- Thornton, CO · Serving the Denver Metro
Skip to content A floating deck pool build gives you a full deck around your pool without touching the house — freestanding, self-supporting, and set on its own foundation. It’s the fastest, cleanest way to turn a pool sitting in the middle of a lawn into a proper outdoor room. And thankfully, our local team of decking experts is also floating deck pool builders with years of experience on every project.
We design and build custom floating pool decks in composite and wood across Thornton and the Denver metro: full surrounds, partial platforms, multi-level layouts with steps and rails, and ground-level lounge decks that sit an inch above the grass.
Because it’s freestanding, a floating deck for pool surrounds is usually quicker to permit and quicker to build than an attached deck. Because it’s in Colorado, it still has to be built for frost, clay, and snow load — which is where most kit-built decks fall over.
Tell us about your pool and yard, and we’ll measure, discuss layouts, and put together a written scope.
Definitions
A floating deck is a deck that stands on its own. It isn’t ledger-bolted to your house; it doesn’t rely on the pool for support, and it rests on its own pads, blocks, or piers rather than being tied into the building’s structure. Builders also call it a freestanding or self-supporting deck. It does not float on the water — the name describes the foundation, not the surface.
That independence is the whole appeal. Nothing gets fastened to your siding, so there’s no flashing to fail and no risk of water tracking into the wall. The deck can sit anywhere in the yard, not just where the house allows. And if you ever move the pool, replace it, or change the layout, you can modify or remove a floating pool deck without leaving a scar on the house.
The trade-off is that the deck now carries everything the house would have carried. Every post, beam, and connection must be sized for the full load, and the foundation has to handle Colorado ground on its own terms. That’s the difference between a floating deck pool build that stays level for twenty years and one that racks and tilts after two winters. This is why working with local floating deck pool builders is the best way to ensure your deck is designed and installed properly.
What We Repair
Every yard and every pool is different, so we build each floating pool deck around your space, your pool height, and how you want to use it.
A complete deck wrapping the entire pool, level with the rim, with railing and a gated entry. This is the classic floating deck layout — it turns the pool into the centerpiece of a finished outdoor room and makes getting in and out genuinely easy instead of a laborious ladder routine.
You don’t always need to go all the way around. A deck on one or two sides costs considerably less, leaves room for landscaping, and often suits the yard better. Partial layouts are the least considered of the floating deck pool ideas we present, and they’re often the right answer.
Where the pool rim is high, stepping the deck down in two or three levels makes the whole structure feel like part of the yard rather than a platform bolted around a tank. Levels also separate zones naturally — dining up top, lounging below.
A low floating deck for pool surrounds that sit near grade, or an adjacent platform for chairs and a table beside an inground pool. Sitting an inch or two above the lawn, these need no railing in most cases, which keeps costs down and preserves sightlines.
Pergolas, privacy screens, seating benches, and integrated planters built into the deck frame rather than added afterward. Planning them into the structure from the start is far cheaper than retrofitting posts through a finished surface.
Curved edges, wrap-around corners, and cut-outs around existing trees or equipment. Composite decking is the material we most often recommend around water — it handles constant splash-out, pool chemistry, and altitude UV without the annual sanding and staining a timber deck needs.
Not sure which layout suits your yard? That’s what the free estimate visit is for. Our floating deck pool builders will walk the space, sketch the floating deck for pool options that fit it, and put numbers to each.
Budget
We price every floating pool deck after we’ve seen the site and our team of floating deck pool builders has had a firsthand look. The variables that move the number most:
The honest guidance: on a floating deck, the cheapest bids save money in the foundation and the framing, because that’s the part nobody can see once the boards go down. Ask any floating deck pool contractors you’re comparing what the deck sits on, how deep it goes, how the frame is braced against racking, and what the hardware is. Vague answers to those four questions tell you more than the price does.
We’d rather explain what’s in our number than be the lowest one. Every quote comes with a written scope listing what’s going into the ground and what’s holding the deck up.
