Original subtitles

Narrator: Jaw-dropping, over-the-top dream pools.

No feature too outrageous.

No engineering challenge too difficult.

It's built like a fortress.

Narrator: This is where wild imagination meets a blank check. [ register dings ]

this pool is in the seven figures.

Narrator: All built for the ultimate in fun,

relaxation, and entertainment.

It's a retreat for us every day.

These are the private retreats

no one gets to see or experience...

There is nothing like this house.

Narrator: ...Reserved only for their owners

and a few lucky guests,

until now...

Welcome to the taylor lagoon.

[ screams ]

narrator: ...Because we're taking you

on an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour

of the country's most spectacular pool paradises.

This is the biggest pool I've ever done.

Look at that view.

What happens in the grotto, stays in the grotto.

Woman: When my grandchildren first saw the backyard,

they lost their minds. [ screams ]

narrator: And right now...

Prepare to be amazed...

Man: The centerpiece to the pool is the second-floor hot tub.

...Inspired...

Man: We decided we wanted to create two different worlds.

...And maybe just a little bit jealous.

"you have a theme park in your backyard."

because this is...

"best. Pool. Ever."

[ water bubbling ]

what happens when a master pool builder with 30 years experience

finally builds his own dream pool?

♪♪

[ indistinct talking, yelling ]

when people first walk through our back door,

they're like, "oh, my god.

You have a theme park in your backyard."

it's a treasure island oasis, designed for michael's kids,

but inspired by his own childhood memories.

Michael: This pool is inspired by a theme park

that I went to as a kid, and they had an island

that you could go over to, and you're constantly

discovering things around this island.

So, when I designed the pool,

I wanted to have that same kind of feel --

like, you can't see it all at one time.

♪♪

the most unique feature of our pool

is the spa that's hidden.

The structure itself is solid concrete --

the roof, the walls, the ceiling.

All the finish is hand-carved, hand-painted.

There's music all around the pools, music in the cave,

but we didn't think it was fair that if you jumped in the water

that music would go away.

[ muffled upbeat music plays ] the solution --

underwater speakers that keep the party rocking

even at the bottom of the pool.

The main feature on the pool that the kids like the most

is the slide. -Aah!

It's about 15 feet long. We kind of hid this

to make it just as natural-looking as possible.

Narrator: And yet, the design wasn't complete.

So, when I was designing the pool,

at the last minute, my daughter comes in,

and she's looking at the pool and she says, "can we have a lazy river?"

[ choir sings ] wish granted.

Now guests can drift along 1,500 square feet of lazy river,

wrapped around the rock cave,

complete with rushing waterfalls.

The tallest waterfall is probably about 10 feet high.

These waterfalls take about 500 gallons a minute.

But this treasure island hasn't revealed all of its secrets yet.

Michael wanted a place for the kids to just hang out.

♪♪

the tree house is approximately 10-foot by 10-foot.

It's got air conditioning, cable tv, video games.

Kind of give you the feel that you're on a deserted island

and this is the only thing you had to live in.

Every time I'm out of town or I go somewhere

and I see something at a yard sale

that's just weird, I try to get it for here.

This is what I believe they call a jackalope,

and I've had this probably 25 years.

I've had that for about 30-something years, the piranha.

A friend of mine gave me this.

I do not allow any of those items in my home.

[ chuckles ]

♪♪

I've built a lot of pools and seen a lot of pools,

but this one is a very special pool

that I'm proud to own.

I'm just really thankful that we have the ability

to have this in our backyard.

Kind of is a dream getaway 'cause we don't go anywhere

because there's really no need to go anywhere.

I'd rather just be home... Yeah.

...And spend the weekend here.

♪♪

if you're looking for a pool inspired by the great outdoors,

this next pool is a natural

this pool was my dream.

The first time I went backpacking,

I was probably 30 years old.

This is a picture that I took of myself.

I am floating in my trail boat,

and this was what I was trying to capture.

And we did it.

This 100,000-gallon pool covers an astonishing

1,800 square feet,

larger than the average american home.

They essentially had to excavate out

the entire top of the hill.

The rock is all from the local area.

It was quite a feat,

and we have about 450 tons of boulders.

