If you're already building a pool, right now is the best time to add an outdoor kitchen too. Once construction wraps up, adding one later means more crews, more disruption, and more money out of pocket. This post breaks down exactly why timing matters and what your options look like.

—Answers for homeowners buying or remodeling a swimming pool

Financing is a popular approach that many homeowners use to pay for a new gunite pool or to remodel an aging one.

If you plan on financing a new backyard resort, it’s important to understand how home improvement loans work before you apply for or accept one.

—Rates are lower, and in-house finance experts know where to find the money

Building a new swimming pool is one of several kinds of home-improvement projects that observers say will increase in 2017. A recent survey by LightStream, a division of SunTrust Banks Inc., indicates 59 percent of homeowners expect to spend money on home renovation projects this year.