Pool coping

The edge detail at the waterline — the most-touched surface in the whole backyard.

What it does

Caps the pool wall, gives a safe grip at the edge, and sheds water away from the shell rather than back into it.

Materials

Natural stone, precast concrete and porcelain each behave differently underfoot in August sun and under bare wet feet.

What to know

Coping sets the level everything else works to. It is fitted before the deck field and it is where poor workmanship is most obvious.

Whatever the material, the base under it and the water around it decide how it looks in ten years.