Original subtitles

-Let's rock. -Yeah.

LUCAS: I'm Lucas Congdon.

All right, you guys, we did it. Yeah!

[ Laughs ]

LUCAS: I'm here to show you some of the biggest...

-Oh, my gosh! -Yeah, baby!

-...craziest... -Wow.

This is awesome

LUCAS: ...and most beautiful pools in the country.

WOMAN: This is the best pool I think I've ever seen.

Tuck it in. Tuck it.

-These talented crews.... -Oh, my God. That is crazy.

LUCAS: ...take jaw-dropping pool designs to the next level.

Anyone can build a pool,

but these pools are a little slice of paradise.

-Whoo! -Yeah!

LUCAS: I'm in Bradenton, Florida,

on my way to meet Kelly and David Leadbetter.

This house is beautiful, and it's right on the water.

I'm sure this is gonna be a great setting

for a beautiful pool.

-Hi. -Hey, I know you --

Lucas. -Yeah, David. How are you?

Hey, nice to see you. Come on in.

Thank you.

This is my wife, Kelly, Lucas.

Hey, Kelly. How are you?

-Hey. Good to meet you. -Yeah, you, too.

-And this is our view. -Oh, wow.

Unfortunately, right now,

we're not really making the best of it, so...

All right, well, let's go out

and check it out. -Let's go check it out there.

When I walked into the Leadbetters' home,

the first thing I notice is this incredible view of Sarasota Bay.

I mean, I'm sure they're gonna have a really cool pool.

¶¶

DAVID: So, here's our monstrosity.

This is horrible.

It's cracked. There's no water in it.

It's just so depressing to see this broken pool.

When we did move here, we had no idea

there was a serious issue with the pool.

We had a crack.

We had been trying forever to get this pool to hold water,

and everything has been a temporary solution.

In the end, we just let the water out.

So, this pool, which has an infinity edge --

the water flows over the 12-foot granite waterfall

down in to the lower pool, so it looks very,

very impressive when it's in operation.

Most infinity edges are just a lot of tile,

but this infinity edge has huge slabs of granite.

It's just ugly.

I wouldn't even want that granite on my countertop.

Are there certain things you'd like to change about it?

So, if we look here, I don't know

why they just didn't go right up to the window there, Lucas.

It makes sense, really, to make this pool wider.

And, you know, privacy -- that's the big thing.

Oh, yeah, I can see --

you're looking right in to your neighbors' window there.

Yeah, we certainly know what they're having for dinner.

Well, I'd love to get a better look at that granite wall

and see what we're working with.

Okay. Follow me.

LUCAS: And instead of just having a basin

to collect the water at the bottom,

they've created another pool, which I think is brilliant.

David: Well, this actually is our dog pool,

to be honest. -Oh, yeah?

Okay, yeah, the dogs swim in here.

LUCAS: You got a lot of water marks

all the way over there.

More than likely, we're gonna have to pull this all off

and do a lot of demo.

Yeah, this old bronze statue of the dolphin, huh?

It's not something that we're sort of in love with.

I mean, it's a nice feature to have a little island there,

I suppose, but I think we could probably do something better.

Yeah, no, I think we could do something really cool here.

LUCAS: That lower pool's in good shape.

You know, there's no cracks.

It's not in structural disrepair.

So I'm just gonna leave that one alone.

All right, cool. Well, now that I know

what you guys are looking for,

let me have some time back here to figure things out.

-Sounds good. -Sounds great.

All right, guys.

I like the overall concept of the Leadbetters' backyard,

but it's time to update the look.

Kelly: Yeah, we're ready.

So, first off, you know, without ripping off all that granite,

it's gonna be hard to know exactly what I need to do,

but we do want to make sure it's a permanent fix.

Starting with the upper area here,

we basically have to redo the entire pool,

probably cutting this whole wall out --

just demo everything that's broken,

and we rebuild a pool inside of this area,

reshoot the whole new walls with gunite.

That sounds great.

The pool's generally the same shape.

Redo the infinity edge down to that lower pool.

I'm thinking of beach pebble.

You're on the water. You're by the beach.

I think it will give you a nice, modern, clean look.

That's a great idea.

Over here, I'd really love to see the pool kind of meet

the house right here. -Uh-huh.

And, then, we can either do this at, like, a sun-shelf depth,

which would be about 12 inches deep,

or we could go 18 inches,

which would be a nice bench height,

kind of looking out at the water.

