Beverly Hills New Pool, Spa and Backyard Hardscape

A backyard built from the ground up: a new pool and spa with water and light features, pavers, plastered walls, privacy fences and planting.

Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Project type: Pool & Spa Construction
Permit authority: City of Beverly Hills

The brief

The owner wanted a complete backyard built from the ground up: a new pool and spa with water and light features, a paver hardscape, plastered perimeter walls, tall wood privacy fences, planting, outdoor showers and new exterior lighting. The pool heating, water features and lighting all run from one system the owner controls from a phone app over the internet, from home or away.

The challenge

Access was the first problem. The side passages on both sides of the house were too narrow for any heavy equipment, so nothing could reach the back yard. All the excavated soil and all the demolition debris went out by hand, in wheelbarrows, and that stretched the schedule.

The ground was very rocky, which made the digging itself hard. After the excavation it rained, and the exposed soil softened. We brought in a soil engineer for testing, and the ground had to be compacted twice before it passed and we could move on to the next stage.

The existing grades were wrong and had to be corrected across the yard, and the yard had no proper drainage. The sewer line serving the ADU on the property also turned out to be a problem. We abandoned it and ran a new line the full length of the other side of the house to the city sewer.

The solution

We corrected the grading across the site and built an underground drainage system, with pipes running to a sump pump that discharges to the street. The pool's overflow line is routed into the same sump basin, so excess pool water leaves the same way instead of flooding the yard.

We trenched for everything at once: the new sewer line along the opposite side of the house to the city connection, a new gas line from the main meter to the pool heater, and the electrical run to the new pool panel.

Once the compacted soil had passed the engineer's tests, we built the pool and spa as a shotcrete shell, with a deputy inspector present for the pour, then finished them with plaster and waterline tile. The pool has deck jets, waterfalls and LED lighting in both the pool and the spa, and a gas pool heater was installed. A new dedicated electrical panel serves the pool, and the house's main electrical service was upgraded.

The equipment area was tight, so we had a welder build a steel stand that stacks the equipment, with the pumps on top and the pool heater below them. The pool, the heater, the water features and the lighting are controlled by one internet-connected automation system with a phone app.

The spa and the waterfall wall are faced in stone veneer. Around the pool we laid a paver hardscape, re-plastered the perimeter walls, built tall wood privacy fences, and added outdoor showers and new exterior light fixtures. Along the back and part of one side wall we prepared planting beds with drip irrigation and wiring for landscape lighting, then planted them.

Construction took about four months once the City of Beverly Hills issued the permits. The City's permit process came before that and is not part of the four months.

The finished yard

The pavers are large, irregular grey slabs laid in a random flagstone pattern. The pool and spa are finished in light plaster that reads pale turquoise under water, with a blue and cream patterned waterline tile under grey bullnose coping. The spa and the waterfall wall are faced in stacked grey stone, and two fire bowls sit on top of the waterfall wall. The perimeter walls are plastered white with small decorative tile accents, and the tall fences are wood in a warm reddish tone. The beds along the walls hold palms, broad-leafed tropical plants and red-leafed plants. At night the pool and spa lights change color, the deck jets arc into the pool, and black lanterns light the house walls.

Scope of work

Grading and slope correction across the yard
Excavation in rocky ground, including the trenches for the sewer, gas and electrical runs
Manual soil and debris removal by wheelbarrow through the side passages
Soil engineer testing and two rounds of compaction after rain
Underground drainage system
Sump pump discharging to the street
Pool overflow routed into the sump basin
New sewer line along the other side of the house to the city connection
New gas line from the main gas meter to the pool heater
Dedicated pool electrical panel, with the electrical run trenched to it
Main electrical service upgrade
Shotcrete pool and spa shell
Deputy inspection during the shotcrete pour
Pool plaster
Waterline tile
Deck jets and waterfalls
LED lighting in the pool and the spa
Gas pool heater
Welded steel equipment stand, pumps above the heater
Internet-connected pool automation with phone app
Stone veneer around the spa and on the waterfall wall
Paver hardscape
Perimeter walls re-plastered
Tall wood privacy fences
Planting beds prepared along the back and part of one side wall, with drip irrigation lines and electrical for landscape lighting
Planting in the prepared beds
Outdoor showers
New exterior light fixtures

Before & after

Broken concrete and freshly dug soil in the middle of a terracotta patio, looking toward the back fence — Before: the old surface broken up and the first soil dug out, looking down the yard toward the back fence.

The finished pool and spa from the patio, with deck jets arcing into the pool — After: the same view finished, with the deck jets running into the pool.

The work

Broken concrete across the middle of a terracotta-tiled patio, between a white wall and the house — The yard before the pool: an old concrete area at the center of the tiled patio, broken up for removal.

A deepening excavation in the patio with a wheelbarrow inside it — Digging out the pool by hand, with a wheelbarrow in the excavation.

A rectangular excavation cut into a terracotta patio — The excavated pool area, cut to its outline in the old patio.

A red plate compactor on the soil floor of the pool excavation — A plate compactor in the excavation, for compacting the soil.

Wood forms set around the pool excavation, with a trench along the house wall — Wood forms set around the excavation, with a trench running along the house.

