How Do You Design a Custom Pool? Metairie Backyards

Written by Big Easy Pool Designs

How Do You Design a Custom Pool for a Metairie Backyard?

Quick Answer: You design a custom pool by starting from how you’ll use it and what the yard allows, then working through shape and placement, materials, features, equipment and drainage until you have a plan you can approve. For a Metairie backyard, that plan also has to account for soft delta soil, a high water table and heavy summer rain.

Some homeowners arrive with a folder of inspiration photos. Others just know they want somewhere to cool off in July. Either way works. What matters is that every decision gets made on paper, where changes are cheap, instead of halfway through a build, where they aren’t.

Where Does a Custom Pool Design Start?

It starts with questions about your family, not the pool. Who’s swimming, and how? Lap swimmers, toddlers, teenagers with cannonballs and adults who mostly want to sit in the water each pull the design in a different direction. Do you entertain? Do you want a spa? How much lawn do you want to keep for the dog?

Then we walk the yard. At a free consultation we look at how the sun moves across the lot, where water goes after a summer downpour, what you want to see from the back door and where the equipment could sit without being an eyesore. Those answers set the limits before any drawing starts.

What Decisions Go Into a Custom Pool Design?

Shape, Size and Placement

Placement comes first, because it controls everything else: sun, shade, privacy, the view from inside and the path from the house. Then shape and size. Geometric shapes suit many Metairie homes, while freeform shapes suit a garden-style yard. Our pool types page shows the styles we build, and our post on pool design ideas for small yards helps when space is tight.

Materials and Finishes

Interior finish, waterline tile, coping and decking set the look and the feel underfoot. They also decide how the pool handles heat, humidity and sun. Our comparison of gunite, fiberglass and vinyl liner pools in Louisiana covers the build types.

Features

Tanning ledges, spas, water features and lighting are where a pool starts to feel like yours. Our post on pool design ideas for entertaining collects ideas for pools built around guests.

Equipment, Plumbing and Drainage

This is the part nobody photographs. Pump and filter sizing, plumbing runs and drainage planning decide how well the pool runs and how long it lasts. In our region, the equipment pad also has to sit where heavy rain won’t flood it.

How Do Metairie Soil and Water Shape the Design?

Metairie is built on soft Mississippi delta ground, and parts of it have been sinking. A NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory study using radar data from June 2009 to July 2012 found notable subsidence in Metairie and pointed to groundwater pumping and dewatering among the main regional causes.

That doesn’t stop anyone from building a pool. It means the shell, the deck and the plumbing need to be engineered for the ground they sit on, and it’s one reason we plan the shell around the soil and high water table from the first sketch. It also affects the deck. Our post on cracked or sinking pool decks in Metairie shows what happens when a surround isn’t built for settling ground.

Rain is the other design driver. Metairie summers bring frequent afternoon storms, so the deck has to slope away from the pool and the yard needs a planned route for runoff. These are drawing-board decisions, not fixes you add later.

How Do You Fit a Custom Pool on a Typical Metairie Lot?

Many Metairie backyards are wider than they are deep, with a detached garage, a big tree or a fence line that’s been there for decades. A custom design works with those, not against them. A few approaches we use often:

• Set the pool off-center. Shifting it toward one side can leave a usable strip of lawn and a clear path to the garage.
• Use the long axis. A narrow, longer pool can fit where a square one can’t, and it reads larger from the house.
• Combine features. A tanning ledge or an attached spa adds function without a second structure taking up yard.
• Plan the deck as living space. On a tight lot, a well-placed deck does the work of a patio and a pool surround at once.

We also pay attention to construction access. Equipment has to reach the backyard, and on a narrow Metairie lot that path can decide where the pool goes as much as anything on the drawing.

What About Permits and Rules in Metairie?

Metairie is an unincorporated community, so pool permits there go through Jefferson Parish, not a city hall. Pools also have to meet barrier and safety rules, and our post on pool permits and barrier rules around New Orleans explains what those usually cover. If your neighborhood has an association, its approval may be needed before the permit. We handle permitting as part of the build.

What Does a Finished Design Look Like?

When the design phase ends, you should have a plan you can hold in your hands and a written scope that lists what’s being built, with the materials, features and equipment spelled out. You approve it before construction begins. When the design is approved, the same team that drew it builds it, which keeps the details from getting lost in a handoff.

That’s the core of our custom pool design process. We’d rather spend extra time on paper than change course mid-build.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the design phase take?

It depends on how many options you want to explore and how quickly decisions get made. The schedule for the build comes with the approved design.

Can I bring my own design ideas?

Please do. Photos and sketches both help. We’ll show you what fits your lot and your budget.

Do you build the pool you design?

Yes. See our inground pool page for Metairie for the build side.

Design Your Metairie Pool

Start with a free design consultation, and we’ll walk your yard with you.

See custom pool design in Metairie and our Metairie service area, then request your free consultation or call (504) 688-4066.