Can you make a bench as a slant, so you get a chair?

That's a good idea.

We could build it up into the house,

make a little backrest.

We could make one big, long lounger.

I think it could be a -- that would be, like, the deal.

Be like a really long water couch.

Yeah. A water couch -- there you go.

So, then, over here, we could do just, you know,

simply a waterwall here --

I mean, 4 feet at least, to give you privacy.

We could go a little higher if you wanted to.

-Yeah, I like that. -For sure.

That's pretty much kind of the layout

and the structural things I want to do.

Now let's kind of touch on some of the other things.

As we go over the edge down into that lower pool,

I think we pull the dolphins out,

make the base of the fountain a little bit smaller,

and place one big, giant boulder there.

That way the dogs will have more room to swim.

Yeah, be great. That sounds fun.

Well, exciting, guys.

I think we're all on the same page, right?

You like these ideas? -Sounds good to us.

Yeah, it sounds really great.

I think we want to move forward, definitely.

All right, let's fix this pool

and get you guys an amazing backyard.

All right.

LUCAS: Now I just need to get my crew in here

and start this pool rescue.

All right, guys, so, welcome to the Leadbetter project.

Here we are with a huge task of fixing this broken pool.

You ready? Yeah.

All right, let's kick it.

¶¶

LUCAS: Today's demo day at the Leadbetter project.

It's got to get worse before it gets better.

We build a plywood deck over the lower pool to protect it

from falling granite as we demo this huge water wall.

We also want to remove this dolphin statue

so we can find it a new home.

Whoa! Whoa!

-There you are -There it is.

We're free, buddy.

Whoo!

Dolphin statue's out.

Now it's time to start messing with the granite.

-Whoa! -Yeah!

Oh, right in the bucket, huh?

Right on in.

Hyah!

[ Laughs ] That's awesome.

LUCAS: There's got to be over a ton of granite here.

The weight of the granite on this wall

is causing a lot of stress,

which is causing the pool to crack.

Yeah! Yeah!

Yeah, that was the easy part.

And now we got to cut this whole wall down.

LUCAS: With the exterior coverings removed,

it's now time to cut out that old pool shelf.

We cut out the front wall,

the side where the privacy wall will go,

and the back edge for the water couch.

And this demo is finished.

JANE: Ready for rebar. Let's go!

Now that the demo's all done, it is time for rebar.

LUCAS: We're installing over 3,000 feet of rebar to reshape the pool

and reinforce the huge infinity-edge wall.

With rebar and plumbing in place, it's time for gunite.

We're using about 9 cubic yards of gunite

for David and Kelly's pool.

That's about average for this size pool.

However, we're adding a little more for the water couch,

reshooting all those cracked walls,

and, also, making the infinity-edge wall

6 inches thick.

Once all the gunite is sprayed in,

we hand-trowel everything, including the water couch,

making sure it's deep enough to lounge in.

Now that everything is smooth and shaped, we let it dry.

This pool is really starting to look awesome.

¶¶

The pool's been shot.

Everything's been sealed.

Now it's time to start beach pebble.

Hey, man, let's do this.

LUCAS: We'll seal any cracks and crevices with a pink sealer

before installing the pre-laid sheets of pebble rock.

These pebbles will give the infinity wall

a sleek, modern design.

¶¶

I just brought in the custom rock water feature

for the lower pool, and I can't wait to install it.

All right, go slow and steady.

Just keep it nice and level.

I'd be lying if I wasn't a little nervous

with Crash behind the wheel.

I mean, he got his nickname for a reason.

All right, now we got to pick it up

and slide it down that pipe...

Like this.

JOHN: Just trying to show you where the hole is, Crash.

-Whoa! Hold on. -What is that?

¶¶

LUCAS: We're only days away from showing

David and Kelly Leadbetter their new pool,

and I'm out back installing a giant bubbling boulder.

-Whoa. -What is that?

Hold on. Hold on.

Hold on. Hold on.

Problem is, each layer has a different diameter,

so it has to slide in perfectly.

Come down...

Slow and steady. Keep going.

Keep going.

All right. Straight down.

Go down all the way.

One down and three more to go.

¶¶

Looks pretty good for me.

It's what I do.

More. Right there.

That's perfect. We don't even need to adjust it.

We lucked out on that one.

Okay, whoa!

