thinking about those “extras” up front, because adding them later usually costs more.
 
Honestly, one thing I wish we had done differently was plan for more practical spots around the pool. We were all about the look, the new plaster, decking, and lighting, but forgot about storage and seating. A few months later, we had to add some benches and little cabinets just to make the space usable, and it definitely would’ve looked cleaner if it had been part of the original plan.

Another surprise was the pool cover. The first one we bought didn’t fit right, and using it was more annoying than helpful. Picking a better, well-fitting cover from the beginning would have saved a lot of time and frustration. Small stuff like that makes a big difference once the pool is in daily use.
 
I wish I’d planned SHADE & power from day one. Once summer hit, umbrellas weren’t enough. If you’re designing now, add a permanent shady spot + a few outlets/conduit for lights, and get a fitted cover. Small now, big headache saver later
 
onestly, my biggest regret was not thinking enough about comfort. I should’ve added more shade and seating from the start. Once you use the pool every day, little things like that really matter for actually enjoying it.
 
From what I have seen, the most common regrets are the “practical” things that feel small during design: not enough shade, not enough outlets or wiring for lights, and not enough seating or storage around the pool. People focus on the look, then daily use shows what is missing. If you are planning now, I would build in shade and power from day one and make sure you get a properly fitting cover, those usually save a lot of headaches later.
 
When I redid my pool my biggest regret was not planning more for long term maintenance, everything looked great but the waterline and surfaces showed dirt faster than I expected, so I wish I had budgeted time for regular cleaning, and keeping mine clean with aquadoc tile and vinyl cleaner made a bigger difference than any extra feature I could have added.
 
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Honestly, looking back, my only real regret after our redo was not thinking hard enough about day to day water care once everything was finished. The new plaster and tile looked awesome for the first few weeks, then reality hit. Between kids jumping in, sunscreen, and a couple of heavy-use weekends, the waterline started picking up gunk fast and my filter pressure was creeping up sooner than expected. I was brushing more than I planned and chasing pH drift because the fresh surface seemed to push it up every few days.

What helped was getting more disciplined with maintenance instead of adding more features. I started keeping alkalinity in a tighter range so the pH didnt bounce as much, and I used aquadoc tile and vinyl cleaner during regular wipe-downs instead of waiting until the line looked awful. That combo kept the waterline cleaner and stopped me from having to scrub like a maniac every other weekend. The water just stayed nicer with less effort, which is what I should have planned for from the start.

If I were doing it again, I wouldnt change the look much at all. I would just budget more thought and time for how the pool behaves once its being used daily. Anyone else notice new surfaces getting dirty faster than expected, or is it just me?
 
Yeah, I had one regret and it wasn’t about the tile or the color we picked. It was circulation planning.

We focused hard on finishes and layout, but I didn’t really question the return placement or pump sizing because “the builder knows.” Once everything was done, I started noticing dead spots where fine debris would just settle and hang out. The pool looked amazing, but certain corners needed brushing way more than I expected. After bigger bather load weekends, those same areas would cloud up first and my filter pressure would climb 4 or 5 psi faster than before.

I ended up adjusting return eyeballs to create more of a circular flow pattern and slightly tweaking run times. That helped a lot, but I wish I’d thought through circulation when walls were open and plumbing was accessible. It’s way easier to add an extra return or adjust plumbing before everything is finished.

So my takeaway wasn’t “I should’ve added another water feature.” It was “I should’ve thought more about how the water moves.” The pretty stuff is obvious during design. The hidden stuff, flow, shade patterns, drainage, electrical, that’s what you feel every single day after it’s done. If you’re still in planning, I’d spend extra time on how the pool functions, not just how it looks.
 
I’ll be honest, my regret wasn’t something flashy either. It was underestimating how loud and visible equipment would feel once everything looked brand new.

We upgraded finishes, coping, lighting, all the fun stuff. But I left the equipment pad basically where it was and didn’t screen it or rethink layout. Once the yard looked clean and modern, that old pad suddenly stuck out. The pump noise wasn’t terrible, but when everything else feels polished, you notice it more. I eventually added a simple privacy screen and rerouted a bit of plumbing to clean up the look, which I should’ve planned from day one.

Second thing I’d rethink is deck pitch around seating areas. The main drainage away from the pool is fine, but I didn’t pay enough attention to where water runs after splash out. After a high bather load weekend, water would track toward one corner near our chairs. It dried, but it meant moving furniture more often than I’d like.

On the water side, I also didn’t anticipate how much startup chemistry would matter with a new surface. The first month I was chasing pH drift more than expected and watching the saturation index closely so I didn’t mess up the finish. Not a disaster, just more hands-on than I imagined.

If you’re still planning, I’d zoom out and think about daily annoyances. Noise, drainage, circulation patterns, shade at different times of day. The cosmetic stuff is exciting, but the tiny functional details are what you’ll either appreciate or regret every single week after it’s done.
 
One thing I didn’t think enough about during our makeover was how the space would actually flow once people were using it. We focused on the finishes, tile, deck color, lighting, all the visible stuff. It looked amazing when it was done, but after a few busy weekends we realized some of the practical details mattered more than we expected.

For example, I wish I had added a little more deck space near the shallow end entry. That’s where everyone naturally gathers, especially when the bather load is high with kids or friends over. It’s not a huge problem, but chairs and towels end up clustering there because that’s the social spot. If I had shifted the layout even a couple feet it would feel less crowded.

Another small regret was not planning a dedicated spot for equipment access. When the pump basket or filter needs cleaning, you end up walking back and forth dripping water across the deck. Not a dealbreaker, but something you notice once maintenance becomes part of the routine.

Water startup after the remodel also surprised me a bit. Fresh surfaces pushed the pH upward for the first few weeks, so I was testing more often than I expected and keeping an eye on alkalinity so the saturation index stayed in range while the plaster cured. Nothing difficult, just more hands-on early on than I imagined.

Overall though, none of those things ruined the project. The main lesson for me was that daily usability, where people sit, where water flows, how easy it is to maintain, matters just as much as the visual design. If you think through those little details ahead of time, you’ll probably avoid most of the common regrets.
 
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