They'd come in with a load of rocks

and raise that trailer up to dump it,

and it felt like an earthquake

when those rocks were hitting the ground.

♪♪

linda: They brought in a saw

that had a five-foot blade on it.

They had it out in the front,

and they would cut these massive rocks,

and then place each one.

Tom: We have a very large rock in this pool

that is about a nine-foot long rock set vertically,

which weighed about 11,000 pounds.

And using traditional tile?

That idea was dead in the water.

Instead, a natural stone mosaic rings the perimeter of the pool.

And the reason why --

'cause you won't see any tile in a lake in sierra nevada.

♪♪

linda: It was important to have the vanishing edge

because look at that view. [ laughs ] [ laughs ]

it was screaming out for a vanishing edge.

[ birds chirping ]

wow. I just like staring back there.

[ both laugh ]

♪♪

linda: The spa is hidden.

It's just like some of those amazing granite oases

that I used to find up in the mountains.

I can't be here...

[laughing] without getting my feet in the water.

Linda: When we built this pool, we spent about $360,000.

Today, it would probably cost well over half a million.

♪ I'm gonna write it in a note ♪

♪ throw it in the ocean ♪

this is the place we want to be for the rest of our lives.

♪ and seal it with a kiss ♪

tom: We're very lucky. We're very fortunate. Yeah.

♪ seal it with a kiss ♪

♪ ohh ♪

this is the best

still to come...

A frontier-themed pool with a mine shaft water slide...

We put a 34-foot slide in here.

It's got about 250 gallons of water going through it.

...A 25-ton luxury hot tub...

And next, it's a real cliffhanger.

Justin: Working in an environment like this

is particularly challenging.

A stunning mountainside pool, designed to be earthquake-proof.

We have multiple levels here.

It makes for a very dramatic presentation.

[ water bubbling ]

narrator: Homeowners larry and karen pugliese

don't just live on the edge, they swim on it.

I would point up to the top of the hill, telling my friends,

"someday, I'm gonna be living in one of those houses."

and sure enough,

all of larry's california dreaming paid off.

With spectacular views of the pacific ocean,

mission bay, and downtown san diego,

it was love at first sight for larry and karen.

For years, any open house that showed "view property,"

we would go check it out.

Then, this house was listed.

I just looked out and I saw a view that just blew my mind.

Justin: The original pool was terrifying.

It was just barely hanging on to the edge of the cliff.

Larry: So we had to demolish the old pool

and then rebuild the new pool.

Working in an environment like this

is particularly challenging.

The soil needed to be stabilized all underneath the pool.

Justin: We actually had to get a huge drill rig out here

and dig two-foot diameter holes

all the way down into bedrock.

Some of those went down as much as 80 feet.

Larry: So, we ended up having to have seven steel beams

put into the ground,

and the pool was built on top of the beams.

All that engineering and strategy came together

with a pool as secure as it is stunning.

Like, the engineer told me, he said,

"if there's ever an earthquake in this area,

the safest place to be is your pool."

♪♪

we have multiple levels here.

By just bringing the spa up

one inch above the main waterline,

we get this look of a single sheet of water

that makes for a very dramatic presentation,

and then we anchored on either side of the pool

these beautiful, four-foot diameter,

solid copper fire bowls

filled with crushed glass.

Narrator: Solar panels warm the pool water

while a saltwater system, softens it.

All that technology combines to create

an inviting year-round experience.

I love the fact that when you get in the water,

it's like silk, but it just is so smooth.

Larry: This pool means a lot to me

because I love being in the water

and to be able to swim for exercise

and at the same time, after I'm done,

just look over the edge of the pool

and see the ocean, the bay, downtown --

very, very therapeutic.

Narrator: Now let's travel 20 miles east

to la mesa, california,

to discover a unique his-and-hers dream pool

built 1,200 feet above sea level.

Here, big girl.

We can literally see mexico from here.

During the design phase,

john and eva couldn't agree on a pool style.

I wanted to have a deep pool.

I wanted to be able to splash, play games.

♪ you ain't never seen it done like this ♪

and you... I wanted to walk around

with a glass of wine in my hand,

not getting splashed,

warm as it possibly could be.