All right, come down slow.

Perfect. -Looks level.

-Is it level? -It looks good.

It's perfect.

Whew! Finally!

LUCAS: I'm so happy with how this boulder looks,

but there's no time to sit around and look at it.

We have a ton left to do, so right now,

we're laying all of the travertine.

We're also adding beach pebble to the lower pool

so that both levels have the same aesthetic.

Now that we have everything installed for both pools,

it's time to seal them up.

We're spraying in about 4 yards of interior finish,

and once that dries, it'll be time to fill it up with water.

Chris: Here we go.

LUCAS: The upper and lower pool is going to take

about 15,000 gallons of water to fill it up.

It's time to show the Leadbetters

their pool dream come true.

Okay. The eyes are shut.

All right. You guys ready?

We're ready. We're ready.

1, 2, 3...

Check out your new pool!

Oh, my goodness!

Oh, geez. Wow!

Kel, can you believe that?

That is so beautiful!

Wow. Just incredible.

This actually surpasses everything that we imagined.

It really does. Oh, I cannot believe it.

Now you get a really nice view of the waterwall.

You got the column.

So beautiful.

Then we got this really cool rock sculpture.

That's amazing.

I mean, the color of this rock --

I mean, it blends in with the pebbles.

It blends in with the travertine.

It looks like it's been there for years

and was part and parcel of the house from the very start.

-This is your area. -Oh, wow!

And I absolutely love this space.

Oh! Unbelievable.

Look at this.

It's so beautiful.

It looks so much bigger than it did before.

Oh, oh. I know it's -- I mean,

in theory, it may be 3 or 4 feet,

but, I mean, it looks twice as big.

We actually grew it all the way around

and made it more functional.

I cannot believe -- before, it was such a dinky little pool,

but now it's inviting.

I can't wait to get in there.

Kelly, remember, you and I came up

with the idea of a water couch.

I love it.

Oh, that's the best seat in the house.

I mean, how rewarding is this,

to be able to sit here and look out at everything?

I never, in my wildest dreams, could have imagined this.

It completes our house.

Now we have what we've always had, but we can use it.

All right, yeah!

Kelly: Whoa! Oh, my goodness!

I'm the first one.

-How is it? -Hop in.

David: Nobody could have done what Lucas did to this pool --

there's no question about it.

¶¶

LUCAS: Down in Austin, Texas,

Don and Kathy Neville and their daughter Maeve

are taking their backyard off the back burner.

What attracted us to the house initially was

because it's in close proximity to the golf course.

That backyard was a cry for help.

This outdated backyard is getting a Tuscan transformation.

Starting off with an enormous sunbathing platform

and next to it, a raised spa that's perfect for relaxing

and taking in the views of the golf course.

Tying the raised spa into the pool below

is a massive travertine wall

towering 8 feet out of the water.

It will feature six ornate spigots that are split

by a beautiful water spillway.

And to top it all off,

this unbelievable outdoor kitchen

featuring a large entertainment system and a massive grill.

¶¶

This project starts with a team digging out the entire backyard

and demoing this dilapidated pool.

A backhoe with a hydraulic hammer attachment

makes quick work of the old pool.

¶¶

Once the yard has been completely dug for the pool,

it's time for gravel,

plumbing, and rebar.

With the pool finally formed,

it's time to shoot some gunite.

The crew must carefully build up

and sculpt the high walls of the pool.

The gunite is complete and the outdoor kitchen

has been framed out.

It's time to bring this pool to life with tons of tile.

The crew is using a tumble travertine

on the steps and coping.

It's literally tumbled in a barrel

to give it extra texture

and make it less slippery.

They place smoother, hone travertine

on the walls of the pool.

The original design called for spigots on the pool wall,

but Don has requested a change.

Don picked out some real big metal florettes.

Wow, this is gonna look nice.

So this is a change from what we originally picked.

It's a nice contrast to the light tile.

They're really gonna stick out.

LUCAS: Don also asked that the water feature be elevated above

the surface of the pool deck, creating an open-top spillway.

-I think it's gonna be awesome. -All right.

LUCAS: The crew makes quick work of Don's raised water feature

using custom cut cinder blocks.

One day's work, and Don's new waterfall is done.

It's finally time to plaster the pool.

For the surfacing, we've gone

with a Mediterranean blue tone,

which will contrast really well with the classic Tuscan style

of the rest of the yard.

