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AI concept image of Arcadia ranch pool under the citrus trees in Phoenix: a freeform pool with a hot tub.Save

Phoenix, AZ · Classic suburb

Arcadia ranch pool under the citrus trees in Phoenix

An irrigated lawn, orange trees and a freeform pool with a hot tub out to one side, the classic Arcadia yard.

One photo of your yard is all it needs.

Suits: ranch houses on a classic suburb in Arizona, Nevada and the desert Southwest.

Drawn for a long low brick ranch house with a wide carport and a flat porch roof, with a green flood-irrigated lawn with mature citrus trees, a palm and a block wall, Camelback in the haze.

Planning cost, AZ
$45,000 to $125,000
A range from published prices, not a quote
Build time
3 to 6 months
Contract to first swim
Size
30 × 15 ft
3.5 to 5.5 ft deep
Water
about 12,200 gal
Water surface
360 sq ft
Hot tub
7 ft round
about 850 gal

Quick answers about this design

Worked out from this design's own model, so they differ from page to page.

How much water does this pool hold?
About 12,200 gallons. It is 30 by 15 ft with about 360 sq ft of water, 3.5 ft deep at the steps and 5.5 ft at the deep end. The gallons come from adding up the depth over the real floor, steps and shelf included.
How big a yard does it need?
Plan on a clear area of about 60 by 33 ft for the pool, the tub, 4 ft of deck around the water and 5 ft to the fence line. The deck as drawn here is about 62 by 35 ft.
What does this design cost?
A planning range for AZ is $45,000 to $125,000 all in: the pool, deck, coping, fence and features listed on this page. Permits and engineering are not in it. It is a range built from published prices, not a quote, and real jobs usually land inside it rather than on its edges.
How long does it take to build?
Plan on about 3 to 6 months from a signed contract to the first swim. Permits take from a few days to several months, depending on the town, before work starts.

Chapter 1 of 4

The design

What is in this pool, and how it turns in 3D.

The design, spelled out

Every choice in this pool, what it is, and why it suits this house and this part of the country.

Depth profile

The floor is 3.5 ft deep at the steps and stays level for about 8 ft, slopes over about 10 ft, then runs level at 5.5 ft for the last 11 ft.

3.5 ft5.5 ftwater line30 ft long

Design notes

Written with AI tools from this design's own measurements and sources, not by a pool builder. How we write

Why it works here

Citrus trees and a flood-irrigated lawn mean the yard is already green, so a freeform pool with lawn and hedges settles in naturally. The round hot tub on the right end stays clear of the wide steps, and light concrete with travertine coping is easier on bare feet than dark paving would be.

What to watch

Citrus blossoms, leaves and fruit end up in the water, and lawn clippings and fertilizer follow. A freeform shape with a separate tub also has more edge to clean than a plain rectangle.

How it reads

Tan pebble and sea glass tile give the water a soft green-blue that suits the orange trees and the green lawn. Travertine coping and a light concrete deck keep the edge pale and calm against the brick house. The round tub sits as a small circle beside the long freeform curve. At midday the pale deck glares a little, and toward evening the lawn and hedges turn deep green around the water.

Through the year

Phoenix summers are long and hard, so the pool earns its keep from spring through fall, with the coolest months quieter. Citrus drops blossoms in spring and fruit later, and the lawn is watered by flood, so the edge stays damp. Keep the round tub's cover handy for windy days and skim the pool each morning.

Every choice, row by row (13)
ShapeFreeform

A pool with natural, flowing curves. Curves relax a yard and work with planting, a rock feature or a tub, at the cost of a more complicated cover.

Size30 × 15 ft

A pool about 15 ft wide and 30 ft long. A common family size with room for play and a short swim. That is about 360 sq ft of water and about 12,200 gallons.

StepsWide steps

Wide steps across one end. Easy for kids and older swimmers, and a place to sit in the shallow water. The steps lead into water 3.5 ft deep.

Hot tubSeparate tub, 7 ft round

A hot tub on the deck, apart from the pool. It has its own water and heater, so you can run it alone on a cold night without heating the pool. The tub holds about 850 gallons.

Pool finishPebble

An exposed pebble aggregate finish, in the Pebble Tec style. Durable and textured, which hides small marks, but rougher on bare feet. In strong sun, a lighter finish fades less and hides scale from hard water.

Finish colorTan finish, sandy turquoise water

A tan interior. Gives a green-blue lagoon look.

Waterline tileSea glass

Sea-green glass mosaic at the waterline. A soft, coastal line that warms the water. It runs about 73 linear ft around this pool.

CopingTravertine

Ivory travertine with a rounded edge. Stays cooler underfoot than most stone and gives a warm, classic edge. It runs about 73 linear ft around this pool. A light coping stays cooler on bare feet in summer.

