Custom pool builder for Paradise Valley estates and hillsides

Paradise Valley's acre-plus lots and views of Camelback and Mummy Mountain call for water that reads as part of the architecture. Morris Pools designs, builds and remodels custom concrete pools for estate and hillside homes across the Town. Our family-owned team has built custom pools since December 2010, from a base in the East Valley of Arizona about 30 minutes from Town Hall.

Water as architecture

Our recent Paradise Valley work shows the range. On the south face of Camelback Mountain, one home has four separate bodies of water: a pool and spa anchored to the rear pavilion, and twin reflecting basins flanking the entry walk. At another, a 50-foot, one-million-BTU linear fire feature runs behind an infinity-edge spa clad in glass tile, with a raised water wall, stainless steel sheer descents on the exact centerline of the entry and a polished Wet Edge pebble finish. At a third, a single unbroken sheet of water falls against chiseled limestone into the spa.

Detail like this is engineered long before excavation. Flow rates, weir design and hydraulics are calculated so a sheer falls as one clean pane and a vanishing edge holds its line, and every phase is checked on site.

Vanishing edges toward Camelback and the valley

On a hillside lot, a vanishing-edge pool facing Camelback or the valley below is the classic choice, and in Paradise Valley it is also a test of discipline. Decks that step down with the natural grade keep the disturbance area small, and the vanishing wall becomes an engineered, finished part of the hillside. Our 2022 PHTA Gold-winning hillside pool shows what that balance looks like.

On flatland estates, a pool can be a formal centerpiece on the main axis of the house, with a perimeter-overflow edge, a cabana and an outdoor kitchen. Materials and lighting are chosen to suit the architecture, and on hillside lots the Town reviews both, so we plan them from the start.

Working with your team

Most Paradise Valley projects involve an architect, a home builder and a landscape designer. We collaborate from the earliest drawings, so the architecture informs the outdoor spaces and the grading, drainage, utilities and pool barrier are planned together.

While the house is still on paper, we can advise on where the pool, spa, equipment and barrier should sit, so the home and the water are designed as one composition rather than fitted together later. At handover, we program your equipment and walk you through everything, and our weekly pool service team can care for the pool from there.

Hillside review and permits

Much of Paradise Valley is zoned R-43, with a one-acre minimum lot size, and the Town's process reflects the care it expects. We prepare the submittal, then handle the permits, inspections and HOA approvals.

The submittal. Pool and spa permits are applied for through the Town's online Citizen Portal. A typical package includes a site plan, structural calculations, a pool plan from an engineer and a dust control plan: the Town's own plan for smaller disturbed areas, or a Maricopa County dust control permit once the disturbance exceeds 0.10 acre. The Town may also ask for an HOA acknowledgment.

Hillside review. On hillside-designated property, the Town's Hillside Building Committee reviews new pools before they can be permitted. Working under Article XXII of the Zoning Ordinance, it looks at land disturbance, grading and drainage, height, lighting and materials. Hillside applications usually also need a construction staging plan, a form of financial assurance, and limits of disturbance staked and photographed in the field. Excavation, decks, cuts and fills all count toward the disturbance limit, which is why we design hillside pools to follow the slope rather than flatten it.

Drainage. On large lots with washes and retention basins, where water goes matters, including backwash and the water from draining the pool. The Town publishes a swimming pool drainage handout, and we design your pool to follow it.

Remodeling an estate pool

An older Paradise Valley pool can often be transformed rather than replaced. On a recent remodel here, custom leathered travertine now wraps the deck and coping, and Wet Edge's Primera Stone finish gives the water a deep, jewel-like clarity. A remodel can also rework depths and structure, or redesign the pool entirely.

Each part of a remodel has its own page: resurfacing and interior finishes, tile and coping, pool decking and equipment and automation. Every remodel is evaluated on site, pressure-tested and quoted individually, with a workmanship warranty of at least two years. Explore pool remodeling in Paradise Valley.

Signature work

• Vanishing-edge and perimeter-overflow pools facing the mountains
• Infinity-edge and raised spas, sheer descents and water walls
• Reflecting pools and entry water features
• Linear fire features, cabanas and outdoor kitchens
• Natural stone, custom tile and polished pebble finishes

Areas we serve: The slopes of Camelback Mountain, the Mummy Mountain area, Clearwater Hills, Cheney Estates, and estates along Lincoln Drive, McDonald Drive and Doubletree Ranch Road.

Why Paradise Valley homeowners choose Morris Pools

• Nine PHTA International Awards of Excellence in five consecutive years (2022–2026), three of them for vanishing edges
• Hillside submittals prepared for you: engineered pool plan, structural calculations, staging plan and disturbance limits
• Concrete construction to a dead-level bond beam, laser-checked tile elevations and a final wet test
• Owner-led: founder Daniel Morris was named to PoolPro's 30 Under 40 (2021); featured by Luxury Pools Magazine and Wet Edge Technologies
• Licensed under Arizona ROC #320987

Paradise Valley pool FAQs