The Teaster's Journal
Thirty years of building and looking after outdoor property in the Smoky Mountains, written down. Practical guidance on pools, stone, planting and grounds care — what we would tell you standing on the site.
Planning a pool in East Tennessee: what to sort out first
The decisions that shape a pool project before a shovel moves: access, slope, soil, sun, setbacks and how the pool will actually be used.
Read →How to choose a pool builder in East Tennessee
What actually separates pool builders in the Smoky Mountains: who holds the whole build, who has worked on slope and rock, licensing, and the questions to ask before you sign.
Read →Indoor or outdoor: choosing for a mountain property
The honest trade-offs between an indoor and an outdoor pool on a sloped, wooded East Tennessee lot — season, site, upkeep and what each one asks of the building.
Read →How to build a custom gunite pool in East Tennessee
The full path to a custom gunite pool in East Tennessee — why gunite suits mountain lots, how the site shapes the build, the construction sequence, and the design calls.
Read →Installing a pool on mountain terrain: access, soil and permits
The three site conditions that decide a mountain pool installation in East Tennessee — how equipment reaches the lot, what the soil and rock hold, and the permits a slope pulls in.
Read →Building a pool on a sloped lot
How mountain terrain changes a pool build: retaining structure, drainage, access and the design moves that turn a slope into the best part of the property.
Read →Gunite, vinyl liner or fiberglass: how to choose
An honest comparison of the three pool construction types — shape freedom, durability, maintenance and which suits a mountain site.
Read →What actually happens, week by week, when a pool is built
The real sequence of a gunite pool build, from layout and excavation through gunite, tile, decking, plaster and start-up — and where the waiting happens.
Read →Smoky Mountain cabin pools: building one on your rental property
What it takes to add a pool to a Smoky Mountain rental cabin: how it changes bookings, the year-round question, and the mountain-lot realities behind the build.
Read →Private pool cabins in the Smokies: design ideas for rental owners
How to design a private pool at a Smoky Mountain rental cabin so it books: the listing photo, privacy, the hot-tub pairing, and finishes built for turnover.
Read →Putting a pool inside a cabin: what the building has to do
An indoor pool is a building problem before it is a pool problem. Structure, vapour control, ventilation and drainage decide whether the room lasts.
Read →Pool water chemistry without the guesswork
What to test, what the numbers should be, and why balance matters more than chlorine — a practical guide for gunite pool owners.
Read →Opening and closing a pool in East Tennessee
When to open and close a pool in the Smoky Mountain region, what each process involves, and the freeze-protection details that matter here.
Read →Running an indoor pool through a Tennessee winter
What changes when a pool is under a roof and in use in January: heating, dehumidification, air quality and a water chemistry routine that does not get a winter off.
Read →Choosing pool decking: travertine, pavers or concrete
How pool decking materials actually behave underfoot, in the sun and through a Tennessee winter — and how to choose between them.
Read →Why retaining walls fail here, and how to build one that does not
Drainage, base preparation and freeze-thaw: what actually makes a retaining wall last on East Tennessee terrain.
Read →Outdoor living hardscape design: patios, fire, and kitchens
How outdoor living hardscape is designed in East Tennessee — patios, fire features and kitchens as one connected system, built to the slope and to survive freeze-thaw.
Read →From bare dirt to finished design — before anyone breaks ground
A real case study from Smith Creek Reserve: how a graded dirt pad and a hand sketch became photoreal renderings, films and a walk-through model of the finished backyard — before any ground was broken.
Read →What does a pool actually cost here?
Almost nobody in this trade will answer that in public. We built a tool that does — pick your size, shape, depth and finishes and it returns a planning range for your build, with no phone call first.
Build yours and see the range