Don't you think the space calls for some type of hedge so you have an attractive backdrop for the pool?

The poolbuilder couldn't see this coming?

If you do a raised bed, you need to do something (timbers, block) to retain the soil at the fence.

From my perspective there is nothing worse than having a neighbor with a pool. That includes a freeway. And yours is a foot away, which shocks me about your local codes. Do your neighbors a favor by installing tall dense evergreens like arborvitae all along their side. Unless of course the have their own pool, in which case they deserve what they get...

I love my pool and I think we are considerate about noise at night but not in the daytime when our grand kids are all here. As for plantings IMO evergreen hedge that does well where you live is what you need and I would keep the kids and dogs off that side of the pool acouple of big planters at each end should do the trick

The correct solution is suggested by Revolutionary Gardens. There should be a retaining wall that encloses soil close to the level of the pool deck. A fence atop that might be required since the grade is changed. (We can't see the surroundings.) Then, you could plant whatever you want in the raised space. However, since there is already tree canopy overhead, and the space is tight, it doesn't seem you have room for trees or ornamental grasses, some of which can be quite large. It seems more like you have room for groundcovers, perennials and annuals.

The reason I mention the impact of pools on neighbors is that I don’t think their owners have any idea how noise (even just talking let alone shrieking and splashing) is amplified by water. They don’t know how far the smell of chlorine wafts. Most of these people would site, landscape, and use their pools much more considerately if they did.

IMO pool owners are just as considerate in my experience as BBQ owners who have parties way into the night or anyother inconsiderate neighbor and I d not fine sound travels differently across water or deck. We use as little chorine as possible and I have smelled worse smells in my life like dog poop for instance

I agree and please note that I said I do think pool owners are often considerate - just unaware. Water does amplify sound. I live on a small lake and we all all know to keep our voices low knowing how audible they are on the other side. Much more so than inside or around the house behind us.

One other thing that occurred to me, with the discussions about impact on the neighbors - talk to your poolbuilder to find out what their plan is to keep stormwater runoff from being an issue for your neighbors. We got a call a few years back from a homeowner whose pool was built 3 ft out of grade, and the pool deck ended maybe 8 ft from the property line. The neighbor immediately had an issue with flooding. My clients had to get an engineered drainage plan done, and we were hired to do a retaining wall and grading. If the lot behind you is city owned and not buildable it may be a non-issue, but make sure that's resolved before the end of the project.

Thank you all for your comments (even the worst neighbour comment). There is some truth to the noise concern but my neighbours do have a pool and they are friends of ours so we respect the right for them to enjoy their space and I know they will do the same for us. we live in a subdivision in Ontario Canada and we are told by our friends from Arizona that or lots are small. I back onto a path that has wild growth on land owned by the city so the chainlink is owned by the city as are the trees behind out home. Our pool builder addresses the slope in our backyard by building the retaining wall and butting the pool up against it. Our backyard is not deep so we wanted the pool as far away from the house as we could. Code in my area requires the pool edge to be a minimum of five feet from the property line of the path and our neighbours. I would love a hedge but also grasses so would like to build up the planting beds. We will have to hire someone if it requires building a retaining wall out of timber. We plan to build privacy screens between our neighbours and plant trees where we can. The trees behind us are a bit unruly so we will ask the city to cut them back but not sure if we should plant back there because it will eventually be encroached on.

Thank you all for your time to write a comments.

One more thing. In regard to the drainage, the install including a drain that runs along the length of the pool and carries the water to the edges of our property toward the swale which runs into a storm drain in the green space behind out house. We took the grade down by 6" to partially address the slope but unfortunately had to raise the back side of the pool. Thanks again.

Is the 3' of ground between the chain link and the pool deck an 18" drop down to flat ground or is the 3' of ground between them sloped? Can that ground be made flat? Is it a primary concern that kids and dogs will fall off the pool deck here?

Between the city's trees (think of them as your borrowed landscape), the narrow planting space you have which will get smaller if a raised bed is created and the pool itself your plant choices for this space are going to be difficult. The plant choices will also depend on whether there is a raised bed or not.

It doesn't look like there is any space at all to plant between the wooden fence and the pool deck. That will be another issue to solve in a different manner if you really feel the need for more screening there.

the decking around the pool on the fence side looks weirdly skinny to me. And the strip of land between the fence and pool looks too wide. It's too bad you cant take the decking all the way to the fence. Also chain link fences are an eye sore. Have you thought of building a wood privacy fence on the edge of your property to hide the chain link?

Hi Christopher and Brown Dog,

The ground between the fence and the deck (which is 30" wide) is flat and kids and our dog will likely walk around the pool as it is an unobstructed and easy path for them Code required the gap between the deck and the fence to protect the roots of the trees in the green space. Our permit only allowed for excavation 3 feet from the fence. There is also 30" between the deck and wood fence separating our yard from the neighbours. The drop is 18" from the corner but gradually meets grade as you approach the house. The other side of the backyard had a smaller slope which resulted in a 9" drop from the edge of the retaining wall to grade beside the fence. I think that we could build a screen to hide the chainlink but only if we do not build a raise bed. We would want to build the bed as close to the fence as possible but then our dog could jump over as the fence is only 4'. If we build a bed and add a wooden fence we could likely solve both issues but I will definitely have to request that the city cut their trees back.

Thanks again for your comments. They are really highlighting some feasible options and making me feel better because I thought the layout was a bit weird too, although from ground level it really is spa like and we can't wait for summer.

There are multiple points to be addressed on this build/site. The pool builder should have recognized the grade change and planned accordingly for a retaining wall. As mentioned, drainage considerations should have been addressed as to not flood neighbors and the city property. Not sure why the city did not pick up on this and require an engineered drainage plan during the permit phase.

