The Canyon Oak Pools Knowledge Base
We've spent over thirty years designing and building custom pools in North Texas. For real answers to all of your questions from consultation to completed project - we’ve got you covered.
How a Pool Gets Built
- How a Custom Pool Gets Built, Phase by Phase
- 3D Design and Material Selection: The Phase Where Changes Are Free
- Dig Day: What Pool Excavation Actually Looks Like
- Steel, Plumbing and Equipment: The Phase You Will Never See Again
- Gunite Curing: How Fast Is Too Fast?
- Tile, Coping and Decking: The Phase That Makes It Yours
- Plaster, Fill and Startup: The Last Week, and the One That Can Go Wrong
Building a pool in North Texas
Building a pool in Texas
- Building a Pool in Texas: What the State Requires and What It Doesn't
- Texas Pool Barrier Requirements: What Actually Applies to Your Backyard
- What Is Actually in a Pool Permit Submittal
- Site Development: The Four Things That Decide What Your Pool Costs
- Filling a Pool Under Water Restrictions: What to Check Before You Build
Planning your pool project
Design and features
- Custom Pool Design and Features: A North Texas Guide
- Freeform vs Geometric: Which Pool Shape Suits Your Lot?
- Negative Edge and Infinity Pools: When They Work and When They Do Not
- Spas and Spillovers: The Feature You Will Use in February
- Tanning Ledges and Benches: The Feature Homeowners Wish They Had Made Bigger
- Outdoor Kitchens, Fire Features and Pergolas: Build Them With the Pool
Materials and suppliers
Safety and compliance
- Pool Safety and Compliance for North Texas Homeowners
- Barriers, Gates and Alarms: Building Layers That Catch Each Other
- Pool Drain Covers: The Federal Law That Does Not Cover Your Backyard
- Pool Electrical Bonding: The Life Safety System Nobody Sees
- Keeping Kids and Pets Safe While Your Pool Is Being Built
Owning your pool
- Owning a Pool in North Texas: Care, Cost and Longevity
- The North Texas Pool Year, Season by Season
- Freeze Protection: The Most Expensive Avoidable Failure in North Texas
- Pool Energy Efficiency: Why the Plumbing Matters as Much as the Pump
- What Wears Out on a Pool, and How You Know
- Remodel, Repair or Rebuild? How to Make the Call on an Older Pool
Who stands behind this
Two names attached to every answer on this page
Most of what's in this knowledge base you could eventually find somewhere online. What's harder to find is someone willing to put their name on it. If anything here turns out to be wrong, tell us and we'll correct it.
Larry Parnell
Owner · Building pools in Texas since 1995
Larry has designed and built custom gunite pools throughout Texas since 1995. He co-founded Canyon Oak Pools with his wife Susan, and he personally oversees every project the company takes on — design consultation through final startup.
Ryan Curtis
Equipment Services Manager · Nearly two decades
Ryan has spent nearly twenty years in the pool industry across construction, equipment operation, maintenance and service. His focus is the part that decides whether you enjoy a pool or fight it: how your equipment actually works, how to read your water, and what to do when a reading looks wrong.
BBB Torch Award for Ethics, 2024
Larry says it plainly: the pool industry isn't always known for ethics, and nearly everyone has a friend with a horror story about their build. Presented by BBB Serving North Central Texas, that's the award we wanted — and it's the reason these pages give you the real answer rather than the one that sells a pool.
Check our BBB profile yourself →Who You Build With Matters®
Talk to us about your backyard →Read our full bios on our team page, or call 972-561-9090.
