Swim up bar under a modern pavilion beside the pool
Swim up bars · Spas · Water features

The parts people actually use.

A pool gets swum in for an hour. The bar, the spa and the ledge get sat in all evening. These are the features we build most, and what to think through before you add them.

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Veteran owned · Nemo, Texas · Every pool on this site is one we built

Swim up bars

A bar that works from both sides

Stools set in the water at a counter you can also reach from the deck. The bars that get used sit under shade, close to the kitchen, with a TV in the sight line. Plan the bar with the pavilion, not after it, because the counter height, the footing and the plumbing all have to line up.

  • Shade first. A bar in full afternoon sun in July does not get used.
  • Water depth at the stools, so you sit instead of float.
  • Which side the kitchen and the TV are on.
Swim up bar with submerged stools
Swim up bar counter seen from the pavilion side
Lit spa spilling over a stone wall into the pool
Flush spa set into a rectangular pool with bubblers
Spas

Raised, flush or spilling over

A raised spa that spills over a stone or tile wall gives the pool a focal point and a sound. A flush spa set into the pool keeps a modern yard clean. Either way it shares the pool equipment, and in a North Texas winter it is the part that keeps the backyard in use.

  • Stone spillover for a natural yard, tile for a modern one.
  • Heat is what makes a spa worth having.
  • Place it where you can see the yard and the house from the seat.
Water features and lighting

Decide them before the shell

A tiled wall with sheer descents gives the pool a back edge and covers road noise. Bubblers on a tanning ledge, lights in the walls and the spa. Each one is a line of plumbing or conduit that goes in before the shell is shot, so they get decided at design, not at the end.

  • Sheer descents off a raised tile wall.
  • Bubblers on a tanning ledge a few inches deep.
  • Lights in the pool, the spa and the cabana on one plan.
Sheer descent wall with turf inlaid deck
Pool and spa lit at dusk beside a cabana bar
Common questions

Bars, spas and features

How deep is the water at a swim up bar?

Deep enough to sit on the stool with the water around your waist, not so deep you float off it. The stools and the counter height get set together so the bar works from the water side and the deck side.

Does a spa need its own heater?

A spa shares the pool equipment but needs heat to be worth having. In a North Texas winter, a heated spa is what keeps the backyard in use when the pool is too cold.

Can I add a water feature after the pool is built?

Some things can be added later, but sheer descents, bubblers and lights all need plumbing or conduit that goes in before the shell. Adding them after usually means cutting into the deck. Decide at design.

Cost ranges for spas, waterfalls and lighting are on the pool cost page.

Get started

Send us the backyard

A rough idea of what you want and where the yard is. We will walk it and come back with real numbers, not a phone quote.

Call (817) 565-5581

Request a pool quote

Tell us what you have in mind and where. We reply the same day.