Inground pools in Strongsville, Ohio

Strongsville became a township in 1818, a village in 1923 and a city in 1961. Its population jumped from about 8,500 in 1960 to 46,491 at the 2020 census. Most of the housing went up in the decades after the city formed, spread over roughly 25 square miles in the southwest corner of Cuyahoga County, where Interstate 71 meets the Ohio Turnpike.

That building boom left its mark in the soil. When we sampled USDA soil survey data across the city, the most common map unit was Mahoning-Urban land complex, which is Mahoning silt loam mixed with ground that has been built over, graded or paved. Loamy Udorthents, the survey's term for cut and fill ground, turned up several times. In practice, a Strongsville backyard is often part original clay and part soil that a builder moved decades ago. Fill settles differently from undisturbed till, so we want to know where it is before we set a pool on it. The topographic survey the city requires helps with that.

Mahoning itself is somewhat poorly drained glacial till with a perched water table close to the surface for much of the year. A few spots in the city map as Hornell silt loam, which the USDA describes as 20 to 40 inches of till over shale. Any lot showing Hornell gets a closer look before we pick a depth for the deep end.

Cleveland Metroparks' Mill Stream Run Reservation follows the East Branch of the Rocky River through Strongsville, and about 2,000 acres of it are inside the city. Lots that back onto the reservation can have more trees, a slope toward the river valley and more leaves in the water each fall. Those yards are where we most often end up talking about retaining walls, surface drains above the pool and an automatic cover. On the flatter ground elsewhere in the city, the main issue is slow drainage in the clay, not slope.

We lead with fiberglass here. A Liberty shell is factory made and one piece, so its shape doesn't depend on the soil it sits in, and the smooth finish holds up well to the freeze and thaw cycles of a Cleveland winter. With a 15 foot setback on every side, many subdivision lots suit a mid-size shell such as the Victory 11x22 or Hero 12x26, with room left for a patio. Larger lots can take the 14x30 Anthem or a 16 foot wide model with a tanning ledge.

If a family wants a shape no mold makes, we build an ICF concrete pool. The insulated walls hold heat and stretch the season. Latham vinyl liner pools are the budget-friendly way to get a custom size. Either way, we draw the pool in 3D on your survey so you can see the setbacks, the fence line and the patio before any digging starts.

A realistic budget helps the planning. Our fiberglass packages start at $68,400 installed. That includes the shell, Pentair variable-speed pump, DE filter, a pool heater and LED lights, a 4 foot concrete deck, a cleaning kit, startup chemicals and electrical hook-up at the equipment. The barrier fence, extra patio, hauling away the dirt, dewatering and the electrical run from your panel to the pad are extras. In Strongsville you should also plan for the sealed topographic survey. We lay all of it out in writing, and we work with lenders if you want to finance.

The Strongsville Building Department on Foltz Parkway issues pool permits. Its Residential Swimming Pool Installation Guide, along with Section 1252.29 of the zoning code, sets the rules:

• If you belong to a homeowners association, talk to it before plans go to the Building Department.
• Pools go in the rear yard, at least 15 feet from all property lines. The zoning code applies the same distance to pool equipment and accessory structures, and keeps them out of front and side yards.
• Pools may not be placed in any easement.
• Inground pools need a new topographic map showing existing and proposed elevations around the pool. It has to carry a professional surveyor's seal and be approved by the Engineering Department.
• The application includes four copies of the site plan and two copies of the specifications for the pool, pump, filter, heater, electrical, auto-cover and pool lighting.

Barriers follow the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, which the city adopts in Chapter 1458. The barrier must be at least 48 inches high, measured on the outside. The gap at the bottom can be up to 2 inches over grass or mulch, or 4 inches over concrete, and no opening may pass a 4 inch sphere. Pedestrian gates must open outward away from the pool, self-close and self-latch, and be able to take a lock. The city's guide notes that a pool with a powered safety cover meeting ASTM F1346 is not held to the ISPSC barrier requirements. That is worth thinking about if you want an automatic cover anyway, but check your homeowners insurance and HOA before you rely on it.

Fences in side and rear yards can be up to 6 feet under Section 1252.17, and corner lots have extra setbacks from the side street. The city amended that section in 2025, so we check the current text for your lot.

The city inspects the underground electrical before backfill, the gas line if you have a heater, the bonding of the shell, deck and equipment, and the deck before the concrete is poured. Then come the electrical and heat finals, a building final that checks the barrier and gates, and a grading final if the ground was changed. The 2019 Residential Code of Ohio puts the duty on the owner and contractor to leave work exposed until it is inspected, and we schedule around that.

The 15 foot rule is where lots get tight. In 2021 the Board of Zoning and Building Code Appeals heard from a homeowner who needed a rear setback variance because a power line and a communication cable ruled out the obvious spot, leaving only a space too close to the rear line. Easements and utility lines matter as much as the setback, so we locate both before the design is final.

Strongsville is a longer drive for our crews than most towns, so we plan the schedule around it and keep site visits efficient. We also build in Broadview Heights, Brecksville, Richfield, Medina and Bath, and each one words its pool rules differently, so we start every job by reading the local code.