The material that surrounds the perimeter of your swimming pool and/or spa. On a “Gunite” or cement pool, the coping is typically about 12 inches wide, and usually made out of brick, paving stones, natural stone, or a precast cement material. On a vinyl-liner pool, the coping may be only one or two inches wide, and made of plastic, vinyl, or aluminum. Coping can be made completely obsolete with the construction technique known as “cantilevered deck,” in which the decking material extends over the edge of the pool and becomes a substitute for actual coping material.