Good footing around the water
The concrete around the pool, poured with a broom finish for grip and sloped so splash water drains away. We pour the deck, not the pool.
Pool decks
A pool deck gets used harder than any other slab at the house. It is wet most of the summer, people cross it barefoot and at a run, and it sits in full sun from May to October. Older decks show it. Panels crack and lift at the corners, joints open up beside the coping, and the strip on the far side was never wide enough for a chair. New concrete around the water can address all three.
Deck work is awkward for a crew built around big open pours. The concrete goes in as narrow bands wrapped around a pool, with curves, tight access through a side gate and a finished edge on every side. It is slow forming for a modest amount of concrete, and an extension or a few replaced panels is smaller still. That is the kind of job we plan for, on a pour day set for your town.
Common sizes
- Four foot walkway band
- A walking strip around the pool, enough to get past the water safely on every side.
- Lounge side, 10 by 20
- A wider section on the sunny side for chairs and a table, tied into the walkway band.
- Deck extension
- New concrete added to an existing deck where the original pour stopped too close to the water.
- Panel replacement
- Cracked or lifted sections cut out at the joints and poured new, leaving the sound panels alone.
How the job goes
- 1
Plan around the pool
We map where water should go before anything else. The deck has to fall away from the pool and away from the house, so we find the low side of the yard and note the equipment pad, the gate and any drains.
- 2
Base, forms and the coping joint
The ground is compacted with gravel, taking extra care over the backfilled soil next to the pool. Forms follow the pool shape. An expansion joint goes in where the deck meets the coping, so the deck and the pool can move separately.
- 3
Pour and broom
Concrete usually comes in by wheelbarrow or pump, since the truck cannot reach a backyard. We screed and float each band, round the edges and broom the surface. The pool is covered or protected to help keep concrete and dust out of the water.
- 4
Joints and cure
Control joints are cut to break the deck into panels and are placed at the corners of the pool, where cracks tend to start. Keep it damp for the first several days in hot weather. Bare feet are fine after about a day.
What makes it last
Concrete fails from the bottom up. These are the parts you will never see once the job is done, and they decide how the slab holds up.
- Broom finish for wet feet
- Smooth concrete is slick when wet. A broom finish leaves fine ridges that give bare feet grip, and we keep the texture even so it is comfortable to walk on as well as safe.
- Slope away from the pool
- The deck falls about one eighth to one quarter inch per foot, away from the water and away from the house. Rain, dust and splash water run to the yard instead of into the pool.
- A joint at the coping
- The pool and the deck sit on different ground and move differently. A flexible expansion joint between the deck and the coping lets each one shift a little without cracking the other.
- Careful base on backfill
- The soil right beside a pool was dug out and put back when the pool was built, and backfill can settle. We compact it and add gravel before forming, because that band is where decks tend to sink.
Start with a photo.
435·220·5536Text us a photo of the spot and rough measurements. We will tell you what we can from the photo, or come out and take a look. Rather type it out? Use the form.
Pool decks: straight answers
Will the deck be too hot to walk on?
Any surface in full sun gets hot in a Southern Utah summer. Plain, light gray concrete stays cooler than dark surfaces, which is one reason we keep it natural. We do not apply cooling coatings. Shade, a quick hose down and sandals at midday still help.
Is broom finish rough on bare feet?
It should not be. The broom can be pulled lighter or heavier. Around a pool we aim for a texture you can feel with your hand but that does not scrape, since the deck has to grip when wet and still be comfortable for kids.
Can you replace part of my old deck?
Yes. We cut out the cracked or lifted panels at the joints, fix the base and pour new ones at the same height. The new sections will be lighter in color than the old deck. If most of the deck has moved, replacing all of it is the better call.
Do you build the pool too?
No. We pour the concrete deck around the pool, not the pool shell. If a pool is going in, the deck comes after the pool builder is finished and the backfill has been compacted. Your city or HOA may have rules for pool areas, so check first.