With the plaster applied, the crew fills the pool

and puts the final touches on the Neville's outdoor kitchen.

That grill looks ready for a party.

¶¶

-Wow. -Wow!

LUCAS: It's time for the Neville family

to see their new and improved Tuscan pool.

-Wow. -Wow!

KATHY: When did we move to a resort?

¶¶

LUCAS: A big departure from the last one, huh?

I'll say.

I think the last one could fit inside this one.

The whole thing looks just incredible. So good.

Oh, my gosh, the kitchen.

LUCAS: This outdoor kitchen has everything the family needs.

The TV, the windows. I can still see my neighbors.

A great entertaining space.

We're not going to cook inside anymore.

Our kitchen inside is completely upstaged.

[ Laughter ]

The view from back here is awesome.

The entire golf course, basically.

You can see everything.

The spa is awesome.

Look how big it is. -Yeah.

LUCAS: The new spa can fit twice as many people as their old one.

I mean, I think you can fit 10 of your friends in that spa.

Maeve, what's your favorite part of the pool?

I really like the outdoor kitchen.

I know that we're going to be centered around that a lot.

I'm really happy with the way the water features came out.

Opening it up so you can see the water flow.

You did a great job with that.

The way you collaborated with me on the design.

I'm glad you made it 8 feet because there's gonna be

a lot of cannonballs in there. -Yeah, there are.

Look at that Great Wall of Neville.

I am jumping off of that for sure.

Well, what do you think? Do you love it?

It's amazing. I cannot wait to jump in.

Hold on. Are we ready to fire up that grill?

We are ready. It's all hooked up and ready.

-Awesome, let's do it. -All right.

LUCAS: The Nevilles now have the perfect outdoor kitchen

and an unbelievable Tuscan pool.

This is an awesome pool.

Oh, this pool means a lot of fun for our family.

This is a gathering place for Maeve and her friends

DON: Maeve loves pool parties.

I love to get in the kitchen and cook.

Ladies and gentlemen, steak is ready.

KATHY: It's actually stunning with the blue lights

and all of the features around in the evening.

It just takes your breath away.

¶¶

DON: As a family, we got everything we wanted

out of this pool. The pool itself is gorgeous,

the outdoor kitchen is phenomenal.

I couldn't be happier with it.

We're out there enjoying it all the time.

We couldn't be more pleased.

¶¶

LUCAS: In Orange County, California,

the Ruiz family is hoping to transform their sad

looking backyard into a whimsical paradise.

We're putting in a pool who's excited?

-Me! -Me.

CINDY: We're big on family and spending time together.

ROB: Right now, our backyard is a mess.

And we love entertaining so much,

and there's just really nothing there.

I love fun and whimsical elements.

So if we could have that, that would be excellent.

We went to Cancun on vacation. It is beautiful.

And if we can bring

a piece of that here, that would be fantastic.

LUCAS: This backyard is getting a Cajun-inspired

tropical makeover, and it all starts with a raised spa

that overlooks the entire yard.

Beside the spa sits a 6-foot high grotto and a 15-foot slide

that will be carved out of concrete

to look like natural rock. The opposite side of the pool

will feature a sunken kitchen with swim-up bar

and a wraparound counter with plenty of space

for all their family and friends.

¶¶

¶¶

The existing spa is over 30 years old,

and they want a complete backyard paradise,

so that's the first thing to go,

along with 2,000 square foot of overgrown landscaping

and concrete chunks.

After removing 15 tons of concrete,

it's finally time to start digging the pool.

This pool is chock full of dips,

curves, and mixed elevations. To support the structure,

the workers are using over a mile of rebar twisted

into this 630-square foot pool.

With the rebar in place,

it's time for the shotcrete, and the workers are here

with a high powered hose that will spray out

eight truckloads of wet concrete mixture

to form the pool, spa, grotto, and sunken kitchen area.

Then it's all hand sculpted.

¶¶

Now with the pool foundation set,

the beams for the sunken kitchen can go up.

The tiling around the pool can start,

and to really hit home the tropical theme,

a concrete tiki head is being handcrafted

that will spit water onto the new slide.

¶¶

The slide is made of a sanded-smooth painted concrete

that then gets a couple coats of lacquer to finish it off.

Over 1,800-square feet of concrete has been poured,

the new kitchen roof now matches the house, and the pool and spa

are filling up with over 18,000 gallons of water.