How It Works
We look at your pool, the yard, sun and shade, and how you want to use the space — then talk layout, height, materials, and which floating deck pool ideas actually fit the site. Furniture and traffic paths come before square footage.
Every floating deck pool Thornton, CO build starts here: grade, drainage, soil, and what’s under the surface. On expansive clay, this drives the foundation spec, because a freestanding deck has nothing else holding it level.
We confirm what your scope needs. Height, size, railing, and whether the deck forms part of the pool barrier all affect what’s required — and the answer varies by jurisdiction across the metro.
Pads, blocks, or piers set to the depth the site and code call for, then a pressure-treated frame sized for full self-supporting load with proper diagonal bracing. This stage decides whether the deck stays square.
Boards, fascia, railing, steps, and gates. Around a pool, entry points and the gap between deck and pool wall get detailed carefully — that’s where safety and comfort actually live.
Final hardware, clean-up, and a walkthrough with our floating deck pool builders, covering care, seasonal checks, and what to look at each spring.
See the Difference
Drag the slider: a pool sitting bare in a lawn, then the same pool surrounded by a finished floating deck with railing and steps.
← Drag the handle to compare
Why Us
Straight Answer
Not every deck should float. This is the first thing we work out on site, and it’s worth understanding before you get quotes. We won’t pressure you into something that is not right for your home. And our floating deck pool builders promise to treat your home with the same level of care and respect we would our own homes.
So, do you need a floating deck or a footed deck?
A floating deck usually suits
A footed deck is usually the right call when
The important honesty here: “floating” describes the foundation, not a license to skip engineering. Plenty of what gets sold as a floating deck is a frame resting on patio blocks on top of untouched sod. That will heave in a Front Range winter. We build floating decks with a properly prepared bearing surface, and where the size, height, or local code calls for frost-depth footings, we tell you that instead of selling you the cheaper answer.
Inspiration
Most people arrive picturing a full rectangular surround. It’s a good option, but it’s rarely the only one, and it’s usually the most expensive. Some of the floating deck pool ideas that come up most often on site visits:
Bring us a photo of your yard and a rough idea. Laying it out on site before anything is built is free, and it’s the step people are gladdest they didn’t rush.
Local Conditions
The floating deck pool Thornton, CO yards actually need has to handle three things a deck in a mild climate never does.
Groundwater freezes and expands, lifting whatever sits on top of it. Our frost depth is significant, and a frame resting on blocks laid on untouched sod will move — usually unevenly, which racks a frame and pops fasteners. The fix is a properly prepared, drained, compacted bearing surface, and frost-depth footings wherever the structure’s size or height calls for them.
Much of Adams County sits on bentonite-bearing clay that swells when wet and shrinks as it dries. Add pool splash-out and sprinkler overspray, and you have soil that changes volume right where the deck’s supports sit. Drainage away from the bearing points matters as much as the bearing points themselves.
Exposure at 5,000-plus feet is roughly 25 percent stronger than at sea level, so board color, finish, and material choice all matter more. And a deck that carries a season of snow needs framing sized for it — a freestanding structure has no house to share the load with.
This is why we don’t quote a floating pool deck from a photo. Two identical pools in two yards a mile apart can need different foundations.
Service Areas
Looking for floating deck pool contractors near me? All Pro Thornton Deck Builders serves Thornton, Denver, and the surrounding areas of Adams and Weld counties — from the floating deck pool Thornton, CO homeowners hire us for, to floating pool deck Denver projects on older, tighter lots. Here is the list of towns that we serve:
Permit requirements and soil conditions vary across the metro, so a floating pool deck Denver job and one in Broomfield can be specced quite differently. Don’t see your town? Ask about your address.
Reviews
More From All Pro
A pool deck is often one piece of a larger outdoor plan. If your project turns out to be bigger than a repair, we handle the rest of it too.
New pool decks in concrete, paver, stone, and composite, built for Colorado conditions.
Framed decking and surrounds built around above ground pools.
