Inground pools in Solon, Ohio

Solon covers about 20 square miles and had 24,262 residents in the 2020 census. Most of the residential land is zoned into single family districts with set lot sizes. R-1-A lots start at 16,000 square feet and 80 feet wide. R-1-B starts at 18,000 square feet and R-1-C at 24,000. R-1-D lots are an acre with 140 feet of width, and the R-1-E district requires 5 acres. There is also an R-1-F district for the golf course community.

That spread matters. On an R-1-A lot, a house can sit 5 feet from one side line as long as the two side yards add up to 20 feet, and the back yard is often the only real space for a pool. On an R-1-D or R-1-E lot the side setbacks jump to 20 and 40 feet, and room is rarely the issue. Most of our Solon conversations start with the plat and the zoning district, because they decide which pool sizes are even possible.

If your subdivision has a homeowners association, its covenants may add their own rules for fences, pools and plantings. Those are private rules, separate from the city code, so we ask to see them early.

Points we sampled on the USDA soil survey around Solon came back as Wadsworth silt loam, Mahoning silt loam mixed with graded urban land, and Fitchville silt loam, with Orrville soils along the streams. Wadsworth and Mahoning both formed in glacial till and are somewhat poorly drained. The USDA puts Wadsworth's perched water table 7 to 11 inches down from October to June, sitting on a dense fragipan that water moves through slowly. Orrville flood plain soils flood frequently.

In a subdivision, the original soil has usually been cut, filled and regraded when the streets went in, which is why the survey calls some of it urban land. Fill over wet till is common. We dig expecting water in spring, plan for pumping, and set the shell with a way to relieve groundwater pressure. We also look hard at where the yard drains now. Solon's building code has its own swimming pool chapter, Chapter 1486, and two of its sections are titled conformity to natural grade and drainage. We treat grading as part of the permit set, and we would not build a pool that sends its runoff into a neighbor's yard either way.

On the typical Solon back yard, fiberglass is where we start. A Liberty shell fits inside the setbacks predictably because its size is fixed, it installs quickly, and the finish holds up to wet clay and freezing winters. Models like the Anthem 14x30 suit a larger R-1-C or R-1-D yard, while a Dignity 10x20 or Enrichment 9x17 works on tighter lots. When a family wants a shape or size no mold offers, we build ICF concrete or a Latham vinyl liner pool instead.

Solon limits accessory structures, pools included, to 25 percent of the rear yard area. A big deck, a pergola and a shed can eat into that fast, so we plan the pool, patio and any outdoor kitchen as one layout and check the coverage before you fall in love with a drawing.

The Solon Building Department at 34200 Bainbridge Road issues permits for inground pools deeper than 24 inches. Fences, patios and electrical work carry their own permits. The zoning rules sit in Section 1286.06(F) of the city's zoning code, and Solon defines a swimming pool as one with 250 square feet or more of water surface or a depth over 2 feet.

• The pool must be in the rear yard.
• It must meet the side yard setback for your zoning district. If your house already sits closer to the side line than current code allows, the pool may line up with the house, as long as it stays at least 15 feet from any building on the neighboring lot.
• It must be at least 15 feet from an interior rear property line, and 40 feet from a street behind the lot.
• The pool, or the yard it sits in, must be surrounded by a rigid fence or wall at least 5 feet and no more than 6 feet high. Gates must be locked when the pool is not in use. Where the fence meets the house, a house door can serve as an entry.
• The pool cannot be used, or even filled with water, until the fence is installed.
• Decks, patios and other pool features must meet the same setbacks as the pool. One pool equipment building up to 144 square feet is allowed within 15 feet of the water.
• If the pool is within 200 feet of any home, pool use and pool lighting end by 10:30 PM, and lights must be shielded so they shine only on the pool.

That fill rule changes the order of a fiberglass install. We normally add water to a shell while we backfill so the pressure stays balanced on the walls. In Solon, the fence has to be in place before that happens. We set the fence sequence and inspection schedule with the city before the shell is delivered, so the crane day and the fill do not stall.

Our fiberglass packages start at $68,400 installed, including the Pentair pump, filter, heater and LED lights, a 4 foot concrete deck, installation and the electrical hook-up at the equipment. Beyond the package, Solon owners should plan for the 5 to 6 foot fence, any extra patio, the electrical run from the house panel to the equipment pad, haul-off of the excavated clay and dewatering if the dig takes on water. We price each of those during the 3D design stage, and we can connect you with our financing partners.

Solon borders Bainbridge, Twinsburg, Chagrin Falls and Reminderville, and we build throughout that area, along with Aurora and Macedonia. Part of Cleveland Metroparks' South Chagrin Reservation lies inside the city, and if your lot backs up to woods like those, we plan for leaf litter, roots and shade when we pick the pool's spot.