It's time for the Ruiz family to see their backyard paradise.

¶¶

LUCAS: The wait is over for the Ruiz family.

The backyard they dreamed of since visiting Cancun

is finally ready.

¶¶

Can you guys believe this is the same backyard?

ALL: No!

¶¶

LUCAS: This pool is 40-feet long and 18-feet wide.

-Wow. Feels twice as big. -It does.

LUCAS: It's their very own backyard paradise.

The Baja shelf is the perfect place to get some sun.

And since the floor mimics the color of sand,

it's just like sitting on the beach.

CINDY: It's like we're on the beach, right?

I love it.

Right here. This is your negative edge

that we talked about. -That's gorgeous.

Not only do you have a water feature now from the house,

but anywhere else you sit in the rest the pool,

that water is going to just disappear into this trough.

-I love it. -Plus it sounds great,

doesn't it? -I was gonna say,

the sound is wonderful. -That's the best part.

¶¶

LUCAS: And right in the center of the infinity edge

is the sunken kitchen with the swim-up bar.

-Wow. -It is like a dream backyard.

ROB: I love it. I don't have to go anywhere.

Center of the action. -We actually put the same tile

on top of your roof structure as you did the house,

so everything kind of just blends and flows.

¶¶

MAN: And there's your very own handcarved grotto.

Not only is there a place that you can go in and sit back there

and look through the water, but you can climb up there

and jump off into the pool because it's 8-feet deep.

-Nice. Cannonball. -I gotta move back home.

[ Laughter ]

LUCAS: Behind that grotto is the hand sculpted

tiki head with a special surprise for Cindy.

CINDY: Oh, my gosh, there goes the water.

Oh, I love that.

LUCAS: It looks like there's only one thing to do now --

jump in.

¶¶

CINDY: This is exactly what I've dreamed of all this time.

I'm blown away by it.

¶¶

Now we have Cancun right here in our backyard.

It's incredible. -It's amazing.

¶¶

I like little whimsical stuff and that tiki head,

that's exactly what I didn't know I wanted.

This is great. Cheers.

LUCAS: Cheers, Ruiz family, to your slice of Cancun in California.

¶¶

I'm headed to Siesta Key to see the McCabe family.

They want a koi pond,

but I've got some bigger plans than that in mind.

My name is Dave. I'm a marine biologist.

We found a dream home in the dream location.

It has deep water access.

But the one thing it didn't have was a koi pond.

We lived in a rental home and it had a pond there,

had about 1,000 gallon pond. We just really fell in love

with them, and we had to take them with us.

-That does not look very sturdy. -I know it is --

it is leaning, and it's a little bit precarious.

DAVE: When Kathy and I bought this house,

we had a number of remodeling projects

we were very excited about.

We were gonna do it in stages, starting with the koi pond

because that was the most urgent need.

We've got a beautiful view on the water,

but it's not a huge space.

So we've got to find a way to incorporate what I want --

a fairly large pond in this space.

We have probably 4,000-square feet here

that we could make beautiful living space.

LUCAS: The pool is clearly dated,

but I have a design that will create the perfect,

cohesive backyard playground for both human and fish.

So, Kathy, we've got a beautiful plan for you.

What we're basically going to do,

create your koi pond underneath the deck area

that comes out so that dead space turns into a feature.

And so we have over 30-feet of waterfalls

for the fish to play in.

We'll add a rock bridge so the koi pond

appears to flow into the pool. -Sure.

I love that. That is my favorite.

That is really, really awesome.

LUCAS: And this is your play area, right,

so it's not just for the fish.

Over here, we're gonna create a grotto waterfall

where you can swim under and hide behind the waterfall.

Now you've stepped on to Siesta Beach.

You've got the white sand. You got the fire pit over here.

I mean, that's like a dream come true for a backyard.

This is kind of how we've always wanted to be able to live.

I'm so excited that the McCabe's are onboard

to do the complete backyard remodel.

Now it's time to get the team together

and start building the McCabe's their backyard oasis.

The McCabe project is a tricky one.

It's both a remodel and new construction.

We're redoing their old pool, but digging a new koi pond.

But like any project, it's got to start with demolition

and getting a clean slate.

¶¶

Now that we've cleared out all the old pavers

from around the pool,

it's time to start excavating the dirt to dig the pond

that goes underneath the existing wood deck.

