Tarrytown, Austin
Pool service in Pemberton Heights
Sullivan’s services pools in Pemberton Heights, the 1920s neighborhood east of MoPac around Pemberton Castle. The gardens here are old, deep and often terraced, so pools tend to sit at the bottom of a slope under a very large canopy. That combination — heavy organic load, limited sun, and a walk down to the water — is what shapes both the visit and the chemistry.
Where Pemberton Heights is, and what the ground does
Pemberton Heights runs about three quarters of a mile across. Its residential streets run from 512 ft to 612 ft above sea level — a fall of 100 ft along the streets themselves, and 120 ft boundary to boundary. The difference is the ground the houses are not on — greenbelt, gorge or park. The contour lines on the map are the same survey those numbers come from, and they cover the full frame.
- Pemberton Heights
- neighboring areas
- 10 ft contours
- creeks
- main roads
Edwards limestone, west of the Balcones Escarpment. Boundary: City of Austin Community Registry. Contours: City of Austin 2021 LiDAR. Creeks: City of Austin. Roads: US Census TIGER.
Pemberton Heights’s streets run from 512 ft to 612 ft — a 100 ft fall
That drop runs across three quarters of a mile, down toward Shoal Creek. Pemberton pools tend to sit on terraced back gardens — a flat pool deck cut into a slope, with retaining walls holding the ground above it. Those walls are the thing to watch: the plumbing usually runs behind or beneath them, and a leak in a line that sits behind a 1930s retaining wall is an expensive thing to reach. It is also why we would rather find a small pressure loss here early than have it found for us by a wet wall.
The creek draining this ground is Shoal Creek. Creek-side pools in Austin get two things the rest do not: more organic debris blowing off the corridor, and a faster, dirtier rise after a storm. Both are chlorine demand, and both are why a pool a street from the creek and one four streets away are not the same weekly job.
What Pemberton Heights is like to work in
- When it was built
- A 1920s and 1930s neighborhood, with pools added over many decades since.
- The lots
- Deep lots on curving, contoured streets, several stepping down towards Shoal Creek.
- What falls in
- Some of the oldest and largest trees in the city.
- Getting to the pool
- Sloped rear gardens and steps down to the water on a number of properties.
What we watch for here
- Terraced gardens mean runoff finds the pool after heavy rain, bringing soil and organics with it.
- Very large old trees put more in the water than the pool surface area suggests.
- Where the pool sits below the equipment, drainage and priming both need watching.
The ground under Pemberton Heights
Edwards limestone, west of the Balcones Escarpment. Thin soil over rock, steep lots, and a canopy of live oak and Ashe juniper. Decks stay put, but the leaf and pollen load is heavy from December through April and skimmer baskets fill fast.
What we do in Pemberton Heights
- Weekly pool cleaning and maintenance Same day each week. Water balanced, surfaces cleaned, equipment checked.
- Pool filter cleaning Cartridge, DE and sand — cleaned on pressure rather than on a calendar.
- Spa and hot tub service Attached spas and standalone tubs. Different chemistry, different schedule.
Pemberton Heights — questions people ask
Do you service pools in Pemberton Heights?
Yes — Pemberton Heights sits on our Tarrytown route alongside Tarrytown and Bryker Woods, and we are in the neighborhood weekly.
Why does my pool go cloudy after heavy rain?
On a terraced lot, rain does not simply fall into the pool — it runs across the garden and arrives carrying soil, mulch and organic matter, all of which consume chlorine and cloud the water. It is worth a check after a real storm rather than waiting for the next scheduled visit.
Pool service in Pemberton Heights?
We are on these streets most weeks. Tell us the pool and we will quote it.