Pools & Spas in Calabasas
Pool and spa design and build for Calabasas hillside and estate lots, drawn together with the deck, the planting and the entertaining space around the water. One team handles the pool, the approvals and the whole backyard, from the first survey to the final walkthrough.
Pools in Calabasas
Most Calabasas pools go onto larger lots that slope, face a view and back onto open space. That combination decides more of the design than style does. Where the level ground is, how the pool sits against the grade and what stands between the water and the wildland edge all get settled before a shape is drawn.
Approvals matter here too. Hillside review, HOA architectural review and fire-conscious design requirements can all apply to the same property, and each one has a say in where the pool and its equipment can go.
Slopes call for deliberate grading, drainage and irrigation zoning around the pool. We shoot the existing grades first, so the retaining, the deck levels and where runoff goes are drawn with the pool instead of after it.
Many Calabasas properties border open space. We plan around hazard zone status and defensible-space guidance, keep planting near the house low and irrigated, and use hardscape and spacing around the pool to break up continuous fuel.
Hillside review, HOA submittals and fire-conscious design approvals can all apply to one property. Our permitting department coordinates them, so the drawings are built to clear them before construction begins.
Oak protection is a priority on many Calabasas lots. We follow arborist guidance through grading and construction, and keep excavation, trenching and new irrigation clear of the root zone.
Nearby communities we serve: Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Woodland Hills
Start here
The style follows how you want to use the yard. Pick the backyard you are actually after and the shape, the spa and the surfaces mostly follow from it. Every project below was built here in Southern California, so the planting, the shade and the surfaces are chosen for this climate.
01 A family-friendly backyard Room to swim, and room around the water. A shallow entry, shade to sit in, and turf that stands up to being used. See complete backyards 
02 A resort-style retreat A raised spa, moving water and planting layered in close. The pool is the centerpiece and the yard is built to match it. See resort-style projects 
03 A pool and entertaining space The pool is half of it. An outdoor kitchen, covered dining and a fire feature keep people outside after the swimming stops. See entertaining spaces 
04 Remodel an existing pool New tile, coping and plaster change the pool. Rebuilding the deck, planting and lighting changes the yard. See pool remodels Pool styles
Modern, Freeform, Formal, Infinity edge, Fiberglass, Pool and spa. Pick one to see who it suits, what it asks of the property, and a project where we built it.
Best for Contemporary and mid-century houses, and anyone who wants the pool to look built rather than dropped in.
On your property Needs a level or terraced area. On a slope the cost is in the retaining that makes the level, not in the pool.
Best for Families, and lots where a rectangle fights the shape of the yard.
On your property Often the best fit on a sloping Calabasas lot, because the outline can follow the grade and the oaks instead of fighting them.
Best for Traditional, Spanish and Colonial houses, and gardens that already work on an axis.
On your property Needs space on both sides to stay symmetrical. Tight to one boundary it stops being formal and becomes a lap pool.
Best for Properties with a view or a drop, where the far edge of the pool can be made to disappear.
On your property A natural match for a view lot, because the drop is already there. The survey and the structural section decide whether it works before anything else does.
Best for Smaller yards, tighter budgets, and jobs where a shorter build matters more than a custom shape.
On your property Rarely practical on a hillside Calabasas lot. The shell comes in one piece and needs a route to the hole.
Best for Anyone who wants the yard usable in January, not just August.
On your property A raised spa has to be structured with the pool, not added later. Heating is where most of the running cost goes.
One coordinated team
Everything marked here is in this one photograph, and the same company drew and built all of it. So are the cabana, outdoor kitchen and fire table just outside the frame. A pool builder gives you a pool. This is the rest of it.
How a pool gets built
The five stages below are the pool version of the same five-step design process we run on every project.
Before: the yard as we found it Somebody comes out and measures. Grade, boundaries, setbacks, trees worth keeping, and where the panel, meters, valves and drains actually sit. On a pool that survey decides where the excavation can go before anything gets drawn.