¶¶

Come on, little tractor.

We've excavated over 30 yards of dirt

for this 260-square foot pond.

MATT: Remodels in general take a longer period of time

because it's not like you're starting with a blank slate.

LUCAS: So we got the demo done.

Now we've got to put all the steel in the pool.

It's going to look amazing. When the McCabe see this,

I'm sure they're just going to freak out.

LUCAS: Now that we're done with the demolition,

we can reuse the old pool shell as our starting point.

We're moving forward with the rebar.

We're laying out the skeleton.

You can really start to visualize

how this is gonna look.

Today's gunite day.

Gunite is a mixture of Portland cement and sand.

The gunite's easy to work with. I mean, you spray it on,

you just trim it to what you need.

-Hey, Chris. -What?

Come here with that saw first.

My bench for the grotto, they had the steel in too close.

SUNSHINE: So now it's DefCon 4 that we have to get everything done

before these guys finish shooting the pool.

LUCAS: If we piss them off and they stop now,

they'll leave and we might not get them back.

I just hate this last second stuff.

We don't get this fixed now before the concrete goes in,

what might take us 15, 20 minutes right now

will be hours worth of work later.

All right, let's get out of here. All righty.

LUCAS: I was able to fix the rebar just in time

so we could stay on schedule.

Now it's time to bring in the rock,

start being creative, and do all the really cool stuff.

My rocks just arrived from Tennessee.

We got two semi loads that Woman and I hand selected.

So let's get right to work on these basket boulders.

My job is I'm in the mud, man. I mix up the concrete.

Without me, everything would fall apart.

Whoa. Timber.

LUCAS: For the McCabe pool here,

we're basically creating a stone wall around the whole pool

so that it just looks like a natural lagoon.

Now that the basket boulders are down around the pool,

we've got to focus on getting the koi pond done first

because it needs time for the water to balance out

so we could put the fish in right around the same time

we're filling up the pool.

Keep this wall coming across here,

but this is going to be underneath the bridge.

This is going to be the stream.

So when we put that bridge rock on, when you walk across it,

you just see water spilling out from underneath you.

I mean, it really looks like it's the pond

spilling into the pool.

Found this perfect rock to make a rock bridge.

It's got that trapezoid shape that I knew would fit the shape

and angle of the koi pond.

It's going to be like a seamless design.

Here it comes -- the bridge over River Koi.

It's safe right about like that.

Okay, set it down. This is so incredible.

It's like we've formed it to fit.

We've got the bridge in. I mean, we're moving.

While, Old Man and Crash are finishing up

the rock work on the koi pond,

it's time to build this epic grotto.

JANE: Right now, we're putting in the base boulders

so that will be the foundation for the grotto lid.

Okay, set it down.

-Bring it in, big boy. -Look at that

big beautiful grotto rock. -Sweet.

Whoo! That is hot.

LUCAS: It's finally time to set the grotto rock.

One of my favorite things, such a milestone for the job.

Slow and steady wins this race.

It's always something that can happen with these big rocks,

especially when it's a 4,000 or 5,000-pound rock

at the edge of the limitations of the machine.

Pick it up.

[ Machine squealing ]

LUCAS: Oh, that's a horrible noise. She's screaming.

Yeah, a screaming girl,

Oh, she doesn't like it too much.

LUCAS: Everything has to be done slow and precise.

There is no room for error because these rocks are heavy.

These rocks are dangerous.

-Yeah, you're pretty good, man. -You want me to

twist a little bit?

Just a little more, like another 6 inches.

We're taught no hands or body

parts under the rocks when it's coming down.

Woman, put your head to the right a little bit more.

Yeah, just like that.

That's off the boulder more now.

-Move it out some. -Okay.

[ Machine squealing ]

-Oh, [bleep]. -Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Well, it fell right to place. Oh, my God, dude,

that was the luckiest...

JANE: That's why we don't stand under the rock.

The rock on one point has like a real sharp edge,

and it just sheared the strap right in half.

10 years of setting rocks never had a strap break in mid-set.

That is insane.

LUCAS: Once we get all the rock work in,

we still have a ton of work to do

before anyone or anything goes for a swim.

It's total chaos here at the McCabe's today.

We've still got travertine going in, landscaping,

and we've got to get the koi in their new home.

We're in the homestretch.

Now it's time to add all the finishing touches

that will make this project really shine.