♪ you ain't never seen it done like this ♪

we talked to the pool contractor and said,

"look, she wants this. I want this.

How can we compromise?"

and he said, "well, how about two pools?"

♪ done like this ♪

♪ done like this ♪

narrator: But john and eva did agree on at least one thing --

the pool should have an organic feel,

a bold idea that called for some boulder design.

You're surrounded by warm water and by foliage.

You feel like you're in the jungle somewhere.

It's very private up here.

As we've seen, john and eva like to keep it natural,

very natural.

We can skinny dip,

which we do and did yesterday,

[laughing] as a matter in fact,

in eva's pool.

When we had it up to 94 degrees,

we were in there, skinny dipping.

♪♪

the two pools are built with a spa in the middle.

When they originally put the little rocks

around the jacuzzi, they were all in a row.

It was like a pearl necklace.

I said, "hello! It's supposed to be..."

both: Natural! [ both laugh ]

♪♪

we had them take them all out,

put them all in again in a random order.

There are about a dozen jets.

It's had 14 people,

although, it can actually hold more than that.

The illusion is that the jacuzzi overflows

into eva's pool

and overflows into my pool.

I love my pool.

It's 10 1/2 feet deep.

I wanted a diving board, but she said no way

because diving boards look tacky.

They do. So -- well...

So, the alternative was to put a big, old rock there,

a diving rock.

I like it so much better.

It's more natural.

Narrator: And an expansive outdoor cabana

serves as a hub for all the aquatic fun year-round.

[ laughing ] yes, you like the cabana, too.

It also gets windy and chilly up here,

particularly in the wintertime,

so we had these industrial heaters.

We got three of these up here.

Fireplace for ambiance.

♪♪

it's magical to swim in john's pool in nighttime.

You just see the stars shining,

and then you see the glitter from downtown.

John: It's beautiful. It's incomparable, really.

Everybody involved with the project

really put their soul and their heart into it,

including the two of us.

♪♪

still to come...

A wild west pool on the west coast.

You can drive a freight train over this structure

and it's not gonna go anywhere.

Narrator: Plus, an unbelievable, four-story luxury pool

with a million-dollar view of the gulf.

Sharyn: There are 3,000 24-karat-gold tiles

scattered in the pool, the hot tub, and the artwork.

[ water bubbling ]

narrator: What do you get

when you cross the wild, wild west

with a backyard oasis?

You're about to find out.

♪♪

about three years ago, I got a phone call from the homeowner.

They wanted the kids to be able to jump off rocks.

They wanted to hear water.

They wanted to have an entertainment area

for their family.

Narrator: And the first ingredient

for this frontier swimmin' hole --

75 truckloads of dirt.

Michael: And then we had 250 tons of boulders delivered out back.

I mean, the customer looked at it goes --

scratching their head, going,

"mike, how the heck are you gonna be able

to fit all these boulders back in our pool?"

♪♪

this lower rock

weighed about 12,000 pounds.

It was a monster. It was huge getting in.

We decided that we wanted to create two different worlds.

♪ hey, hey ♪

♪ hey, hey ♪

narrator: The rugged, outdoor theme even continues below the surface

with carefully-placed underwater boulders.

So that looks like a rock quarry, you know,

that you would see in a swimming hole

out in the middle of the forest.

Narrator: In all, more than 250 tons of real boulders

are held in place with gunite,

creating an illusion of reality for this manmade mountain.

Michael: But the key is is that we made it look natural,

as if it were up in the woods.

You can drive a freight train over this structure

and it's not gonna go anywhere.

[ train horn blows ]

♪♪

we put a 34-foot slide in here.

It's got about 250 gallons of water going through it.

We never envisioned a western theme

until the customer said to me,

"what are we gonna do about the exit to the slide?

It just looks like a round slide."

we went ahead and built an ore cart out of metal

and let it rust.

We made the oar cart look like

it was actually coming off of an old trellis here.

So it looks like it actually crashed there.

♪♪

we found old lanterns

and we converted these to led down lights.

I took a pick I got from one of the antique stores,

and I literally walked up to it and just poked it

right through the roof, and that's where it sat.

One of the requirements that our customer had

is that they wanted a lot of places

for people to sit and relax and enjoy things.

