Paver Pool Deck Installation in Eastern Massachusetts

• New pool or replacement. A deck for a new pool follows the pool builder's schedule. Replacing an old cracked concrete deck adds demolition and extra care around the coping and bond beam.
• Deck width. A narrow walkway on three sides and a wide lounging area on one is a common layout and a big factor in square footage.
• Coping. We build the deck up to the existing coping. Coping repair or replacement is done by your pool contractor and is not in our price.
• Drainage. Decks enclosed by higher ground or fencing may need channel drains or a dry well.
• Backfill. Soft or poorly compacted pool backfill has to be dug out and rebuilt before the base goes in.
• Extras. Fence post sleeves, steps, an equipment pad, and tie-ins to a patio or outdoor kitchen.

We also pour concrete pool decks; our recent ones have run about $14 to $23 per square foot. Every pool deck carries our standard 1-year warranty.

• Texture. We choose pavers with a slightly textured face for the splash zone. Very smooth, polished, or glazed finishes do not belong around a pool.
• Sealer. If you seal, use a penetrating or matte sealer, ideally with an anti-slip additive. High-gloss film-forming sealers turn a good paver slick.
• Shade and algae. Algae and moss on a shaded corner of the deck are slippery on any material. Drainage, sun, and regular cleaning keep them off.

Some paver makers publish wet slip-resistance test results. When they do, we compare them. For reference, the tile industry's ANSI A326.3 standard uses a wet dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.42 as the minimum for level interior floors expected to be walked on when wet.

Dark charcoal and deep red pavers look sharp but absorb more sunlight and can get uncomfortable on a July afternoon. Lighter colors reflect more of it. Shade from an umbrella, pergola, or tree line also helps, and a sealer does not make pavers cooler.

• Coping options include bullnose concrete paver coping, precast coping units, and natural stone. On concrete (gunite or shotcrete) pools, coping is mortar-set on the bond beam.
• The expansion joint. Between the coping and the deck we leave a joint filled with flexible sealant, not mortar and not sand. A rigid connection lets deck movement crack or loosen the coping.
• Vinyl-liner pools use a coping system that also holds the liner. The deck must never push on that coping or the pool wall.
• Laying direction. We lay outward from the coping so full pavers sit at the pool edge where everyone sees them, and the cuts land at the outer edge.

Coping repair, pool tile, and pool caulking are pool-contractor work and are not included in our pool deck price.

Saltwater pools typically run around 3,000 parts per million of salt. When splash dries on the deck, salt crystals form in the surface pores and, over years, can flake the top layer. Softer natural stones are more vulnerable than dense concrete pavers.

• Rinse the splash zone with fresh water from time to time, especially after heavy use.
• Seal with a penetrating, breathable sealer to reduce how much salt water soaks in.
• Store pool chemicals off the deck. Spilled granular chlorine or acid stains and etches pavers.

A deck that drains toward the pool carries grass clippings, mulch, lawn fertilizer, and dirt into the water, which feeds algae and loads the filter. Pitching away fixes that, but the water still needs somewhere to go:

• Open lawn beside the deck can take the runoff if it is lower than the deck edge.
• A channel drain along the outer edge works where the deck meets a wall, fence, or higher ground.
• A dry well collects water where there is nowhere to send it on the surface, and keeps it off a neighbor's yard.

Joint sand matters too. Loose sand washes into the pool and the skimmer; compacted polymeric sand stays put.

The plumbing row matters more than most people expect. Pool return and skimmer lines run under the deck, and a leak under a slab means breaking concrete to reach it.

• Post sleeves. We set sleeves or footings for fence posts in the base before laying pavers, so the fence installer does not have to cut or core through a finished deck.
• Measured from the deck. Barrier height is measured from the ground or deck on the outside. A raised patio, step, or sitting wall built against the outside of the fence can shorten its effective height.
• No footholds. Keep sitting walls, built-in benches, and grills away from the barrier so they cannot be used to climb it.
• Gates should swing away from the pool, and their swing should clear deck steps.

Your town's building department enforces the barrier rules and inspects. We build the deck to support the barrier your fence contractor installs.

1. Protect the pool. We keep the pool filled, which helps it hold its shape, cover it against dust and debris, and mark the plumbing and electrical lines with the pool owner or builder.
2. Remove the old deck if there is one, working carefully along the coping so the bond beam is not damaged.
3. Check the backfill. We probe the ground around the pool. Soft or settling fill is dug out and replaced with compacted stone.
4. Base, in lifts. Processed 3/4-inch gravel goes in about 4 inches at a time and is compacted with plate compactors. We avoid heavy rollers near the pool wall, which can push on it. The pitch away from the water is built in at this stage.
5. Sleeves and drains. Fence post sleeves, channel drains, and pipe for any deck lighting go in now.
6. Bedding layer. About 1 inch of washed concrete sand is screeded over the base.
7. Edge restraint. Spiked edging goes at the outer edge. At the pool side, the coping is the edge, with the flexible joint between.
8. Laying pattern. We lay from the coping outward. A border course along the coping frames the pool, and the field pattern fills in behind it.
9. Joint sand. We compact the field while keeping the plate off the coping, sweep in polymeric sand, and blow the residue away from the water before misting so no sand or haze ends up in the pool.
10. Sealing (optional add-on). Not part of a standard install. If chosen, a matte or penetrating sealer after efflorescence clears.

• Light, warm colors for comfort underfoot.
• Lightly textured faces for grip, without the rough broom texture that scuffs wet feet.
• Small chamfers and tight joints so a safety cover and its straps slide without snagging.
• A color that works with your coping, which your pool contractor selects and installs.

• At opening. Walk the deck each spring and look for low spots near the pool where backfill has settled. Pavers there can be reset before they become a trip hazard.
• At closing. When pumping water off a winter cover, discharge it onto lawn or a drain, not across the deck toward the house.
• Through winter. Shovel or blow snow off the deck rather than piling it against the coping, and keep de-icers away from the water.
• Every few years. Top up joint sand, and reseal if you chose a sealer.

Our standard 1-year warranty applies: All materials and workmanship are guaranteed for one year from the date of completion. Normal color variation and hairline cracking in concrete are not defects, and the warranty does not cover pre-existing conditions, hidden site conditions, or settlement of soil we did not place.