Turn it a little catty corner, maybe. Yeah.

Something like that.

MATT: We have this very cool beachy area

alongside the pool. Lucas has come up with an idea

of putting a tiki hut there. -Look amazing over here.

I mean, it's got a little hammock area there,

another seating area.

The tiki hut is just one more element to create

the whole living environment.

As we're finishing the rest of the McCabe project,

we're keeping an eye on the PH levels in the pond.

MATT: When you're building a koi pond

and you're using concrete and other materials,

there's a certain curing process that has to be done

before the fish can live in that kind of environment.

It's all good, Old Man.

Tell Sunshine we're ready to put those koi in.

-Oh, are you ready? -Be free, little koi.

Are you ready to go into your new home?

That's awesome. Hey, buddy.

I mean, these fish are like their family,

so being able to have a place

where they can all hang out together is really exciting.

Now that the koi are all set,

it's time to get that grotto up and running.

-Waterfalls are on. -Oh, yeah. Look, it's working.

LUCAS: This is definitely, if not the best job we've ever done,

one of the top three, and I can't wait until

the McCabe's can see it. We are really proud and excited.

Maybe a little jealous that it's not our own.

Keep looking down. All right. Look up.

Oh, my gosh.

I'm about to show the McCabe's their new backyard.

I'm so excited.

Well, guys, this is the moment we've all been waiting for.

-We can't wait to see it. -We're so excited.

We've given Lucas this total creative freedom,

and I don't know what he's done.

We've been really, really anticipating this day.

-All right. Look up. -Oh, my gosh.

-There's just so many plants. -Wow.

-Wow. -This is gorgeous.

LUCAS: We basically took that pool, stripped everything off it.

-Oh, can't believe this pool. -A waterfall!

We've naturally purified the pool

so that the plants can actually live in the water.

And not only is it healthier for you,

but healthier for the plants. All new rock work.

All natural stone, natural plant material.

All the moss and cool lichens that are on this natural stone

will live and they continue to grow.

Giving it the old look like it's always been here.

Yeah, that's beautiful.

DAVE: All these beautiful colors and wow.

It is amazing.

It's more than I could have ever imagined.

I mean, there is just this beautiful oasis.

I was blown away.

LUCAS: You've got all these cool places

to hang out underneath the waterfalls,

that seat in the grotto.

And then there's the bridge over River Koi.

And the water running underneath it makes it look like

the koi pond in the pool are connected.

So I take it you guys are happy

I talked you into doing the pool for yourselves.

You know, I'd be so jealous of those koi that we would be like

in the koi pond all the time.

I want to see what you've done for my fish.

Lead the way. So now is the moment of truth.

-Oh, my goodness. -Oh, my goodness.

Take the bridge over River Koi.

It's so much bigger than I even expected.

We're going to have to get some more koi.

So you guys remember how unattractive it was

to look under the deck. It was that dead back there.

Now we turn that dead space into a gorgeous water wall.

So by adding this pond,

we're not taking away space from outdoor living.

This is just really well designed.

There are all those lilies, which are not only beautiful,

but a great source of food for our koi.

DAVE: The koi now have this gorgeous home to live in.

-This is paradise. -My koi are just set.

LUCAS: So I know I got them excited. They love everything,

and I can't wait to show them their final surprise.

Come over here.

Wow, this is amazing. This is just adorable.

I can't thank you enough.

This is way more than we could have ever imagined.

The truth is, it's kind of cliche,

but it's sort of life-changing for us.

I mean, we have now not a house, but a home.

You have this insanely beautiful setting,

and I just felt like the yard

didn't do you guys justice or the property.

And I just had all these visions come to me

when I came to this backyard.

I mean, this was the result, and it was just awesome.

Bring on the rest of the family. Let's hang out.

Let's get this place rocking.

¶¶

WOMAN: I think really, for me, what Lucas

did was get into my brain

and find a fantasy of outdoor living that I had in there,

that I could never have expressed physically.

LUCAS: Being able to hang out with the McCabe's

using their outdoor living space,

seeing everything that we've done and worked hard for.

I mean, this is what makes it all worthwhile.

¶¶

In sunny California,

the Linders are experiencing a pool nightmare.

DAVE: The outdoor lifestyle is something that we really enjoy,

which is one of the reasons why we wanted a pool,

which really just didn't go so well.

