You Want a Backyard. The Proposal May Only Include a Pool.

By Jeremy Ruben, Founder of LANDOVA Design & Planning · October 20, 2026

Before You Call a Pool Builder · Part 2 of 7

Jeremy brings firsthand experience as a high-performing pool salesperson and designer. During his time on a pool sales team, he closed deals at nearly three times the rate of the rest of the team.

Ask a homeowner what they want from a pool project and the answer often extends well beyond water. They want the kids outside. They want somewhere to unwind. They imagine friends around a table, a comfortable chair in the shade and a yard that finally feels finished.

Then the buying process narrows to pool dimensions and a construction price. The homeowner is imagining a complete backyard. The proposal may describe one portion of it.

Neither a beautiful drawing nor a confident conversation closes that gap. A coordinated plan and a written scope do.

Draw the evening, not just the water

Consider a hypothetical family that wants a pool, dining for six and a place to watch the children from the shade. A pool drawn in isolation can look excellent. Add a table with chairs pulled out, lounge furniture and a route from the back door, and the same layout may feel crowded.

Making the pool a little smaller or shifting it could improve the entire yard. You will not see that trade-off if the drawing stops at the coping.

At LANDOVA, the question is how the pieces work together. That includes what you see through the back windows and how you move from the house to the places you will use.

Five areas that belong in the same conversation

• Usable patio space. Show the furniture you intend to use, clearance around it and the routes people will take. A square-foot total alone does not tell you whether a patio works.
• Sun, shade and privacy. Consider your normal outdoor hours, neighboring views and the location of shade structures or planting.
• Water, levels and access. Identify drainage and grading questions, construction access and areas that may need restoration. The relevant professionals must verify technical requirements.
• Landscape and everyday upkeep. Plan planting space, irrigation changes, lawn edges and access to equipment. Ask how the finished yard will be maintained.
• Future improvements. Reserve space for the kitchen, pavilion or other feature you may build later. Review potential utility routes and dependencies before covering them with finished surfaces.

In the rendering is not the same as in the contract

A visualization may show furniture, landscape lighting, mature plants, a fence and an outdoor kitchen. Some may be included in the construction proposal. Others may be illustrative or priced by a different trade.

Use the image as a checklist. Point to each major element and ask: “Who supplies this? Is it included? If not, where does it appear in the overall budget?” Record the answer.

Also ask what the image simplifies. A concept can help you evaluate appearance and relationships, but it does not replace a survey, engineering, permitting or trade verification. Attractive imagery is most useful when its purpose and limits are clear.

Separate three kinds of work

Build now: the items needed for the first phase to function as intended, including associated site work and required safety measures identified by the project professionals.

Prepare now: decisions or enabling work that could make a later phase more practical. A future utility route is a question to coordinate with the appropriate trade, not an assumption to draw and forget.

Reserve for later: features you can defer without losing the space or access they will need.

That distinction helps prevent a common planning mistake: calling something “phase two” without showing how phase two will fit.

Give every piece an owner

A complete yard may involve several trades. That is normal. What matters is whether someone has made the interfaces clear. If one contractor installs the pool and another the patio, who establishes the shared elevations? Who restores disturbed irrigation? Who handles the gap between the work each company has priced?

The answer should appear in the project scope and agreements. “Someone will take care of that” is not an assignment.

My pool sales experience taught me how easily the excitement of one feature can carry the conversation. LANDOVA starts wider. We help you define the complete outdoor space before individual proposals divide it into separate pieces of work.

See how LANDOVA helps you visualize and define the whole backyard.

Read the complete series

1. Buying a Pool? Why a Pool Builder Shouldn’t Be Your First Call
2. You Want a Backyard. The Proposal May Only Include a Pool. — You are here
3. A Pool Salesperson Is Selling a Pool. Who Is Helping You Plan?
4. Three Pool Quotes Can Mean Three Completely Different Projects
5. The Pool Price Isn’t the Backyard Budget
6. Five Stars for the Sales Pitch. But Has Anyone Built the Pool Yet?
7. The Better Way to Buy a Pool: Plan With LANDOVA, Then Choose Your Builder

Back to the Learning Center series outline