From Eek! To Chic

After the owners of this White Sulfur Springs, W.V., residence renovated their nineteenth century log cabin, they decided the 20-year-old vinyl-liner pool needed an update, too. The out-of-shape pool had multiple issues, included cracked concrete, rust and a wilting liner.

Jim Huffman, owner of Jim's Cool Pools in Roanoke, Va., decided to model the renovated pool after a similar looking indoor pool he found in a magazine. "I showed them some pictures, and they liked it," says Huffman, so he began working on the project, and what resulted is a not-too-shabby backyard escape, complete with a quaint log pool-house.

Huffman tore down a wood fence to make room for new decking materials and landscaping. He also had to rebuild one wall of the pool due to extensive rust, so he took it as an opportunity to add a skimmer and a port.

Huffman proposed that an 18-inch kneewall be built around three sides of the pool, and they obliged. "We poured the concrete, added some veneer stone and also put some waterfalls at the end that would really give it an extra something," says Huffman.

A new pump and filter system needed to be installed, he notes, in order to adequately handle the new waterfalls. Huffman stuck with all Hayward equipment.

His hardest challenge? "Putting a cover on that rascal. I'm the one they always call to open and close it. That's always a day trip for me [to make the 85 mile trek]."