—Steer clear of these missteps after major wind, rain, and flooding hits your pool

Powerful storms and hurricanes create headlines and can cause catastrophic damage. Along with your home, your backyard can get hit hard by high winds and torrents of rain that leave your pool in need of serious care and possibly some repairs.

—You may save time and negotiate a better deal by building your gunite pool in the fall or winter

Hands-down, spring is the busiest time for building inground swimming pools—but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best time to build your new backyard oasis.

—Good circulation, filtration, water chemistry, and maintenance can prevent algae blooms

It’s a fact of life: The microscopic spores that grow into algae are virtually everywhere outdoors.

Spores constantly enter your backyard swimming pool via the wind, the rain, on swimsuits, or even attached to previously spore-contaminated pool-cleaning equipment. While they are typically invisible to the naked eye, they won’t be if your pool environment allows them to sprout into tiny plant colonies.

—Chasing waterfalls? Natural rock can dramatically enhance your backyard oasis

A natural rock waterfall delivers unique sights, pleasant sounds, and a greater sense of serenity around your backyard swimming pool. These delightful custom features fit a range of swimming pool budgets, and they’re worth considering as part of your design plans for a new pool or remodel.

—How to protect against cryptosporidium and other chlorine-resistant organisms in your pool 

Have you noticed more news reports chronicling outbreaks of dangerous microorganisms in public swimming pools? One pathogen, in particular, cryptosporidium, has been rearing its ugly head with greater frequency, passing along—yuck—gastrointestinal distress and other aggravating side effects.

—Decorative and functional design elements to include in your backyard resort

Would you like to make the experience around your backyard pool the most enjoyable one possible for your family? When you’re ready to design a new concrete (gunite or shotcrete) swimming pool, don’t forget about great options that deliver added comfort and convenience.

Toward that end, here are three leisure-oriented pool features to consider: an umbrella-covered pool ledge for tanning and lounging, a built-in table and seating area inside your pool, and an activity-oriented, shallow-depth pool design.

Affordable pool sports, floating board games, and gear that turns your backyard into the most-used pool in the neighborhood. Most picks under $100.

Your pool is gorgeous. It cools you off, it raises your home value, and it makes your backyard the envy of the cul-de-sac. But after a few weeks of summer, even the most beautiful pool can start to feel like a one-trick amenity. Swim. Float. Repeat.

The fastest way to fix that is also the cheapest. Pool toys and games. Real ones, built for adults as much as kids. At Blue Haven, we have spent more than 65 years designing backyard pool resorts, and the pattern is the same every summer. Pools with a basketball hoop and a volleyball net get used more often. Family game night moves outside. Adult dinner parties end in a pool joust bracket. Kids invent rules and stick with them all summer.

Below are 10 of our favorites. Most are under $100, none require a contractor, and every one of them is built to make your pool the place everyone wants to be.