Sunset-ready backyards, engineered to last
Travertine decks, raised-wall spas, pampas-grass uplighting, ramada lounges — designed and built together as one outdoor room.
Photo: AE Outdoor Living custom pool build in Peoria, AZ.
Standard Pool Designs
Nine production-ready pool designs we build across the Phoenix metro. Every layout is engineered for Arizona soil, sun, and code — use as a starting point, then customize with your AE designer.
Compact luxury for tight lots and casitas.
Resort-style pool with raised spa and signature spillway.
Curved, naturalistic shape with rock waterfall.
Vanishing-edge pool for view lots.
Architectural pool for front courtyards and entry experiences.
Lap-swim friendly rectangle with attached spa.
Wet-edge pool with full 360° perimeter overflow.
Endless-current swim lane with integrated spa.
Family-first design with massive shallow play zone.
All designs are starting points. Every AE build is custom-engineered for your lot, soil, code, and HOA. Pricing is real 2026 installed pricing — never "call for pricing."
All design librariesSpools, swim spas & compact water
Smaller lots and side yards still deserve real water. AE designs and builds spools (compact plunge-style pools), built-in spas, raised spas, swim spas, and plunge pools under the same standard as a full custom pool.
What separates an AE pool build
Every AE pool is engineered to Arizona code, plumbed for the water features you'll add in five years, and finished with the deck and landscape as one composition — not a shell dropped into a lawn.
- Shotcrete or gunite shell, 10-inch min. bond beam, #3 rebar 12-inch O.C.
- Variable-speed pumps, cartridge filtration, salt or chlorine sanitation
- Pentair or Jandy automation with app control, LED color-changing lights
- Travertine, porcelain, flagstone or broom-finish decking — never bare pool deck
- Milestone payment schedule: 15/25/25/25/10 — no surprise draws
Frequently asked
- How much does a custom pool cost in Arizona?
- AE Outdoor Living pools typically run $75,000–$250,000+ depending on size, shell type, decking, spa, water features and automation. We publish real ranges on every design in this library — no 'call for pricing.' Payment is a fixed milestone schedule: 15% at contract, 25% at excavation, 25% at gunite, 25% at deck/tile, 10% at plaster/startup.
- How long does a pool build take in Phoenix?
- 8–14 weeks from permit to plaster on a standard build, longer for infinity edge, perimeter overflow or heavy engineering. Weather is rarely the bottleneck here — plan review, gas/electric utility scheduling and specialty tile lead times are.
- Do I need a permit and engineering?
- Yes. Every AE pool is engineered, permitted and inspected under the local municipality's adopted IRC/IBC + IPC pool code plus the 2018 ISPSC (Barrier and VGB anti-entrapment). We handle the drawings, plan review and inspections.
- Baja shelf, spa, water feature — should I add them now or later?
- Now. Every penetration, plumbing line, gas stub and conduit is cheaper to rough in at excavation than to retrofit through a finished deck. If budget is tight we phase the deck or ramada, not the shell.
Five milestone draws — 15 / 25 / 25 / 25 / 10
Every AE new-pool build follows the same draw schedule. Payments are tied to visible, completed construction milestones — never a vague "remainder" or a small deposit that front-loads risk to you.
- Draw 115%Signing
- Draw 225%After excavation
- Draw 325%After steel, plumbing, and shotcrete/gunite
- Draw 425%After decking
- Draw 510%Before interior finish or prefab completion
Applies to: New pool construction and major pool builds. Remodels and equipment-only projects follow separate terms stated in your signed agreement.
This pool feature hits different.
Fire-and-water combo on a custom AE build — how the elevation, plumbing, and gas run come together on the drawings.
This backyard has an outdoor theater.
A pool build with a full outdoor theater integrated into the design — screen, seating, sound, and how it all plays with the pool lighting.