Quick Summary
Selah Pools built a family pool in Fort Worth featuring an SR Smith Helix2 water slide, LED animated bubblers and luminar jets, raised fire bowls, water bowl scuppers, shear descents, and a 13x13 cedar beam structure.
Key Takeaways
- David Lance wanted a space that would draw his kids and their friends home — the pool became the social center of the family's Fort Worth property.
- The project includes an SR Smith Helix2 water slide, LED animated bubblers, luminar jets, shear descents, water bowl scuppers, and raised fire bowls.
- Pre-cast bull nose coping in light gray and a spray-coat deck with freckling overlay anchor a material palette built for beauty and daily use.
- A 13x13 cedar beam structure shingled to roof with decorative truss and 6x6 cedar posts creates a covered outdoor room at the water's edge.
David Lance knew exactly what he wanted: a space that would pull his kids home. In Fort Worth, where long summers stretch from May into October and outdoor living is practically a civic religion, that instinct translates into something architectural. The design answer was layered — a shallow-depth pool sized for play, a cedar beam structure anchored by 6x6 posts creating a roofed room of its own, and water features scaled for the kind of noise and joy that means everyone is having a good time. Two raised beam wall crowns frame the water's edge with oversized fire bowls, turning evening swims into something closer to an occasion than a routine.
“Kids absolutely love it. We use it year-round. It helps to bring them over here, so I've got their friends coming to my house, so I can see my kids more often.”
Tile & Plaster
The pool interior wears a plaster finish paired with tile at the waterline, catching the movement of LED Animated Pool Lights and reflecting the glow of LED Luminar Jets arching from four points across the surface. Three LED Animated Bubblers rise from the shallow end — the feature children find first and leave last. Above the deck, a 13-by-13-foot cedar beam structure, shingled to roof with decorative truss work, creates genuine shade and shelter.
Lighting & Bubbler
Pre-Cast Bull Nose coping in light gray runs the entire perimeter, clean and consistent. The spray-coat deck with grout lines and freckling overlay grounds it all — durable enough for the traffic this pool earns every weekend.
Project Highlights
David Lance wanted a space that would draw his kids and their friends home — the pool became the social center of the family's Fort Worth property.
The project includes an SR Smith Helix2 water slide, LED animated bubblers, luminar jets, shear descents, water bowl scuppers, and raised fire bowls.
Pre-cast bull nose coping in light gray and a spray-coat deck with freckling overlay anchor a material palette built for beauty and daily use.
A 13x13 cedar beam structure shingled to roof with decorative truss and 6x6 cedar posts creates a covered outdoor room at the water's edge.
What Our Customers Say
4.8 stars from 154+ reviews
“James was one of the first people we met when my husband and I were looking at adding a pool.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a water slide work well with a pool design?
A water slide succeeds when it's integrated into the pool's spatial logic — not bolted on as an afterthought. The SR Smith Helix2 at the Lance residence was positioned to complement the pool's shallow-depth profile and the flow of the surrounding deck, giving it a launch point that feels natural rather than crowded. The Helix2 is engineered for safety and built to last through years of daily use. Here, it became the centerpiece of a design conceived around how families actually live outdoors. When the goal is a space that pulls everyone home, the slide earns its square footage.
Can fire bowls be placed that close to a pool safely?
Yes — and when designed correctly, raised fire features at the pool's edge are among the most dramatic elements in outdoor design. At the Lance residence, two curved raised beam wall crowns each carry an oversized shear descent fire bowl, integrating fire and water into a single architectural moment. The raised wall creates natural separation and heat management while keeping the visual relationship between flame and water tight. Selah engineers these elements with clearance, fuel lines, and drainage all resolved before construction begins. The result transforms evening swims into something that feels entirely different from the afternoon version.
What should Fort Worth families consider for a covered pool structure?
Fort Worth summers run long and intense, with afternoon temperatures that can push past 100°F through July and August. A covered structure determines whether the outdoor living space gets used at 2 p.m. or only after sunset. The cedar beam structure at the Lance residence — a 13-by-13-foot frame shingled to roof with 6x6 cedar posts and decorative truss detailing — creates a genuine outdoor room at the water's edge. Cedar handles the North Texas heat and humidity well. Designing the structure to tie visually into the pool's material palette is what makes this kind of build feel cohesive rather than assembled.
How do LED animated water features change the pool at night?
The difference is total. A pool with static white lights reads as a functional amenity. A pool with LED Animated Pool Lights and coordinated LED Luminar Jets becomes something closer to a living installation — color, movement, and reflection working together across the water's surface. At the Lance residence, four luminar jets arc across the pool while three LED Animated Bubblers add movement from within the shallow end. The animation is festive without being garish, dramatic without overpowering the fire bowl glow from the raised beam walls. Families who invest in animated lighting consistently find evening pool use increases significantly.
How does Selah handle design changes during the build process?
Change is a natural part of any custom build — clients think more clearly once they can see the space taking shape. David Lance visited the Selah office multiple times with revisions and noted that not once did the team make him feel like a burden. That reflects a deliberate client experience, not an accident of personality. Rudy checked in at the site regularly, and Lori handled the front-end detail and documentation, structured to absorb changes without losing momentum. The goal is a finished environment the client is genuinely proud of, and that sometimes means updating the drawings.
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