Square footage is where a backyard is won or lost.
Most pools are surrounded by too little deck. A four-foot walk around the shell leaves nowhere to put chairs, a table, or shade, and the pool ends up used less than it should be. When we design decking in New Braunfels and San Antonio we start with how the space gets used — where the sun lands at five o’clock, where the grill goes, where people stand when the pool is full.
Then it has to be built for this ground. Hill Country decks fail from movement, poor sub-base, and water with nowhere to go. We build on properly compacted base with real drainage and expansion joints in the right places, and we choose surfaces that stay walkable in August: travertine and pavers over broad expanses of gray concrete, with stamped and broom finishes where budget calls for concrete.
A deck remodel is often the cheapest way to make an older pool feel current — especially paired with new coping. For pergolas, kitchens, and fire features, see outdoor living.
Travertine decking
Cool underfoot, light in color, and the most requested pool deck material in our market for good reason.
Paver patios
Herringbone and running-bond pavers over compacted base — repairable a piece at a time and forgiving of movement.
Stamped & broom concrete
Poured decks with control joints where they belong, in stamped patterns or a clean broom finish.
Deck remodel & overlay
Existing decks torn out or overlaid, with drainage and slope corrected instead of repeated.
Deck repair & leveling
Heaved, cracked, and settled sections rebuilt on proper base rather than patched at the surface.
Drainage & retaining
Area drains, French drains, and low retaining walls so Hill Country runoff moves past the deck, not under it.
The signs a deck is done.
Deck problems are usually base and water problems. Surface patches on a moving deck come back within a season or two.
Heaved or settled sections
Lips at joints and slabs sitting at different heights mean the sub-base moved. Grinding the lip does not fix the cause.
Cracks that keep opening
A crack that widens each season is telling you the slab has no relief joint or no base beneath it.
Water draining toward the pool
Deck runoff should leave the pool, carrying dirt and debris away from the coping and beam instead of into them.
Too hot or too small to use
Dark or undersized decks quietly end the pool season early. More square footage in a cooler material changes how the yard gets used.
Priced by square foot and material.
Decking is quoted by area, material, and how much demolition, base work, and drainage the site needs. These ranges are typical for pool decks in our market.
Broom or stamped concrete on compacted base with proper control and expansion joints.
Paver deck on compacted base and bedding sand, edge restrained, with drainage built in.
Travertine set on a mortar bed or pedestals, with matching bullnose coping.
Demolition of an existing deck, access for equipment, drainage work, and retaining walls are quoted separately and honestly. Most deck remodels we do land between $18K and $55K.
Base first, surface last.
Design & Layout
We lay out usable zones, sun, and furniture before choosing a material.
Demo & Base
Old deck out, sub-base compacted, and drainage installed where water needs to go.
Set & Pour
Pavers or stone set, or concrete poured with joints placed to control cracking.
Finish & Seal
Grout, joint sand, sealer, and a final clean around coping and tile.
Questions we get asked.
How much does a pool deck cost?+
Concrete decking generally runs $12 to $20 per square foot, pavers $20 to $32, and travertine $28 to $45, before demolition and drainage. Most pool deck remodels we build in New Braunfels and San Antonio land between $18,000 and $55,000 depending on square footage and material.
What is the coolest pool decking material for Texas sun?+
Light travertine is the coolest common option and stays comfortably walkable through most of the summer. Light-colored pavers are next. Dark pavers, dark stamped concrete, and any dark stone get hot enough to end the afternoon early.
Can you replace a pool deck without touching the pool?+
Usually yes. Deck replacement stops at the coping, so the pool can often stay full. If the coping is also failing, replacing both at once is cleaner and cheaper than doing them separately.
Why does my pool deck keep cracking?+
Almost always sub-base or joint placement. A slab poured on uncompacted fill, or without control and expansion joints in the right locations, will crack again no matter how well it is patched. We rebuild the base rather than resurface the symptom.
Do you build pool decks in San Antonio?+
Yes. We build and remodel pool decking across San Antonio and Bexar County, plus New Braunfels, Boerne, Bulverde, Canyon Lake, Spring Branch, Schertz, Cibolo, Seguin, and San Marcos.
Can you add a pergola, kitchen, or fire feature to the deck?+
Yes, and it is best designed with the deck rather than after it. Footings, gas, electrical, and drainage all get simpler when the structures are planned before the surface goes down. See our outdoor living work.
The rest of the backyard.
Outdoor living, kitchens and pergolas
Read →Coping repair and replacement
Read →Pool design ideas for Hill Country yards
Read →Pool renovation
Read →Serving New Braunfels, San Antonio, Boerne, Bulverde, Canyon Lake, Seguin and the surrounding Hill Country. See every neighborhood we build in.
Give the pool room.
Send a photo of the backyard and rough dimensions. We will sketch what the deck could be.