Got your heart set on a natural flagstone pool deck? Then join the club! Flagstone is one of the most popular choices for homeowners for pool decking as well as other outdoor improvements. Read on, then, to find out more about laying flagstone, different flagstone patterns, and more.

Flagstone encompasses sandstone, limestone, and slate, and is sometimes called bluestone in some areas of the country. Often cut into squares or rectangles, flagstone is also left in its natural, irregular shape to construct different types of outdoor projects. The final appearance of flagstone patterns in any project depends entirely upon the ability of the person creating it.

Laying flagstone for a pool deck should be reserved for those parts of the country in which the temperatures do not creep into the very high numbers. Because it retains heat, flagstone should be used only where it does not get into triple-digit temperatures or reserved for pool decking that remains shaded by trees or some other type cover to prevent the sun from heating it up in the summertime.

Whatever choice of flagstone patterns you choose, make sure that you (or the contractor you hire to do the job) lay out the decking so that it slopes away from the pool. This way, rain or water from the pool that is splashed onto the deck washes into the yard or surrounding landscape instead of creating a slipping hazard on the deck or washes dirt or other contaminants back into the pool.

The average pool deck is about three feet wide, but of course, this varies according to individual preference as well as the amount of area you have with which to work. Some people choose to hand select each and every individual piece of flagstone themselves whether they have a contractor laying flagstone for them or choose to do it themselves.

This way, the control of the flagstone patterns lies with the pool owner, not the contractor. Conversely, others opt to let the contractor design the entire deck and leave the complete swimming pool and decking project up to them. Again, it is a matter of personal choice.

Either way, it is hard to mess up with flagstone as an option for swimming pool decking, provided it is laid in an appropriate setting. It is naturally beautiful, lasts virtually forever, and provides one of the safest surfaces available for surrounding a pool.

See Also:

Plastering a Swimming Pool
Flagstone Landscaping Ideas
Swimming Pool Safety Fences