From Helicopters to Hot Tubs: The Wildest Pool Requests We’ve Heard

When you’ve been in the pool business as long as Clancy Kaye has, you hear it all. As CEO of Pioneer Valley Fiberglass Pools and Spas in Westfield, Massachusetts, Kaye has fielded countless questions from prospective pool owners…some practical, some creative and some of the truly wildest pool requests that push the boundaries of what’s physically (or financially) possible.

“You get everything,” Kaye recalled, reflecting on decades of customer conversations. And while most requests are perfectly reasonable, a few stand out as particularly memorable.

bout four years ago, Kaye received a call from a customer who wanted a lap pool. Nothing unusual there, until the customer specified his requirements. “He wanted it 200 feet long,” Kaye emphasized.

While the longest fiberglass pools from Leisure Pools max out at around 40 feet, this customer had his heart set on an Olympic-length swimming experience. After discussing the realities of fiberglass pool manufacturing, Kaye worked to find a practical alternative. “I explained that for that kind of distance, a natural body of water like a lake might be a better fit,” Kaye said. While it wasn’t the answer the customer initially hoped for, it helped redirect him toward a solution that could actually work for his swimming goals.

Perhaps the most extravagant request came from a customer living on a mountainside. The winding driveway made traditional pool delivery impossible, but the homeowner had a solution. “He said, ‘Let’s rent a helicopter,'” Kaye remembered. “He kept saying, ‘I’ve got plenty of money.'”

Intrigued, Kaye investigated the logistics. The helicopter rental alone would cost around $20,000, but the real complication came next: authorities would need to notify every property owner along the flight path. “Suddenly this didn’t seem like a great plan anymore,” Kaye noted. The customer quietly pivoted from his ambitions after learning the full scope of what his plan would entail.

While helicopter deliveries for rooftop pools have been done in rare cases, this particular project never came to fruition.

One of the more common unusual requests? Customers wanting to install pools on elevated wooden decks. “I’ve had several people want to put it on their wooden decks,” Kaye explained. “They just simply were ill-informed of what they were looking at.”

The reality check comes down to weight. An average pool filled with water weighs 50,000 to 60,000 pounds, far beyond what a typical deck can support. “The deck would never be rated to carry that weight,” Kaye pointed out. “You’d have to build a framework around it and support it from the bottom. It would pull a deck down in two seconds.”

Some customers get creative with pool aesthetics. Kaye has received requests for clients for custom tile inlays in pool floors, which can actually be done with certain pool brands. One customer even wanted to paint black stripes on the bottom of his 40-foot pool, similar to the lane markers in Olympic pools, to help him stay oriented during lap swims.

Kaye steered him toward a more practical solution: floating lane ropes with buoys that could be removed when guests came over. Kaye informed the customer that the stripes on the bottom of the pool are going to look out of place, and, further, who knows how long the paint may last?

Another customer inquired about dyeing their pool water orange for a party. Instead of potentially damaging pool chemistry with dyes, Kaye suggested using colored LED pool lights to achieve the desired effect, a solution that worked perfectly.

While most homeowners stick with a single pool, Kaye remembered one customer request years ago who went above and beyond. They installed a traditional pool alongside The Palladium Plunge model, which they converted into an oversized hot tub. “That was a pretty cool project,” Kaye noted. “I think we only did something like that once.”

What might seem like an outlandish request often stems from customers simply not knowing the technical limitations or possibilities of fiberglass pools. “We have sizes and shapes to fit probably 98% of the population,” Kaye explained. “Now if you’re a famous musician and you want a guitar-shaped pool, we can’t help you. But for everyone else, we can usually find a solution.”

After earning recognition this year as Manufacturer of the Year in 2025, a 2024 Aqua 100 Hall of Fame induction, and multiple Leisure Pools awards including National Dealer of the Year, Kaye has proven that success in the pool business requires more than just installation expertise. It takes creativity, patience, and the ability to guide customers toward realistic solutions that still fulfill their dreams.

Sometimes that means explaining why a helicopter delivery isn’t practical. Other times it means suggesting floating lane ropes instead of permanent paint. But always, it means listening to what customers want and finding ways to make their backyard vision a reality, even when that vision starts out a little wild.

Ready to turn your backyard dreams into reality? Whether you’re envisioning a classic lap pool or something more creative, Leisure Pools has the expertise and selection to make it happen. With fiberglass pool models in sizes and shapes to fit nearly every backyard, our experienced dealer network can guide you toward the perfect solution. Visit Leisure Pools to explore our pool models and find a dealer near you.