The really cool element here is this leather granite.

This leather granite is four layers thick

and chiseled on the ends.

We have a big barbecue, smoker, kegerator -- fun place to be.

♪♪

when the landscape lighting comes on,

it's absolutely incredible.

♪♪

this was a dream come true for the homeowners,

and to be a part of this

and to give them exactly what they want,

meant the world to me.

♪ from the start ♪

♪ we were hanging from a shooting star ♪

it was one of the most special pools that I've ever built.

♪ just look how far we've come ♪

narrator: Coming up...

Swim some luxurious laps in a pool

lined with 24-karat gold tile.

Ryan: The centerpiece of the pool is the second-floor hot tub.

That is where the whole journey in this pool begins.

♪♪

[ water bubbling ]

♪ oh, oh, oh ♪

narrator: You're looking at a one-of-a-kind,

four-story pool.

Why so big?

That's another story.

Sharyn: There are 3,000 24-karat-gold tiles

scattered in the pool, the hot tub, and the artwork.

Ryan: The average pool in the state of florida

is somewhere around $50,000, $60,000.

This pool is in the seven figures.

Narrator: Homeowners shon and sharyn craig designed their pool

for thrills, relaxation, and everything in between.

♪ high five, time to ride ♪

♪ everybody jump in ♪

♪ come on, let's ride ♪

we love to boat. We love to fish.

We love all kinds of water sports.

They fly jet packs. They have a fleet of yachts.

So, I said, "we've got to create a pool here

that's just as adventurous as they are.

♪ the party will come alive ♪

my biggest requirement when we wanted to do the pool

was to make it a comfortable, functional,

and blend in with the gulf of mexico.

♪♪

ryan: Underneath this pool, there's a series of 77 helical pilings.

Narrator: The pilings serve as support columns

to support the enormous weight of the pool's shell.

The elevated hot tub alone

weighs a staggering 50,000 pounds.

Ryan: The centerpiece of the pool is the second-floor hot tub.

That is where the whole journey in this pool begins.

That spills over into the 10-foot-deep plunge pool.

From there, you go over a 14-foot wide acrylic window

into what we call the lounge pool.

From there, water spills down one more level

into the 45-foot lap pool.

♪♪

this pool is the most beautiful work of art.

There's 7,000 square feet of one-by-one glass tile.

We wanted to do the tile detail, more to artistry

rather than just simply a pattern.

All of this was hand-done and designed,

and then they broke it into sections,

brought it here, and then reset it.

[ chuckling ] it's really expensive.

The hot tub is our favorite part of the pool.

Ryan: This is a super-high-performance spa.

24 jets, using two five-horsepower pumps.

One of the things that we wanted to do with this cantilever spa

was create the feel of a grotto below.

This was actually one of the most challenging areas

to construct from an engineering standpoint.

We're about five feet above the finished grade,

but then we're another 15 feet below that

to our foundation system.

So we literally have a 20-foot concrete wall here

that's holding up this section of deck

and holding up this 50,000-pound spa.

Narrator: A three-inch thick acrylic window

gives guests an unexpected view into the plunge pool.

It seems to be the most popular feature

for all of the guests when they come here.

We entertain and love having people over so much

that the pool was really just an extension

of our love of friends and family.

Ryan: We wanted to do something fun with the 24-karat gold tiles

where we kind of mimic the constellations in the sky

so that when the sun starts to set,

you actually get this reflection,

and it literally looks like the stars in the sky.

♪ I'm floating like a dream ♪

♪ through the city lights ♪

one of the things we wanted to make sure is at night,

this pool took on a whole nother life.

So we created this really intricate led lighting system

where all the key architectural elements

inside this pool have accent led lights.

It can be romantic.

It can be, you know,

in full party mode just by changing the lights.

♪ we're flying high ♪

♪ above the city lights ♪

♪ just a midnight ride ♪

♪ through the city lights ♪

we do travel all over the world, and we see some amazing sights,

and all we want to do is come back home.

♪ ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

♪ ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

it does not get any better than this.

Narrator: As unique and diverse as these pools are,

each reflects the singular vision and values

of their owners.

Through bold engineering and patient construction,

they're taking pool design to all-new heights...

And depths.