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In upper Ojai are some great gettaway homes. And this home was used for just that...a gettaway home for a couple from Los Angeles. Their goal was to have a simple pool and spa they could enjoy with a big group of people or just themselves. Since they weren't there most of the week, they wanted something easy to manage. They also wanted a very modern look to match the interior of the home. So we did a fully automated system they could use from their iPhones. The concrete around the pool is acid etched natural gray concrete with a square nose coping. The tile is a 6" tile and a Blue Lagoon Pebble Tec interior finish. They added the cover to keep the leaves out so it was always clean when they arrived. Lastly, they used artificial grass and smooth stucco walls to close it all in.

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This is a remodel job in the hills of Montecito where we gave the entire pool area a facelift. The homeowner did not want to take away from the cottage look of the home and yet wanted to modernize the area. They also wanted to get rid of their fiberglass above ground spa, open up the area, and add an attached concrete spa. The decking used is a 24" Paver sand set at a diamond pattern. The coping is a classic grecian bullnose precast concrete. The tile is a 2" glass tile with white grout to make it pop. The interior pool finish is Bella Blue Pebble Fina with some accent turtle mosaics. We did a built in BBQ Bar with a stucco column patio cover. All the walls around the pool were also changed to stucco.

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Though this pool did not have an ocean view from the water, it did from the upper deck of the home which set the mood for a Santa Barbara Escape.

Pool Coping: Poured in Place Square Nose
Pebble Sheen: Turtle Bay

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Coping: Castaic Red Bullnose Brick
Plaster: Pebble Fina White Classico
Tile: Custom Painted
Cover: Forest Green

The straight lines, basic brick, elegant water spitters, and custom painted tile make this pool a perfect fit for the Santa Barbara lifestyle. Surrounded by rose gardens and lawn with horse stables in the back, this pool has a country cottage New England feel. The decking is also Castaic Red Brick poured with a sub base. The spa for this backyard is fiberglass and is kept 20' away from the pool on its own separate brick pad.

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With the hills of Montecito in the background, this boulder stacked wall, customer glass waterline tile, classic shaped pool really blends in well. Also, as an after thought from the entire pool project, the BBQ area gave the backyard a perfect outdoor living space.

Coping: Sweat Water Flagstone
Tile: Custom Glass
Interior Finish: Bordeaux Sheen

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"After"


"Before"


The Excavation


5 - 6 boulders this size were taken out


Fortunately, this boulder was so secure with roots that we were pretty safe. But there is still something to say about a 10 foot boulder teetering above your head.


Gunite


Imported glass tile

The finished product just 2 days before a wedding on the property


This is their nephew taking the first dive off the rock. He is the the one who got this whole project going by telling our homeowners they needed to build a pool pool right under this rock.


Nestled into Mission Canyon of Santa Barbara, this pool sits in the middle of an oaktree orchard. We had to do many reviews with county officials to even dig in this spot without disturbing the trees. The reason why these homeowners wanted the pool in this spot was because they saw a huge opportunity to jump from a specific rock into the water. The rock they wanted to jump off was about 8' in diameter. Typically this is something we would use a crane to bring in or we'd build it from faux rock. But when we arrived on site for the first time, part of the pool was already dug right next to the diving rock. So moving/replacing it after the pool was built was not an option. With a lot of caution, we went for it.

Digging the rest of the pool required precision work because there were still many boulders under ground, and we didn't want their movement to cause the diving boulder to topple into the pool hole. Especially while people were working in it. Some of those boulders we moved were so big they had to be first cut to take them out. Fortunately, the precision excavation went as well as it could have thanks to Pat Mills and his guys. We were able to steel, plumb, and place electric in the pool within a few days. Then it was time for the Gunite. Even though the pool was only 33' long x 14' wide, there were huge cavities from pulling out boulders, a cover vault, a 10' depth, and thick walls, causing over 100 tons of gunite to be used. And again, because of the design and element of this pool such as multiple lights, underwater speakers, a fastlane swim system, and a non-pertruding cover vault, things had to be precise. After an all day affair, the gunite was complete which put everyones mind to ease to then focus on the aesthetics. Fortunately, the homeowners had an incredible eye for taste and were not afraid to choose materials that were perfect for their property. About a month later, all of the finish work was complete.

Materials
Coping: Black Slate
Tile: Imported Black and Mixed Glass
Pebble Tec: Black Satin with Abalone Shell
Cover Vault Cap: Ipe Wood