A rebar grid across the pool floor and walls, beside a trench along the house — The rebar grid going in across the pool floor and walls, with lines laid in the trench beside the house.

The rebar cage for the spa, built inside the pool shell.

The complete rebar shell for the pool and spa — The full rebar shell for the pool and spa.

White plumbing lines run through the rebar of the pool and spa — Plumbing lines for the pool and spa run through the rebar.

Shotcrete on the far walls of the shell, with the spa rebar and forms in the foreground — Shotcrete going onto the far walls of the shell, with the spa's rebar in the foreground.

The pool's shotcrete shell after the pour — The shotcrete shell after the pour.

A yellow gas line and white pipes laid in a trench beside the pool shell — The trench beside the pool, with a yellow gas line and white pipes laid in it.

The waterfall wall shell at the end of the pool, with the gas line in the trench beside it.

Grey coping and patterned blue waterline tile set around the spa — Grey coping and patterned waterline tile set around the spa.

Blue and cream patterned waterline tile under grey bullnose coping — A close view of the waterline tile, blue and cream in a Spanish-style pattern, under the grey coping.

A trench through rocky soil along a narrow side passage, with new pipes laid in it — A trench dug through rocky soil along the narrow side passage, with new pipes laid in it.

The yard graded with a gravel base around the pool, with the spa and waterfall wall faced in stone — The yard graded with a gravel base around the pool, the spa and waterfall wall faced in stone.

Large grey pavers going down on the patio, with a wheelbarrow on them — Pavers going down on the patio, with a wheelbarrow on them.

Grey pavers laid up to the stone-faced spa — Pavers laid up to the spa.

A narrow side passage finished in grey pavers, ending at an iron gate — The narrow side passage finished in pavers.

The stone-faced spa and waterfall wall, with a new wood fence behind them — The spa and waterfall wall faced in stone, with the new wood fence behind them.

A white plastered perimeter wall with small decorative tiles and a wood fence above it — The perimeter wall re-plastered white, with small decorative tiles, and the new wood fence above it.

The pool heater with new white plumbing connections — The pool heater with its new plumbing connections.

Pool pumps mounted on top of the steel equipment stand and plumbed in — Pumps mounted on top of the equipment stand and plumbed in.

The result

Two fire bowls lit on top of a stone-faced waterfall wall at dusk — Fire bowls lit on top of the stone-faced waterfall wall at dusk.

The finished pool and raised stone spa, looking toward the waterfall wall — The finished pool and spa, looking toward the waterfall wall.

The pool and spa lit blue at night, with fire bowls lit on the waterfall wall — The pool and spa lit blue at night, with the fire bowls lit and a light strip at the waterfall.

The pool lit white at night, with the waterfall running and fire bowls lit — The pool lit white at night, with the waterfall running.

The pool and spa lights switched to pink at night — The pool and spa lights switched to pink.

The finished yard at night, lit by lanterns on the house wall — The yard at night under the new wall lanterns.

Deck jets arcing into the blue-lit pool at night, with fire bowls lit — Deck jets arcing into the blue-lit pool at night, with the fire bowls lit.

The inside of the spa in light plaster, with a bench and jets under patterned waterline tile — Inside the spa: light plaster, a bench and jets, under the patterned waterline tile.

The finished yard with planting along the wall, seen from the house end — The finished yard with its planting, seen from the house end.

The finished pool and stone spa with tropical planting grown in along the walls — The finished pool and spa with the planting grown in along the walls.

Common questions

What happens when it rains after a pool excavation?

On this job the rain softened the exposed soil, so the next stage had to wait until the ground was tested again. A soil engineer tested it, and it had to be compacted twice before it passed. We coordinate testing like this as part of design, engineering and permitting.

How do you build a pool when heavy equipment can't reach the back yard?

By hand. Here the side passages on both sides of the house were too narrow for heavy equipment, so all the excavated soil and demolition debris went out in wheelbarrows. It works, but it stretches the schedule, so it is worth planning for from the start.

Why did the yard need an underground drainage system and a sump pump?

The yard had no proper drainage and the existing grades were wrong, so water had nowhere to go. We corrected the grading, ran underground drainage pipes to a sump pump that discharges to the street, and routed the pool's overflow line into the same sump basin so excess pool water leaves the same way instead of flooding the yard.

Can pool heating, waterfalls and lighting all run from one app?

Yes. On this pool the heater, the water features and the lighting are all controlled by one internet-connected automation system, and the owner runs it from a phone app, at home or away.

What permits and inspections does a new pool need in Beverly Hills?

Permits, plan check and inspections go through the City of Beverly Hills, not LADBS, and the City says any plumbing or renovation work to a pool requires City permits. Its pool regulations add that a permit for a new pool or spa at a single-family home comes with an approved enclosure, one of seven listed drowning prevention safety features and at least two circulation drains per pump. The City lists deputy inspector reports, including rebar and soil compaction, among the construction reports it accepts, and on this project a deputy inspector was present for the shotcrete pour. More on working in the city is on our Beverly Hills page.

Last verified October 2026 against the City of Beverly Hills pages linked above. Confirm current requirements with the City's Permit Center before relying on them.

Planning a pool or a new backyard?

Call (310) 717-0432 or request a consultation. We'll look at access, soil and drainage on your site before you commit to a design.

Call (310) 717-0432