DeckLight concrete

Light, textured concrete finished to stay cool. A practical choice where the summer sun is strong and kids run barefoot. The deck is about 1,690 sq ft here. Here the deck is the hottest thing in the yard, so surface color matters as much as material.

PlantingLawn and hedges

A green lawn with clipped hedges. Gives kids a soft place to play and a formal frame to the deck. A low-water planting plan keeps leaves out of the water and the bill down.

Pool fenceBlack aluminum

A black aluminum picket fence. A standard, durable barrier that disappears in the planting and meets most barrier codes.

FurnitureLoungers, Umbrella
  • Loungers: A pair of chaise loungers. The first thing people want on a pool deck.
  • Umbrella: A market umbrella. Cheap shade that you can move with the sun.
LightMidday sun

Shown in midday sun. Shows the true color of the water and the finish.

Coping
73 linear ft
Deck
1,690 sq ft

Why it fits the classic suburb

The yard: a green flood-irrigated lawn with mature citrus trees, a palm and a block wall, Camelback in the haze. A classic suburb yard has room for a real pool, so the design is about how the family uses it. A regular lot and a rear yard give room for a pool, a deck and a lawn. Think about sight lines from the kitchen, where the shade falls and where the kids will play.

Why it fits the ranch house

The house is a long low brick ranch house with a wide carport and a flat porch roof. A ranch house is low and wide, so the pool should be relaxed and easy to walk out to. A freeform or kidney shape, a broad deck and shade trees suit a single-story house and a lawn that runs right up to the water.

Turn this design around in 3D

This is the model behind the numbers above, with this design's own shape, steps, finish and deck. It loads when you scroll to it.

The same choices as the picture, as a model you can turn.

AI concept image of Arcadia ranch pool under the citrus trees in Phoenix: a freeform pool with a hot tub.

Turn it, zoom in, switch the dimension lines on.

In your yard

How would this swimming pool look on your home?

See this exact design as a photorealistic video, filmed in your own yard, from one photo.

You pick the film, add one photo, and see the picture before you decide anything.

A sample yard photo

A frame from an example film

A sample yard photo on the left, and on the right a frame from an example AI film of a pool in a backyard.

Chapter 2 of 4

Will it work for you

Your yard, your climate, and what the pool asks of you after the build.

Will this fit your yard?

A planning estimate, built from the model's own dimensions. Your town's setbacks decide the real answer.

Clear area to plan on

60 × 33 ft

About 1,980 sq ft. The pool and tub alone is 42 × 15 ft.

Plan on a clear area of about 60 by 33 ft for the pool, the tub, 4 ft of deck around the water and 5 ft to the fence line. The deck as drawn here is about 62 by 35 ft.

The 4 ft walkway and 5 ft setback are our planning allowances, not code. Towns set their own distances from the water to the lot line and the house, so ask yours before you commit to a layout.

Will it fit your yard?

Enter the clear area, from the house to the back fence and side to side.

Arizona, Nevada and the desert Southwest: what the climate asks of this pool

In the desert Southwest, a pool is a cooling tool, so shade, water loss and finish fade shape the design.

  • Sun and dry air evaporate water quickly. Expect to top up often, and ask about a cover or a smaller surface if water cost matters to you.
  • Strong sun fades dark finishes and tile faster, and hard water leaves scale on tile at the waterline. Lighter finishes hide it better.
  • Decks can get hot enough to burn bare feet. Choose light, cool-to-touch surfaces and add shade near the steps.
  • Desert planting uses little water and keeps leaves out of the pool. Gravel yards still need a clear drainage plan for monsoon storms.

Keeping it up

What this pool asks of its owner, by finish, climate, deck and feature.

  • Pebble in this climate

    Pebble handles sun well but not hard water: scale is the most common problem on it, and the maker's own support page says scale removal is not covered by warranty. In a dry region, test calcium and balance the water on a schedule.

  • When it is resurfaced

    Pebble is usually redone every 15 to 20 or more years, depending on the water and the builder (Shasta Pools, plaster versus pebble and Pebble Technology, support). On this pool that is about 690 sq ft of interior.

  • Light concrete deck

    A cool-deck topping wears with use. Wash it, patch chips early and plan to recoat it.

  • The hot tub

    A hot tub is a second body of water with its own chemistry. Keep it covered between uses and drain and clean it on the maker's schedule.

  • Black aluminum fence

    A black aluminum fence needs a wash and a check of its gate latch. Near salt air, rinse it and touch up any chipped finish.

  • Sun and water loss

    Heat and dry air take water out of the pool quickly. A cover, a pool shade and a smaller surface all cut the top-ups.

  • Yearly running cost

    Owners commonly budget $3,000 to $5,000 a year for chemicals, power, service and repairs (HomeAdvisor, in-ground pool cost, 2026).

Chapter 3 of 4

Cost and timeline

A sourced range to plan with, and how long it takes.

