Adding a Pool Wall

The Pool Wall object is used to add walls inside and around your swimming pool or spa. Curved, straight, and even variable height pool walls are all supported in Realtime Landscaping Architect. Pool walls are typically used as partitions or decorations.

To add a pool wall:

1.   Click the Add Pool Wall button that is found near the top of the screen under the Swimming Pool tab.

2.   Draw the pool wall line by clicking the left mouse button to add points. Press the Backspace key to remove the last point added, and press the Esc key to cancel. If you would like to input the distance and angle manually, place at least one point and then press the Enter key.

3.   To finish drawing the pool wall, right-click to place the last point.

4.   The pool wall will project to one side of the outline; click the Switch sides property if needed.

The picture below illustrates a swimming pool design that uses a variable height pool wall as a decorative piece. The pool wall is emitting water through the use of a Spillway waterfall object (described below).

Adding a Spillway

One popular design is to create a spillway that causes water to flow from a pool wall into a swimming pool or a spa. This is done very easily in Realtime Landscaping Architect using the Spillway object.

To add a spillway to your pool wall:

1.   Click the Add Waterfall button found near the top of the screen under the Water Features tab.

2.   Click the picture of the default waterfall that appears to the right of the screen, and then select the Spillway.

1.   Click on your design where you wish to place the spillway.

2.   Adjust the location and the Elevation property of the spillway to place it against your pool wall. During a Realtime Walkthrough, the blue arrow of the spillway will be replaced with realistic flowing water.

Adjusting the Pool Wall Height

Pool walls support variable heights, meaning the height of the wall can be adjusted at each point. Alternately, the height of the entire wall can be adjusted at once. Adding pool walls with variable heights and styles can add much variety and elegance to your swimming pool designs.

To modify the wall height:

1.   Click a pool wall that has been added to your landscape design in order to select it.

2.   Click the Edit points button, found in the properties, to enable point editing mode.

3.   Click the point on the pool wall where you would like to adjust the wall height. Additional points can be added for additional height control.

4.   Adjust the Height property to raise or lower the wall at the selected point.

5.   Click the Edit points button when finished to disable point editing mode.

Editing Coping

Pool walls support coping along the top of the wall. Coping is added to the entire pool wall by default, but can be toggled on or off per edge if needed.

To turn the coping on or off per-edge:

1.   Click a pool wall that has been added to your landscape design in order to select it.

2.   Click the Edit coping button, found in the properties, to enable coping editing mode.

3.   Click each edge where you wish to toggle the coping.

4.   When finished, click the Edit coping button to disable coping editing mode.

Matching the Outline of an Existing Swimming Pool

Pool walls can be easily created to match the outline of swimming pools by using the Save and Load shape commands.

To add a pool wall that matches the outline of an existing swimming pool:

1.   Click on a swimming pool in your landscape design in order to select it.

2.   Click the Shape Options button and click Save shape.

3.   Enter a name for the new shape and then click the Save button.

4.   Click the Add Pool Wall button that is found near the top of the screen under the Swimming Pool tab.

5.   Click the Shape Options button and click Load shape.

6.   Select the shape that was previously saved and then click the OK button.

Tips:

•      Pool walls are projected to one side of the line that defines their path; use the Switch sides property to change the side that the wall is projected from.

•      Pool walls can be added in either the Plan view or the Perspective view, but are easiest to add in the Plan view.

See also:

Pool Wall Properties
Swimming Pool Wizard
Setting Object Properties
Selecting Objects
Selecting Points
Editing Objects
Adding a Swimming Pool  
Adding Pool Decking
Adding Pool Stairs
Adding a Pool Seat
Adding a Pool Light
Adding a Pool Accessory
Adding a Fountain
Adding a Waterfall
Realtime Walkthrough
Saving and Loading Shapes