Who builds a deck around an above ground pool?
A deck builder does, and it is worth using one who has built around pools before, because a pool deck is a wet deck with a surface that is walked on barefoot. Level Line builds pool decks around both above ground and in ground pools, across Nassau and Suffolk County.
What makes a pool deck different from any other deck?
It is wet, it is walked on barefoot, and it is built to a pool that is already there.
Those three things change the surface, the framing and the design. Water lands on it constantly, so drainage and the way boards shed water matter more than they do elsewhere.
Barefoot use changes the material conversation as well. Splinters and hot surfaces are ordinary annoyances on a normal deck and much more than that around a pool.
What does the code require around a pool?
A barrier. New York State requires one around any pool capable of holding water more than 24 inches deep, and the Uniform Code sets its height, the gap beneath it and the way its gates have to work.
The Department of State summarises those requirements in its technical bulletin on swimming pools and spas. The barrier has to completely surround the pool. Its top has to be at least 48 inches above grade, the space between its bottom and the ground cannot be more than 2 inches, and gates have to be self closing and self latching, with a pedestrian gate opening outward away from the water and its latch handle at least 40 inches up.
Two points in that bulletin are about what stands near the pool rather than about the fence itself. Barriers have to be positioned so that permanent structures, equipment or similar objects cannot be used to climb them. And where the pool wall itself is doing the work of the barrier, which the code permits on an above ground pool, a ladder or steps used to get in have to be capable of being secured, locked or removed, or else surrounded by a barrier of their own. The State sets that second arrangement out on its own in a bulletin on above ground pool barriers.
None of that settles your yard. Both documents say that local laws on pool fencing and safety may be more restrictive than the Uniform Code, and that anyone installing or substantially modifying a pool should check the laws, ordinances and codes of the municipality the pool sits in. So ask your building department how the barrier requirement applies to a deck in the position you have in mind, before a layout is settled. That determination is theirs to make, and it is worth having before anything is designed around it.
One requirement near a pool is not about the barrier at all, and the same bulletin flags it as one that gets missed. Permanent metal parts within 5 feet horizontally of the edge of the pool, and within 12 feet vertically of the maximum water level, have to be bonded, unless a permanent barrier stops a person reaching them. Metal railings are named in that list, along with siding, awnings, window frames and fences, and the citation given is Section E4204.2 of the 2020 Residential Code of New York State, or 680.28 of NFPA 70.
The bulletin adds that this bonding is often overlooked where an electrical inspection is not done as part of the work, and it gives a deck built around a pool or spa as its example. Whether it reaches a particular railing on a particular yard is a question for a licensed electrician and for your building department. It is worth asking both before a railing is chosen rather than after it is up.
What does pool water do to a deck surface?
Chlorine, salt and constant wetting are hard on wood and largely shrugged off by composite and PVC.
A wood deck around a pool is working the hardest a wood deck can. It gets wet daily in season, and it gets chemicals with it.
Composite and PVC do not absorb water and are the usual choice around a pool for that reason. They also stay easier underfoot when clean, though any dark board gets hot in full sun.
How high should a pool deck sit?
Around an above ground pool, level with the top rail or a step below it. Around an in ground pool the deck is usually at or near grade, so the question becomes the surround rather than the height.
On an above ground pool, level with the rail gives a flush edge and the cleanest look, and a step down gives a seat height at the pool edge, which a lot of people prefer. Either way the deck is raised, which brings guard rail on the open edges and a stair run to the yard.
On an in ground pool the deck is a surround rather than a platform, so the work goes into the edge detail, the drainage away from the water and how it meets whatever is already there.
What happens to the space under the deck?
It becomes storage, or it becomes a dry room if you drain it.
A raised pool deck creates real square footage underneath. Left alone it collects water and the hose. With an under deck drainage system it becomes dry, usable space.
That is worth deciding early, because retrofitting drainage is more work than building it in.
More questions on this
Can you build around a pool that is already installed?
Yes, that is the usual job, above ground or in ground. The pool being in place tells us the height to work to.
What material do you recommend around a pool?
Composite or PVC in most cases, because they do not absorb water and they need far less upkeep in the hardest place a deck can sit.
Do I need a permit for a pool deck?
Almost certainly. Your building department decides, and it is the same department that determines how the State barrier requirement applies to your yard.