Base plan The pool, the deck around it and the planting get drawn together, same scale, same sheet. This is where the yard either works as one space or it does not.
Materials Coping, waterline tile, interior finish, decking and equipment all get picked against samples. Structural work like retaining and sections through a slope gets engineered at this stage, not discovered later.
3D rendering Permits go through our own permitting department. Then excavation, steel, plumbing, shotcrete, decking and finish, with a supervisor on site and a different trained crew for each trade.
Finished Planting, lighting and equipment start-up, then a walkthrough on how the system runs and what it needs. Plants get a monitoring period after that.
Featured project
A plain pool deck turned into a year-round entertaining wing with a covered pavilion, an outdoor kitchen and fireplace, and a natural-stone spa spilling into the pool. More pairs like this are in our before-and-after archive.
Concrete, lawn and patches of dirt around the house and attached garage. The pool, spa, BBQ area and curved walkways were already in, along with irrigation valves, hose bibs and outlets. Nobody was talking about putting in a pool here. The job was working out what to do with the one they had.
We remodeled the pool and spa with new tile, coping and plaster, then rebuilt the yard around them: a built-in BBQ and pizza oven with seating, two pergolas, new step treads, new lawn, a water feature, paths that go where people actually walk, and reworked planting.
Before your consultation
You do not need answers to these before you call. Knowing what the questions are makes the first conversation a lot more useful.
The yard decides more of this than taste does. Setbacks, equipment access, the fall across the site and how much room you want left around the water all narrow it before style comes into it.
Concrete is formed on site in shotcrete, so the shape is yours and the build takes longer. Fiberglass comes as a molded shell in a fixed size. Quicker, but it has to physically reach the hole.
Raised, flush or spilling. Sharing equipment with the pool costs less to build and less to run than a separate hot tub, but the structure has to be drawn in from the start.
The two details you look at most and touch most. They decide whether the pool looks modern or traditional more than the outline does.
A baja shelf is somewhere to sit in a few inches of water. Benches and wide steps add usable space without adding depth.
Heating decides whether the spa gets used in January. Saltwater runs a chlorine generator instead of buying chlorine, and it can go on any of these pool types.
Lights in the water, and lights on everything around it. Running the conduit with the rest of the work is the only way to get fixtures where you want them.
Barrier and drain requirements are set by code. In Calabasas the approvals can also include hillside review, HOA submittals and fire-conscious design requirements on the same property. We pull the permits in house, and what the city and the HOA ask for shapes the drawings, not the other way around.
Investment & schedule
A pool is shaped by the property it goes into: the design, the access, the engineering and how much of the yard around it is in scope. We settle those during design, so you are deciding with the site in front of you rather than a guess.
No quote written off a photograph can account for what your property is like.
Decking, drainage, utilities, planting, shade, lighting and where people actually sit all bear on where the pool goes and how it gets built. Settling them on one set of drawings is what keeps conduit out of the wrong trench and stops paving being cut to fit afterwards.
Access, engineering, permits, finishes and scope vary a lot from one property to the next, so the investment and the schedule for a pool are set once we have seen the site and the design is settled.
Tell us about the property and what you want the yard to do. We will walk through the design, site and permitting factors likely to shape it.
What homeowners say
The pool, spa, and patio renovation turned out beautifully, and the custom waterslide became a favorite feature for the family. Our kids absolutely love it, and it's become the gathering spot for our entire neighborhood. The quality of the work and attention to creating a family-friendly space was exceptional.
Pacific Outdoor Living did an incredible job transforming both our front and back yards. They turned our rarely used backyard into a stunning and functional space, incorporating a new pool, pavers, and artificial turf. We met with at least four other pool builders, but POL stood out for their ability to handle every aspect of the project seamlessly, from design to construction to landscaping.