What this design costs: a planning range

Built line by line from this design's own measurements and published prices. It is a range to plan with, not a quote.

Planning range, AZ

$45,000 to $125,000

Everything on this page, built: the pool, the deck, the coping, the fence and the features. It is a range, not a quote. Every line is at its lowest published price for the low end and its highest for the high end, so a real job lands inside it rather than on an edge.

The deck is not in this range. No guide we use prices cool-deck separately; Fixr prices the coating at about $200. Ask your builder.

Prices are scaled for AZ by a damped regional factor of 1.00 (the state's cost of living is 100.7 against 100 for the US, and we use half the gap). Land clearing, landscaping beyond what is listed, a pool house's interior and financing are not in it.

Where the range comes from

The pool
$32,000 to $90,000
359 sq ft of water at $90 to $250 a square foot (shell, excavation, plumbing, equipment, plaster). Steps and the sun shelf are part of the shell.
Pebble interior
$4,000 to $4,000
693 sq ft of shell at $6 a square foot above plaster. Pebble is $10 a square foot against $4 for plaster in both sources.
Coping
$3,500 to $4,000
73 linear ft at $45 to $55 a foot.
Hot tub
$6,000 to $18,000
A spa added to a new pool. A separate tub still needs its own plumbing and equipment.
Pool fence
$3,000 to $7,000
194 linear ft around the deck as drawn, at $15 to $35 a foot installed.
How we built this range, and the sources

We measure this design in the 3D model (water area, shell area, coping, deck, tub, what stands on the deck), multiply each quantity by a published price range per unit, add the lines and scale them for the state. The prices are from the pages below, collected in October 2026. Where two sources disagree the range spans both, and the line says so.

The method is written out, with every rate, at docs/POOL-IDEAS-COST-MODEL.md in our repository, and one file holds the rates, so a change of price changes every page at once.

How to get a number you can trust

Ask two or three local builders to quote the same scope in writing: the pool, the deck, the fence, the electrical, the permits and the landscaping, each on its own line. Then compare the lines, not the totals. Share this page with them: the size, the choices and the 3D model give a builder a starting point. To see how the published prices are built up and where they disagree, read inground pool cost, line by line.

How long it takes to build

From a signed contract to the first swim, before the yard additions.

Contract to first swim

3 to 6 months

Permits take from a few days to several months, depending on the town, before work starts. Weather, inspections and the builder's schedule move every date.

  • The hot tub is built with the pool, so it adds days of plumbing and tile rather than weeks.

What it is made of

The materials list for this design, with its own quantities from the model.

The materials list (7 lines)
InteriorPebble, tanabout 690 sq ft of shell
Small stones set in cement. It is textured, hides wear and holds color well, and it is rougher on bare feet than the other finishes.
Waterline tileSea glassabout 73 linear ft, 10 in. band
Sea-green glass adds color without matching the water, and it needs the same regular wipe as any glass tile.
CopingTravertineabout 73 linear ft
Natural stone with a rounded edge. It stays comfortable underfoot but should be sealed, and it needs a gentle cleaner rather than an acid wash.
DeckLight concreteabout 1,690 sq ft
A light, textured concrete topping made to stay cooler underfoot. It wears over the years and can be recoated.
Pool fenceBlack aluminumabout 195 linear ft around the deck as drawn
Black aluminum pickets are light, strong and the usual choice for a barrier. Near salt air, ask for a marine-rated finish.
PlantingLawn and hedges
A lawn and clipped hedges. It softens the yard and brings grass clippings and fertilizer, so it should be kept away from the water.
Hot tubSeparate tub, roundabout 850 gal
Built with the pool, with its own jets, heater share and cover. Tile and coping match the pool.

Chapter 4 of 4

Talk to a builder

What to ask before you sign, and how to bring this design to them.

Questions to ask a builder about this design

Specific to what is in this pool. Ask them before you sign.

  1. 01How will you keep the deck and the water line cool and scale-free in full summer sun?
  2. 02How will the plumbing and heater serve the separate round tub at the right end, and can it run on its own without heating the whole pool?
  3. 03Do the pool and the tub share a heater, and can the tub run alone in cold weather?
  4. 04Will the fence meet the barrier code, and is the gate self-closing and self-latching?
  5. 05Is the pebble finish rough on bare feet here, and how long does it last in my water?

Make it yours

Start with this design and add a photo of your own yard. The free visualizer places the pool on it, with your choices ready to change.

See this pool in your yard, freeUpload your yard

More like this

Region:Arizona, Nevada and the desert SouthwestSetting:Classic suburbHouse style:RanchFeature:Pool with a hot tubAll pool ideas

This is a design idea for a sample yard, and every picture is an AI concept image, not a built pool. Sizes, gallons and areas are estimates from the same maths as the 3D model, and the price and time ranges are planning figures from published sources, to help you talk to a builder.

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