Pools & Spas in Tarzana
Pool and spa design and build for Tarzana, on both sides of Ventura Boulevard. We draw the pool with the retaining, the shade and the view, so a flat former ranch lot and a Santa Monica Mountains hillside each get the pool they actually call for.
Pools in Tarzana
North of Ventura Boulevard, Tarzana is flat and generous. The lots came out of old ranch land, they take a pool and a full entertaining program comfortably, and the design question is mostly about zoning the space and putting shade over the parts you use in the afternoon.
South of the boulevard the ground rises into the Santa Monica Mountains. Level ground has to be built, retaining carries a large share of the budget, and the reward is a view that flat lots do not have. The pool is set to frame that view rather than block it.
On the hillside lots the view is the asset. Seating elevation, railing choice, planting height at the edge and where the coping lands are all set so the outlook is framed rather than fenced off.
Usable flat area on a Tarzana slope has to be constructed. We size the retaining and the step-downs alongside the pool layout, so the structure and the design are drawn together instead of one chasing the other.
Properties in the higher fire hazard zones are inspected. We keep the first several feet around the structure free of combustible material and use irrigated low planting and hardscape near the house.
Tarzana afternoons run hot and dry. Shade over the dining and cooking areas, lighter paving, deciduous trees on the west side and a pool placed where people will actually get in extend the usable season.
Nearby communities we serve: Encino, Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks, Calabasas
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 Suits the flat lots north of Ventura Boulevard, where a curve has the room it needs.
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 Belongs on the hillside lots south of the boulevard, where there is a drop and a view to run the water toward. The survey and section decide whether it works.
Best for Smaller yards, tighter budgets, and jobs where a shorter build matters more than a custom shape.
On your property A fit for flat Tarzana lots with rear access. On a steep hillside lot the shell usually cannot reach 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 bare sloped yard rebuilt around a zero-edge reflecting pool, a pergola dining terrace for the shade, and clean modern paving. More pairs like this are in our before-and-after archive.
The house was sitting in dirt. The driveway, the garage access and the entry walks were the only finished surfaces on the place. We took spot elevations for the grade changes and plotted the electric panel, gas meter, irrigation valves, hose bibs and drains, because every one of them was staying put and the design had to work around them.
First sketches set the pool and spa with a baja shelf in the middle of the yard, then worked outward from there: a fire-pit lounge, a BBQ island under a pergola, flagstone paving, artificial turf and new beds. We redrew the fencing and gates to suit the new layout rather than leaving them on lines that no longer made sense.
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. South of Ventura Boulevard, City of Los Angeles hillside grading review, retaining wall engineering and brush clearance can come into what would otherwise be a straightforward pool permit. We pull the permits in house and identify which apply at design stage.
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
I would definitely recommend Pacific Outdoor Living. We had a great experience. They helped us through all the permitting and difficulties of having a hillside home and following LA pool requirements.
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.
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.
They did exactly what they promised with amazing quality and fast timing. My project manager Khalil was a pleasure to work with, and the team demonstrated exceptional professionalism and craftsmanship.
Our backyard transformation into a tiki oasis by Pacific Outdoor Living was nothing short of extraordinary! Julian Montford's design expertise and Trent Morrill's impeccable coordination made this project an absolute pleasure from start to finish. The 500 square foot pavilion and tiki hut added an enchanting touch, while the refurbished built-in pool became the centerpiece of our newfound paradise.
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.
Questions
Yes, and it is common work for us. The planning items are shoring and access for equipment, how much retaining the pad requires, where the equipment can sit and be serviced, and how plumbing and electrical are routed across the grade. Those get resolved during design, not during excavation.
More than most homeowners expect, because it happens before anything visible gets built. On a steeply falling lot the walls and grading can be the largest single line item. That is why we shoot grades and price the structural work early rather than at the end.
They shape the near-house zone more than the rest of the property. Close to the structure the planting stays low, irrigated and well maintained, with no continuous fuel. Further out, once spacing and access are respected, the garden can be much more expressive.
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. Tarzana is within our Greater Los Angeles service area, on both sides of Ventura Boulevard. Use the address checker on our Tarzana page to confirm coverage for your exact 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.
