Polyester or vinylester shell pool: how to make the right choice?
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Article outline
- The landscaping around a shell pool, a project in its own right
- What landscaping features should be planned around a shell pool, and in what order?
- How to maintain aesthetic consistency when designing a swimming pool?
- What budget should be planned for the installation of a shell pool?
- Management, taxation, and financing: points of vigilance
- Why hire a professional pool builder?
You have chosen your shell pools, validated its dimensions and color: the hardest part is done, you might think. However, once the pool is installed, a new question often arises for owners: how to landscape everything around it? Coping stones, patio, fence, lighting… thelandscaping around a fiberglass pool represents a project in its own right, with its own technical choices and its own budget.
This article clearly and concretely reviews all the elements to consider for a successfullandscaping of your shell pool surroundings : materials, safety, realistic budget, and tax impact.
The goal? To allow you to approach this step with the same serenity as choosing your pool.
In summary:
- The standard landscaping of a swimming pool (coping, deck, fencing, lighting, planting) generally represents between €4,000 and €12,000, or about 20 to 30% of the pool's price.
- The choice of materials must harmonize with the shell and the architecture of the house for a coherent and durable finish.
- Certain improvements, such as a covered terrace, can have an impact on development tax.
The landscaping around a shell pool, a project in its own right
With a shell pools whose price (excluding landscaping) is between €15,000 and €30,000, the budget for the surroundings (coping, deck, fencing, lighting, planting) is generally between €4,000 and €12,000, or about 20 to 30% of the pool price, depending on the materials and finishing level chosen.
It is therefore not a simple casing, but a component of the project in its own right, which conditions three aspects of daily life:
- the safety (mandatory for any in-ground pool),
- the comfort of use by the water,
- and visual harmony with the rest of the garden.
A perfectly chosen pool but surrounded by improvised landscaping loses much of its appeal, whereas a coherent ensemble sustainably enhances the home, including in case of future resale.
What landscaping features should be planned around a shell pool, and in what order?
The different development positions to consider
Before going into the details of each subject, it is better to visualize all the items to be planned.
Each fulfills a specific function, has its own indicative budget, and already has a dedicated article on this blog if you wish to delve deeper into one material choice or a particular model.
| Post | Main function | Indicative budget |
| Coping | Circulation, anti-slip safety | 1 000 – 3 000 € |
| Beach (decking, paving) | Comfort, circulation | 1 000 – 3 000 € |
| Terrace (fixed or removable) | Living space, winter use | 3 000 – 18 000 € |
| Fencing / Security | Legal obligation | 1 500 – 5 000 € |
| Lighting | Comfort and nighttime use | 500 – 2 500 € |
| Greening | Landscape integration | 500 – 3 000 € |
Good to know:
These amounts remain indicative ranges per item; few projects combine every element to its maximum. Excluding the deck, standard landscaping (coping, pool surround, fencing, lighting, planting) generally costs between €4,000 and €12,000, or about 20 to 30% of the pool's price.
Before, during, or after the installation of the basin: in what order should these tasks be sequenced?
Two positions are decided with the basin itself: the fence or the security device, often integrated into the declaration of works, and the coping, inseparable from the hull structure.
The terrace can however wait, especially if you opt for a removable solution installed later. Lighting, on the other hand, can be added without constraint once the pool is in operation.
As for the Greening, it is better to deal with it last: it requires perspective to judge the true gray areas, and in any case takes several seasons to establish itself.
How to maintain aesthetic consistency when designing a swimming pool?
The visual success of a swimming pool landscaping does not hold to an isolated material, but to the consistency between the color of the shell and, the coping, the shutter and the terrace taken together.
A contemporary house will rather call for grey concrete coping stones and a tone-on-tone shutter with a quartz or papyrus case, while a Mediterranean house will better suit light stone coping and a ivory or pure white case.
Good to know:
The shutter deserves particular attention: closed for a large part of the year, it becomes the most visible surface of the pool, well before the color of the water itself. A simple discrepancy in shade in this area is enough to break the harmony of the whole, even if each element taken separately seemed relevant at the time of selection.
The essential thing at this stage is therefore to treat these decisions as a coherent whole rather than as isolated choices, made one after another as the project progresses.
What budget should be planned for the installation of a shell pool?
To project ourselves concretely, let's take the example of a typical layout around a shell pool 8x4 in Gironde. The project breaks down as follows:
- Coping stones: €1,500
- Grating beach: €1,500
- Fencing / security: €2,500
- LED ambient lighting: €1,200
- Light greening of the surroundings: €1,300
Soit a total budget of €8,000, in addition to the pool itself.
By replacing the fence with a removable terrace, this budget rises to around €18,000. The difference is not solely explained by the cost of materials: the removable terrace it changes the nature of the project, since it transforms the swimming pool into a true winter living space, whereas a fence remains a purely functional item. The choice between the two options therefore depends less on the available budget than on the actual year-round use sought.
Management, taxation, and financing: points of vigilance
One point is often overlooked by owners: certain landscaping elements are added to the taxable surface area of the basin in the calculation of the development tax is basedThis is particularly the case for a covered terrace or a fixed shelter, unlike a simple paved terrace on the ground which is excluded from the calculation.
This distinction deserves to be anticipated from the project's inception, just like its impact on property tax a simple change of material or structure can be enough to shift a development from one tax category to another.
On the financing side, the good news is that the landscaping doesn't need to be treated as a separate project: it can generally be included in the same home improvement loan as the pool, over a period of 7 to 10 years, the legal limit for a classic consumer credit in France. For homeowners already committed to a mortgage, a 180-month pool loan remains possible through a mortgage buyback, which allows for repayment to be spread over up to 15 years, provided that this existing loan represents at least 60% of the total amount borrowed.
Why hire a professional pool builder?
Multiplying the number of craftsmen for the coping stones, the terrace, the safety features, and the planting quickly complicates the schedule and blurs the overall budget vision.
At Aboral Piscines, we focus on what falls within our expertise: the shell pools and integrated coping stones, with the Ceramik Stone range thought to harmonize directly with the hull from the design stage.
For other positions, such as greening or specific landscaping, we direct you to trusted partners to maintain overall consistency on your project. This approach, built on over 30 years of experience, especially helps you avoid last-minute decisions during the construction phase.
Building a swimming pool, it's also about building everything around it: coping stones, fencing, decking, lighting, and planting. These elements are planned together, from the initial designs, for a controlled budget and no unpleasant tax surprises. For the pool and its integrated coping stones, the advisors Aboral Piscines accompany you directly; for the rest, they direct you to trusted partners.
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You may be asking yourself these questions?
For a standard setup (coping stones, deck, fence, lighting, planting), generally budget between €4,000 and €12,000, or about 20 to 30% of the pool price. By including a full terrace, this budget can represent up to 40 to 50% of the pool price.
The fence and coping stones are decided with the pool, as they are linked to its structure and the declaration of works. The terrace can wait, the lighting is added freely, and the planting is always dealt with last.
No, only a covered terrace or a fixed shelter is added to the taxable surface for the development tax. A simple terrace, laid on the ground without a closed structure, is not included in this calculation and remains outside specific taxation.
Ideally before or at the same time, as the fence or safety device is often part of the pool's work declaration. Planning it separately risks delaying the pool's legal compliance.
The choice depends on the style of the house: grey concrete or black stone for contemporary architecture, light stone or travertine for a Mediterranean style. The essential thing is to harmonize the shade with the shell and the shutter.
Landscaping can generally be included in the same renovation loan as the pool, over 7 to 10 years. For homeowners already committed to a mortgage, a credit consolidation allows for repayment to be spread over up to 15 years.
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