Projects · The grounds · 2024
Rebuilding the pool
In 2024 we tore the old pool apart and did it properly — new hardscaping, dark water, bluestone underfoot, and a heater strong enough to be dangerous. The story of the biggest project we've taken on here.
When we bought the house, the pool came with it — a big, friendly, slightly tired pool at the back of the lawn, with a concrete deck that had seen a few too many winters. It worked. People swam in it. But every summer we looked at it and thought: this could be so much better than fine.
Doing it properly
In 2024 we finally did it properly. The pool was completely rebuilt — new dark finish, all-new hardscaping in pavers that pick up the bluestone the Catskills are famous for, and an iron fence so the dogs and the deer keep their opinions to themselves.
The part we’re most pleased with is invisible: an absurdly powerful heater. Thirty-five thousand gallons is a lot of water to warm, and this thing will take it well past 90°F if you let it. (If you’re staying with us: a hundred dollars of heater gas a week is on the house — enough for reasonable comfort. Past that, we’ll ask you to chip in, because we learned the hard way what “incredibly powerful” means on a gas bill.)
The payoff
The dark finish turned out to be the best decision of the whole project. The water holds the sky now — clouds cross it all afternoon, and at golden hour the whole surface goes copper. The Adirondack chairs went back in their spot, the lawn grew back in around the new stone, and the pool finally looks like it was always meant to be there.
The pool is open roughly mid-May through late September. Guests of the main house have it entirely to themselves.
Where: The 1844 House