Infinity Pool Project in Cove Neck, Long Island (NY)

Swimming at the edge of your world

 

Some say the first infinity pool was built at France’s Palace of Versailles, where from, say, one of the palace’s gardens, the eye is enticed across an expansive “infinite” pool of water up to the panoramic King’s palace.

Now perhaps it’s a breathtaking sunset that you want to draw the eye to on your property, or a gorgeous flower garden, or scenic bay. Indeed, in today’s project showcase, it was their property’s spectacular views of Oyster Bay on Long Island’s North Shore that drew these Deck and Patio clients to such a pool.

Infinity Pools

Man-made infinity (aka vanishing edge) pools expand the serenity of a backyard pool by drawing the eye to some other exquisite scene, thereby substantially increasing the restful beauty of any backyard retreat.  However, the finished results belie their underpinnings. These pools — no matter which focal point you are drawing the eye to — require experts to design and install it.

“Vanishing edge pools are an optical illusion that suggest the water is vanishing out of the back edge of the pool,” says our outdoor living expert, Bill Renter. “Nothing is, of course, vanishing in a vanishing edge pool. The water is actually clinging to a recess in the pool wall which then drops into a catch pool below. And while this sounds simple enough, it requires a good deal of mastery to design it correctly. An undersized catch pool can almost never be corrected.”

Bill explains that if the catch pool or basin isn’t large enough there won’t be enough water returning to the main pool and can cause serious problems. Insufficient water may also be a real disappointment, since many like the idea of an infinity pool precisely because the water they swim in will never be stagnant, but will be continually recycled through the pool.

The key, then, is to make sure you deal with experts. And what you get for your effort, is — dare we say it — fit for a king.

 

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Additional note on catch basins: If the catch pool or basin isn’t large enough there won’t be enough water returning to the main pool and the catch pool will run dry. That can trigger huge water bills because it would have to be constantly refilled to compensate for not having enough room to store water. In addition,  during rain falls, the basin could be overwhelmed, leading to it overflowing, or eroding or liquefying the soil behind it.

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Infinity Pool (Cove Neck/NY): Depending on where you are in this vanishing edge pool will determine which extraordinary vista your eyes are drawn to.

Infinity Pool (Cove Neck/NY): Depending on where you are in this vanishing edge pool will determine which extraordinary vista your eyes are drawn to.

 

Pool Landscaping (Cove Neck/NY): Landscaping can play a key role in enhancing the experience of an infinity pool.

Pool Landscaping (Cove Neck/NY): Landscaping can play a key role in enhancing the experience of an infinity pool.

 

Infinity Pool Catch Basin (Cove Neck/NY): One reason people love infinity pools is that the water is never stagnant but flows into a catch pool and is recycled.

Infinity Pool Catch Basin (Cove Neck/NY): One reason people love infinity pools is that the water is never stagnant but flows into a catch pool and is recycled.

 

Vanishing Edge Pool (Cove Neck/NY): In addition to the recycled pool water, for this project, a custom “spillover” spa offers healthy aeration to the pool water.

Vanishing Edge Pool (Cove Neck/NY): In addition to the recycled pool water, for this project, a custom “spillover” spa offers healthy aeration to the pool water.

 

Pool Landscaping (Cove Neck/NY): Everywhere you look in this completed backyard project there is a lovely scene worth pausing for.

Pool Landscaping (Cove Neck/NY): Everywhere you look in this completed backyard project there is a lovely scene worth pausing for.

 

Infinity Pool and Spa (Cove Neck/NY): It’s wonderful when you can’t decide which is the best seat in the ‘house’ — the pool or the spa!

Infinity Pool and Spa (Cove Neck/NY):: It’s wonderful when you can’t decide which is the best seat in the ‘house’ — the pool or the spa!

 

Vanishing Edge Pool (Cove Neck/NY): You don’t have to be a descendant of Louis IV to swim in royal waters.

Vanishing Edge Pool (Cove Neck/NY): You don’t have to be a descendant of Louis IV to swim in royal waters.