LUCAS: They had a pool built four years ago,

but two weeks after it was completed, it started to fail.

HEATHER: It's kind of been a living nightmare.

DAVE: We started to see damage,

cracking around the pool and more cracking in the pool,

and it just progressed from there.

LUCAS: They loved the layout of their existing pool

and want to keep the new one very similar.

This time around,

we're looking for a pool that holds water, right.

That water stays in the pool as opposed to going elsewhere.

One of our favorite places to visit is Maui.

We love the sea turtles.

We want to bring a little piece of that to our pool.

The plan is to keep the design the Linders like,

but make it 6-feet longer than their old pool.

The patio is getting a major upgrade

with a herringbone pattern throughout the entire yard,

complete with synthetic turf between the stone.

It's going to look clean, cool, and unique.

The spa will stay where it is, but will get an update on its

stone and color palette. And a beautiful waterfall

will be added to the center that will be flanked by two firebowls

to highlight the area. In the bottom of the pool,

hundreds of strands of fiber optic lights shining upwards

will make this pool look like the starry night sky.

The old pool and patio has to come out

before the new one can go in.

That means removing over 50,000-pounds of concrete.

¶¶

Removing that old pool was a huge undertaking,

but now the plumbing is set and the rebar is in place.

They're using a much thicker rebar than the previous pool,

which should lock it in place forever.

The shotcrete is being sprayed in,

and the waterfall is being built,

and the travertine tile is being set in the new

and improved fire pit.

With most of the masonry work done,

it's time to turn their attention

to the starry night pool bottom,

and Heather is here to help.

Each paint color

coordinates with the size of light -- green

are the big strands, blue for the medium, and orange

for the small strands.

There is going to be a few hundred points of light,

and to make a true starry night effect, they need to be random.

While one crew installs the fiber optic lights,

another is starting on the herringbone tile patio.

The Linders love sea turtles,

so they're adding a special panel

to their firepit water wall.

After a lot of hard work,

the pool is finally filled with water.

Linder family, check out your new pool.

-Oh. Oh, oh. -Whoa!

¶¶

LUCAS: Four years and two pools later,

Dave and Heather finally have a backyard to be proud of.

Linder family, check out your new pool.

-Oh, oh. -Whoa!

¶¶

-Holy cow. -I like it.

-Incredible. -This is beautiful.

The lines, the colors, the flow.

You guys, the greenery.

-I like it. -Their old pool was dilapidated

and falling down the hill.

The crew took it out and built a brand new one.

This pool is never

going anywhere except in your own backyard.

[ Laughter ] That's what I'm talkin' about.

Awesome!

LUCAS: What's great about this custom firepit is that it comes

with a 12-foot wide waterfall

and a custom etched glass panel.

We have our turtles!

We have an awesome love for those animals.

That is beautiful.

And you guys have really made this, like, home.

I just can't wait to enjoy it.

Wait till you see tonight. This thing glows.

BOTH: Wow.

-Really? -I like it.

LUCAS: In the back of the pool

sits a 14-foot wide water feature with 6-feet of water

coming down and two custom firebowls.

-I love it. -Perfect.

This is so serene back here. It's like a Zen backyard.

It's just a feeling of relaxation.

One of the most unique features of this backyard is

the herringbone pattern patio,

and the turf softens up the stonework a ton.

And guys, to take advantage of this amazing view back here,

we put this oversized 8x8 spa.

We are definitely looking forward

to using this spa year round, in fact.

Well, to bring in the bling, guys,

we've got this gorgeous, starry night pool bottom,

which has 200 points of light in the bottom

of your pool. -It's such a rarity,

but it's really what's going to set this yard apart.

It was so much fun actually being able to pick and choose

where I wanted the lights to go.

It's kind of like my own masterpiece coming alive.

¶¶

This has been four and a half, five year journey for us,

but I think you guys have given us something,

which is exactly what I was looking for.

And this is one of those days I never really saw coming.

You guys have outdone yourselves.

We can just get back to entertaining,

which is what we got this house for.

Now it's time to have those friends over...

-Let's party! -Gonna have a party over here!

¶¶

I love absolutely everything about this pool.

This -- you guys did good.

This blows away the old pool.

I'm impressed. -So are we.

I'm so happy this nightmare is over.

I think the next chapter in our life actually begins right now.

This is everything we dreamed of.

LUCAS: Enjoy, Linder family, you deserve it.