Every pool starts as a drawing. Here are ours.

Excavation 40 feet from a tidal canal meant continuous groundwater inflow. We ran a well-point dewatering system for 9 days to hold the water table below the deep end before steel and gunite could be set.

Pure beach sand with zero clay content would not support a shell. We drove helical piers to 18 feet and tied the shell to a steel-reinforced grade beam before backfill.

The water table sat 5 feet below grade — exactly where the pool floor landed. A double hydrostatic relief valve and a crushed-stone underdrain channel groundwater away from the shell year-round.

Sustained salt spray and 140 mph wind loads dictated every material. We used a vinyl-liner shell with a concrete collar, marine-grade stainless anchors, and pavers mechanically fastened to a rebar-tied slab.

The lot fell inside a FEMA AE flood zone along the Neuse River. We secured a CAMA permit, raised the equipment pad above base flood elevation, and engineered the shell to resist hydrostatic lift if the river overtops.

A raised spa on the back wall required a footing that wouldn't settle in loose sand. We over-excavated 3 feet, compacted #57 stone, and poured a monolithic footing tied to the pool's bond beam.

The soil was expansive clay — the opposite of the coast's usual sand. We hauled in select structural fill, installed a French drain along the high side, and separated the deck with an expansion joint to absorb any heave.

Mature loblolly pines lined the pool envelope. Roots would seek the pool's moisture for decades. We cut a vertical HDPE root barrier along the tree side and wrapped plumbing in sleeved conduit to prevent intrusion.