The site
A waterfront property in the Riverside section of Greenwich, with a meaningful grade dropping from the terrace toward the water. The brief was an open view to the Sound — no fence cutting the sight line — and a pool that read as part of the landscape rather than dropped onto it.
The engineering decision
On a sloped waterfront lot like this, the conventional approach is a retaining wall to hold the pool terrace at the upper elevation, plus a separate pool. We engineered the vanishing-edge wall to carry both jobs: it holds the terrace AND it is the architectural feature. One stamped structural wall instead of two. On the right slope, this is often cost-neutral or cheaper than a conventional pool plus a separate retaining wall — the math people don’t expect.
What it took
- Stamped PE structural drawings for the edge wall and catch basin, sized for the waterfront soil and water-pressure loads
- Engineered shell with continuous NEC 680.26 bonding through steel, coping, autocover track, and equipment pad
- Dual-loop hydraulics — main circulation plus a dedicated edge pump and catch basin
- FEMA-aware equipment-room and electrical elevations for the coastal flood zone
- Full thermal bluestone coping and a premium finish selected for the Sound-shore light
- Automatic pool cover integrated under the coping, accepted as the primary barrier under the local code path
The result
An open view to the water, a terrace held at the elevation the owner wanted, and one engineered wall doing the work of two. One contractor, one inspection sequence, one structural review.
Considering a vanishing edge on a sloped lot?
The cost math is worth a real conversation before the landscape architect locks in a retaining-wall design. See how slope inverts the vanishing-edge cost math.
John C. Gedney III
Owner, Gedney Pools, LLC
(203) 302-9920
[email protected]
Darien, CT
CT HIC.0704131 | CT SPB.0000169
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