In the U.S., chain link fences are approved for pool barriers, but must meet the criteria of being 4' minimum height and the mesh must be no bigger than 1" squares. Gates must be self closing and have child proof latches. I'm not familiar Canadian regulations but I'm guessing they are similar.

As far as U.S. National Electrical Code requirements, anything metallic within 5' of the pool must be bonded-different than grounding. With metallic fences, each post that is within 5' must be bonded. Again, I'm not familiar with Canadian codes but I'm guessing they are similar.

If I were doing this build, I would have factored a minimum of 3' of patio on that far side. First, it makes it possible for 2 people to pass each other - most city sidewalks are 3' wide. A gaggle of kids running around will show that. I understand your desire for the pool to be set as far from the house as possible.

Because your pool is seasonal, you will to need to put a cover on it. Most are installing safety covers and 3' of patio allows the cover to be secured properly. Now, a cover may have to be custom made and the anchoring points on that side may not be as secure.

I would not build the retaining wall out timber. A pre-cast block is the best. No need to get something very decorative, but more functional. After all, you won't really be looking at it as it faces the city property.

Thank you very much. The city requirement in Canada is the same:

• meet the criteria of being 4' minimum height
• mesh must be no bigger than 1" squares
• Gates must be self closing and have child proof latches

We also have to have safety locks on all exterior doors with access to the pool area

The deck is just under 3' wide and there is drainage built into the decking which takes surface water away and a pump to drain off excess water when it hits a certain height in the pool. We have a safety cover coming next fall and it will have anchors.

I think we are going to use concrete curbs to increase the height of the drop. I think we are going to plant cedars behind the fountain and tall grasses and screens the rest of the way, wrapping it around the sides to hide neighbour's views and structures. I think we could do the install of the curbs if we add a stable base and drainage then plant between the curb and deck. It will reduce the grade change but not completely. My only concern is the kids running around and falling off on to the grasses and onto the fence and getting hurt. The screens may help to close it in a bit. I also thought of a railing but don't like the look.

Thanks

Could really use the opinion of professionals and non professionals. We have a strong feel for the direction of our project but are getting weight down in the sheer detail.

We want to enjoy the pool as soon as we can so need to be prepared to open in late May and get plantings and structures up so we can swim in June. Section to the left is 22' x 38' and will hold the gazebo (with sectional) and beside it a dining table. You can see the side of my neighbour's shed which they use for entertaining with a serving window and speakers and lighting. We want that to be completely hidden. We installed the water feature to drown out the ambient noise from their yard. Loungers will go where the sectional is currently located and just to the right of that we have a stone porch with another sitting area that is attached to the house and gives us access to my office.

We are meeting with carpenters to get quotes on new fencing, privacy screens and a gazebo. We think we can build up a small retaining wall to support planting around the pool We want to plant between the pool deck and the chain link fence (city owned) so that the edge of the newly installed pool deck is softened. There is an 18" drop from deck to grade and the width between deck and chainlink is 24" (30" along the sides between deck and wood fence separating our yard from the neighbour's yard). We want install privacy screen intermittently around the edges along with small scale columnar Trees, cedars and tall grasses. The retaining will hold the dirt needed for these plantings. Grade is relatively flat but needs preparation for level installation of retaining, drainage and soil. We also want a few natural stones between deck and chainlink (approximately10" in depth and 20" width)at the far left to extend the deck so that we can walk around to access the pool equipment. This area is currently a gap with a lesser drop but we have to step down from the deck to walk along the chainlink to get around to the equipment in the back corner. Preferably we would walk alone stepping stones. Picture is project just before final decking completed. Orange temporary fence is where the gap is and where we want to plant. The orange is covering up the chain link fence so the retaining wall needs to run along the base of the chain link. Thanks

Love the clean spa feel but need to reconcile with our traditional house and traditional interior.

If we plant boxwoods or yews at the grade level it will add some structure to the beds. We like the look of the uplight standards as well. I think I prefer small scale columnar trees that will max out at 20' in height and 5' in width, which we would repeat around the backyard. Three grouped together on opposite sides and one on either side of our double doors to the backyard, again surrounded by boxwoods or yews. I was think about a columnar Purple Dawyck (fagus sylvatica)because we have some along our driveway and they are a nice purple colour.

We have Two 15 foot cedars that survived the pool install so we want to blend in the new look with the old cedars.

Because our neighbours are close we need to obstruct views from their back windows. The raised, level pool deck has increased visibility for our neighbours as we walk around the backyard and was was a 6 1/2' fence is now 5' height. Once neighbour wants to replace the fence and we will install 7' if they are good with that. The other neighbour is moving and doesn't want to speak a lot of money so we will do Privacy screens in the same still installed 2' from the property line.

(love the boxwood around the base of the columnar tree and hope to do something similar along the house line (there are 3' beds running along the house).

The structure we want to build needs to be about 13 x 13 and will line up with the pool so we have a shady area to overlook the kids in the pool.

We worked with a designer who helped us with the pool location and some planting ideas which we are incorporating but we plan to do the planting ourselves and pay carpenters based on our screening, fencing and gazebo needs (it's more of a budget issue or we would just hire someone to get the whole thing finalized). We may have to do this in two stages and need to incorporate the lighting plan.

We had to follow city restrictions and grading issues so the pool sits where it sits to maximize patio space and still have a reasonably sized pool. All was discussed in depth before instal so I am trying to solve for problems that I was aware would be part of the project. I'm a big believer in working with the experts and using professionals where I can. Just need your thoughts and feedback. Thanks!!!!

Wider concrete around the pool adjacent to a new tall wood fence at the edge of it.