Tag: pool company

Can A Custom Pool Increase Your Property Value?

The simple answer is yes, a custom pool can and does increase the value of your property, but there are limitations! We’ve been in the business for a long time, and as such, we are passionate about our pools and our customers; your satisfaction and happiness is what we strive for, so we won’t lead you astray. Living in the warm desert climate makes a custom pool a useful addition to your home, and when you customize it, it can increase the value even more!

Reasons to Add a Pool

Not every pool adds value to your property. If the yard is too small, or if you live in a colder environment, you may want to pass on the pool—it’s just not worth the investment. Also, if you are planning on selling your home, understand that there may be a large demographic of people who will pass your home right by if they see you have a pool; people with young children who are worried about potential drownings or people who live on a tight budget may not think a pool is worth it and will keep on looking. But if you live in a high-end community where most homes have pools, it could cost you money not to construct one of your own. And a custom pool can add incentives to buyers with the opportunity to own a pool that isn’t like anyone else’s—everyone likes to be unique!

Custom Pools Vs Standard Pools

It’s true that you won’t recoup all your costs for building a pool; on average, a pool adds approximately 7 to 10 percent value to your home. But if you aren’t planning on moving anytime soon, the decision of whether to add a custom pool should be dependent on your needs, wishes, and desires. Would a standard pool satisfy your urge to swim? Most definitely—but if you can afford more, why not? You work hard and daily life can be stressful; don’t you deserve to be spoiled? Imagine looking out your window and seeing a pool with custom touches: a copper fire bowl, a rock waterfall, and a glass mosaic design of a redheaded mermaid gracing the bottom of your pool can bring a smile to your face that makes it worth the extra expense.

New Image Landscape and Pools

A custom pool can make all the difference in a day filled with stress and tension, as well as in the value of your property. Schedule a consultation with us today and discover how much better life can be when you have an oasis in your backyard!

5 Tips for Building the Best Pool at Your Home with the Help of Arizona’s Best Pool Builders

In the Phoenix area, pools are a fantastic investment, useable at least six months out of the year. The benefits are many: exercise that puts little stress on the joints, a refreshing way to get some vitamin D in summer, a playground for kids, and an excuse for social events. Not all pools are created equal, though—how can you make the best pool possible?

While there are some obvious issues to avoid—don’t build a pool beneath a powerline, for instance—here are some tips about placement and features that you might not have thought of to make the best pool.

Avoid Evaporation by Protecting the Pool from Wind

If you’ve got some planters or a row of tall cacti, try keeping them between the pool and wherever the most wind comes from. Wind increases the rate of evaporation, meaning the water will need to be refilled more frequently.

Let the Pool Get Plenty of Sun

While trees make excellent wind-blockers, they’re not the best options for features adjacent to a pool. A pool should get as much sunlight as possible—while this may increase evaporation, it makes up for it by heating the pool, and also helping to keep leaves out.

Leave Room for Accessories!

There are quite a few accessories that people like to add to pools, whether at the time of their construction or after they are built. This means that pools take up quite a bit more space than the pool itself. A shed for the pool skimmers and cleaning chemicals, space for a slide or diving board, a volleyball net—the list goes on, but the point is you may need extra room to set these up. If you’re trying to “squeeze” the pool in, you may want to reconsider its size.

Adjacent Pools Can Be the Best Pools!

If you’re going to put in all this plumbing and clean it every week, then why not add an extra aquatic feature to it? Most commonly this is a spa or hot tub made not for swimming, but relaxing. Tanning decks, however, are also popular—these elevated shallow pools are cooler places to relax, and can double as kiddie pools.

Visual Ornaments

If you’re installing a pool, you might try to make it adapt to your current landscape—or you can make it improve it! There are a few visual additions you can make to pools to make the entire yard more impressive and appealing. Sheer descents are waterfalls that flow straight into the pool, and serve as eye-catching focal points for the yard. Deck jets gracefully shoot water into the pool, letting it double as a fountain. If the rest of your yard is all about class and beauty, then these additions might be for you.

Guide To Making A Great Desert Landscape

Pool with overlooking flower bed surrounded by rocks and flora by New Image, Mesa's landscaping company

Spring is the perfect time to start getting creative and innovative with your landscaping. While many people, especially newcomers to the Arizona area, think that desert landscaping is made up entirely of sand and rocks, it is far from a stark, barren look. Many desert landscapes are gorgeous areas full of vibrant plant life and more.

Look at your property as an opportunity, not a challenge. Because of our warm environment all year round, it is the perfect place to spend a lot of time outdoors. This short guide can help you get started on your way to a wonderful desert landscape.

Soil Preparation

The first step for a great landscape is soil preparation to help your plants thrive. Our desert soil is generally coarse and contains very little organic ingredients. You should do a soil test to determine the types and amounts of supplements you will need. Additionally, make sure your drainage is proper, as desert plants can experience root rot should then get too much moisture. Additionally, you want to make sure that your irrigation system is efficient. Because water is precious in the desert, using the best, most effective irrigation is important to both your plants and the environment. It is also a good idea to consider covering your planting beds with mulch, either with gravel or organic substances such as bark.

Choose Plants Native to the Desert

Growing plants that are native to our desert climate will help ensure a successful beautiful landscape. You will find that these types of plants are drought-tolerant and low maintenance. And don’t worry — there is an incredible selection of beautiful desert plants.