Resurfacing, crack repair, and coping work on an existing deck.
Multi-level, wraparound, and ground-level decks in wood or composite.
Code-compliant railing systems, including pool-area barrier requirements.
Good to Know
A floating deck is a freestanding deck that isn’t attached to the house and rests on its own pads, blocks, or piers rather than being tied into the building’s structure. It’s also called a freestanding or self-supporting deck. Despite the name, it doesn’t float on water — “floating” describes the foundation, not the surface.
Yes, and full surrounds are one of the most common projects we do. A floating pool deck can wrap the pool completely, run along one or two sides, or step down in levels where the rim sits high. Because it’s freestanding, you can also modify, extend, or remove it later without any work to the house.
Often, yes, and it depends on size, height, railing, and whether the deck forms part of the pool barrier. Requirements differ across the metro, so we confirm what applies to your address during the estimate rather than guessing. Being freestanding sometimes simplifies the process, but it doesn’t automatically exempt a deck.
Sometimes. Many low, small, freestanding decks can be built on a properly prepared and drained bearing surface. Larger, taller, or roofed structures generally need frost-depth footings, and some jurisdictions require them regardless. What never works in Colorado is blocks dropped on untouched sod — that heaves. We’ll tell you which category your build falls into.
It depends on size, height, decking material, railing, levels, and ground conditions. A ground-level partial platform in pressure-treated pine and a full composite surround with railing and steps around a tall pool are very different projects. We price after a site visit and provide a written scope showing what’s in the ground and what supports the deck.
Built correctly, yes. The difference is that a floating deck carries the entire load itself instead of sharing it with the house, so posts, beams, and bracing must be sized accordingly. A properly braced freestanding frame is extremely stable. A poorly braced one racks, which is the failure people associate with the word “floating.”
Capped composite is our usual recommendation for a floating deck around a pool. It handles constant splash-out, pool chemistry, and altitude UV without annual sanding and staining, and it holds grip when wet. Cedar and pressure-treated pine cost less up front but need sealing every year or two around water, because a pool deck never fully dries out.
It depends on height and on whether the deck forms part of the pool barrier. Decks near grade often don’t require it; decks raised to the rim of a tall pool almost always do, and gates may need self-closing, self-latching hardware. We design to the requirements rather than adding them afterward.
Most residential floating pool decks take a few days to two weeks on site depending on size, height, and material. Permitting can add time before the crew starts, which is why we begin that early.
Yes. Around an inground pool, a floating pool deck usually takes the form of a raised lounge platform or a defined seating area next to the hard deck, rather than a full surround. It’s a good way to add a shaded or elevated zone without pouring more concrete.
No. The deck sits on its own supports and doesn’t bear on the pool wall — anything relying on the pool for structural support is built wrong. Grass under a low deck will die back, so we usually recommend a weed barrier and gravel beneath rather than leaving sod in place.
More easily than an attached deck, yes. That’s one of the genuine advantages: because nothing is bolted to the house and the foundation is self-contained, a floating deck can be dismantled, modified, or extended without repairs to the building.
We serve Thornton, Northglenn, Westminster, Broomfield, Denver, Brighton, Commerce City, Arvada, Aurora, and the surrounding north metro, plus much of Adams and Weld counties. If you’re searching for a floating deck pool company anywhere in the greater Thornton area, we most likely cover you — and if we don’t, we’ll say so rather than waste your time.
Then this isn’t the right page for you, and we’d rather say so. Our above-ground pool decks page covers attached and footed options, entry and ladder details, and pool-specific heights. If you want a concrete surround instead of a framed deck, see our pool deck installation page.
All Pro Thornton Deck Builders has built freestanding decks across the greater Thornton area since 2012 — licensed, bonded, and insured — with crews who build for Colorado frost and clay rather than to a kit plan.
Whether you want a full surround, a partial platform, or a low lounge deck beside the water, the floating deck pool Thornton, CO homeowners come to us for starts the same way: we walk the yard, lay out the space, and put a written scope and price in front of you.
