A rural town with acre lots
Southwest Ranches incorporated in 2000 to protect a rural way of life, and its zoning sets lots at one acre minimum. The town has no sidewalks or streetlights. Houses sit well back from the road, many of them with room for horses. For a pool, that adds up to plenty of room and few neighbors close by, but also long distances inside your own property.
Easy access, long runs
Getting an excavator into the backyard is rarely a problem on these lots, since there is usually open ground beside the house. Distance is the real issue. When the pool sits far out in the yard and the equipment pad stays near the house, the plumbing lines get longer and so does the new electrical circuit from the panel. A licensed electrician runs that circuit. We pick the variable-speed pump for the length of pipe it has to push through, and how we size pool equipment goes into more detail.
Concrete delivery takes planning too. Wet-mix shotcrete has to leave the truck within about 90 minutes of dispatch, so on a far-out lot we time the shoot with the plant, or we use gunite, where the water is added at the nozzle on site.
Big pools, long decks and a spa
Acre lots invite a bigger pool. Our example here is 20 × 40 ft, which comes to 800 sq ft of water surface, and you can see what 800 sq ft of water costs. On these lots the deck can stretch toward an outdoor kitchen or a covered patio, and our pool decks are laid on a compacted base so long runs of pavers or travertine stay flat. An attached spa built with the pool can sit near the house for short walks at night. The permit is filed with the town, and the plans show the setbacks from your survey. For master-planned lots with an HOA, see how we build pools in Weston. Down in Miami-Dade, Pinecrest has acre lots too, around 1960s ranch houses.
Frequently asked questions
Can concrete trucks reach a pool far back on a Southwest Ranches lot?
Usually yes, because these lots tend to have open ground beside the house, so the truck can park close to the hole. The timing with the plant is the part we plan ahead.
How far from the house can a pool go in Southwest Ranches?
As far as the setbacks on your survey allow, and on an acre that leaves a lot of choice. The farther out it goes, the longer the plumbing and electrical runs back to the equipment pad.
Can a pool far out on a dark rural lot be lit well at night?
Yes. With no streetlights in town, the yard goes dark after sunset, so we plan LED lights in the pool and spa walls from the first drawing. Their wiring runs back to the equipment pad with the rest of the new circuit, which a licensed electrician installs.
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