Choose the Best Planting Times

In Arizona, the optimal time to plant is autumn. This is because the soils will hold heat, promoting root growth, as well as temperatures that are more consistent.

Lawn Alternatives

Because of the dry environment, you may find keeping a natural lawn green a chore. You may want to consider installing a synthetic lawn. These are very pet and child friendly, and with today’s modern artificial lawns, you will find them very natural looking and low maintenance.

At New Image Landscaping, our staff is very knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to desert landscaping. Please give us a call or stop by to discuss how you can get the very best looking landscape!

5 Reasons You Need A New Pool In AZ

It’s no secret that the Arizona summers can be a little too hot to handle sometimes, often reaching temperatures over 100 degrees, which means that outside activities are often kept to a minimum. Other than the obvious reason to have a pool in Arizona, there are many other ways that a new pool can benefit you. Here are five reasons, as recommended by New Image Landscape and Pools, for getting a new pool.

Arizona summers are HOT!

This is, of course, the most common and obvious reason to have a pool in Arizona. Reaching high temperatures well above 100 degrees throughout the summer months, many consider it a MUST HAVE in any home. It had been surveyed, and nearly one-third of all homeowners in the Phoenix-Metro area (including Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert) own a pool. So, it may be time to build your new backyard oasis and keep cool this summer.

Increase home value

Professionals in the real estate industry have always argued whether adding a pool will increase the value of your home or be seen as more of a liability. Lucky for Arizona home-owners, having a pool is practically seen as a necessity and can increase your home’s value by nearly 8 percent.

Encourage family time

Summertime also means summer break for kids and what better way to spend time with your family than having pool party? This will encourage your brood to hang out at home where you can know their whereabouts and, if you’re practicing proper pool safety, rest assured that they are in a safe environment as they enjoy their break from school.

Fitness

Forget about spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on the latest home gym equipment that you will only use for a few months. Aquatic exercise and fitness is just as effective and can double as a form of massage therapy for achy bones and muscles. By having your own pool at home, you don’t necessarily have to purchase any additional equipment or expensive gym memberships. The best part, is that you get to work out in the privacy of your own home – the true judgment free zone.

Saves you from the having to go to public pools

Let’s face it, just the thought of going to a public pool gives you an uneasy feeling, but it’s just so dang hot outside and you’re just dying to cool off. By having your own pool, you don’t have to worry about over-crowded public pools and all of the germs that come along with it. You can find comfort in knowing exactly how clean your pool is because you have complete control over it.

If you are considering adding a new pool to your home, hopefully, these five reasons will help make your decision a little bit easier. Start building your new pool today, because there is never any room for the summertime blues in sunny Arizona!

The Pros and Cons of Vinyl Pools

January is the time of year when people start thinking about having a pool installed; the hot summer days of last year aren’t so far behind them that they are forgotten, and the new summer is still far enough away that the new pool will be completed and ready for frolicking in.  Like any good homeowner you have been doing your research and have been reading about – or if you are from back east – have heard about the popularity of vinyl lined pools.   You won’t see many vinyl pools in the Phoenix area, but they have become better known in recent years.  Below is a list of pros and cons to help you determine if vinyl is the direction you want to go.

Pros of Vinyl Pools

  • Cheaper Initial Cost – Of all pool types (fiberglass, concrete or vinyl) vinyl has the lowest startup costs. The materials are cheaper, installation costs are lower, and once the pool is filled, chemical start up is cheaper.
  • Versatility of shape, depth, color and pattern – Easily moldable, a vinyl liner can be stretched to form almost any shape you can imagine…L shaped, Grecian; if the structure can be built, vinyl can be formed to it. Vinyl also comes in many different colors and patterns, allowing you to be creative with your pool design.
  • Retards algae growth – the non-porous surface of the vinyl liner retards the growth of algae, causing less maintenance overall. Very little chlorine is needed for upkeep, keeping maintenance costs down.
  • Smooth on tender feet – Anyone who has spent any amount of time in a pool understands how sensitive feet get the longer you’re in the pool; concrete pools can rub your feet raw after prolonged exposure – the soft vinyl surface will not.

Cons

  • Long term costs are higher – Vinyl pool liners need to be replaced every 7-15 years, costing you as little as $2000 to as much as $4000 each time. This can add up rather quickly and tends to negate the savings of initial installation.
  • More care needed – Vinyl is very thin and tears rather easily; dogs, kids, roofing material that comes that lands in your pool after a big monsoon storm – any or all debris could damage the liner causing you to have to replace it sooner than you originally calculated, again adding to and negating the original cost savings.
  • Discoloration – chlorine can bleach the liner leading to unattractive discoloration. The only remedy is replacing the liner.
  • Resale value – Installing a pool only adds around 10 percent to the price of resale value and a vinyl lined pool adds even less. The industry tends not to respect the value of a vinyl and prospective sellers anticipate problems and shy away from homes with vinyl lined pools.

Decision making

Now you’ve read some of the pros and cons of vinyl pools all that is left is making the final decision.  You may have to spend a lot of time researching and talking to people to help you pick the perfect pool, but in the end, it will be time well spent.  Summer days in the desert can be brutal but when you are floating in your own beautifully designed pool we can almost guarantee you won’t even notice the heat!

If you want more information, please feel free to contact us, we appreciate it!