They completely remodeled our pool, added a hot tub, and handled all the lighting and landscaping. Our project supervisor, Juan, demonstrated great communication and meticulous attention to detail, taking extra care to ensure that every aspect was safe for our kids and our puppy. This is clearly a company that takes genuine pride in their work.
They did a great job with our pool deck and pool remodel. Everything was planned in detail before even beginning, and proceeded exactly as expected. Samantha was a great designer to work with, and Scott made sure all needs were met during construction. The company as a whole is just extremely professional and dependable.
We had our backyard remodeled, which included pool installation, pergola build, and driveway paving. Our designer Julian was able to create the backyard that we envisioned and our project manager Trent made sure the whole process was smooth & efficient. They finished the project within budget and even ahead of schedule.
Pacific Outdoor Living gets a 5 star review because of their outstanding customer service and job performance. We recently renovated our backyard with an in-ground pool and outdoor space. The job took no more than two and a half months to complete. Samantha the designer, worked with us to sketch exactly what we wanted and provided us with a 3D model of how our backyard would look like. It came out exactly what was sketched.
We had our entire backyard remodeled by Pacific Outdoor Living last year, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. As a mom of two little boys, I wanted a space that was both beautiful and functional for our family, and that’s exactly what we got. We removed everything, including the old pool, and built a brand-new pool, artificial grass, fire pit area, and a basketball court for my husband.
Questions
Yes. Hillside pools are a large share of our work. The questions are access for equipment, how much retaining the pad needs and how the plumbing and electrical cross the grade. We settle those during design, with the site shot and the section drawn, rather than during excavation.
Mostly the area around the water and the house. We plan around your hazard zone status and defensible-space guidance, keep planting near the structure low and irrigated, and use hardscape and spacing to break up continuous fuel. The pool deck is part of that plan, not an exception to it.
Many Calabasas communities have architectural review, and it is worth checking before design starts. Our permitting department coordinates the HOA and city submittals together, and the 3D design gives a review board something concrete to look at.
We follow arborist guidance through grading and construction, keep excavation and trenching outside the critical root zone where we can, and keep new irrigation off the trunk. Where a mature oak sits in the plan, it usually sets the pool position rather than the other way around.
The design stage generally runs two to five weeks depending on the size of the project and how many revisions it goes through. Construction varies with scope: small jobs can be a week, and large projects can run three to six months. Your designer and job supervisor give you a firmer timeline once the design is complete.
Yes. We have our own in-house permitting department and typically pull all permits needed for the job, so you do not have to take time off work to queue or work out the requirements yourself.
Yes. Pool remodeling is one of the services we offer, and several of the projects in our portfolio kept the existing pool shell and rebuilt it with new tile, coping and plaster along with the deck and planting around it.
Yes, and it is the reason the company is set up the way it is. We design and build the pool, hardscape, carpentry, planting and lighting with our own crews, so the same team is responsible for how those pieces meet.
Yes. Concrete pools are formed on site in shotcrete, which lets the shape be drawn to the yard. Fiberglass pools arrive as a molded shell in a fixed size and shape, which shortens the wet trades but depends on the shell being able to reach the excavation.
Yes. The design fee covers site measurements, an illustrated design, a 3-D design and revisions as needed, so you see the layout and the materials before anything is built.
Pool size and depth, how much grading or retaining the site needs, the coping, tile, interior finish and decking you choose, whether there is a spa, heating, water features or automation, and how much of the surrounding yard is included. Our minimum for projects is usually $7,500, and a custom landscape design runs from $300 to $1,850 depending on how much work is involved.
Yes. Calabasas is within our Greater Los Angeles service area, and the same team designs and builds the pool, the deck, the planting and the lighting. Use the address checker on our Calabasas page to confirm coverage for your property.
Tell us how you want the backyard to look and work. We will walk you through the right pool design, the scope and what happens next.
What happens next: we set up a visit, measure the property and talk through what you want the yard to do. Then you get a design to look at before you commit to anything.
