ARTICLES Archives - Page 311 of 314

Easing Troubled Waters

Just think about what can happen if a customer seeks compensation for some problem that has arisen in the course of installing a watershape: Whether the complaint is

Designing and building a stream is no small task. The usual scale of these projects, along with typically high customer expectations for a convincingly ‘natural’ look, combine to ratchet the difficulty level up several notches. Here, landscape designer Rick Anderson, who specializes in streams, shares his expertise in approaching these challenges as a guide to watershapers who aim to please with wandering waters of their own.

As I see it, there are six main types of watershapes: pools, spas, fountains, ponds, waterfalls and streams. Although there is tremendous variety within each category, I think most of us in the business would put pools, spas and fountains in one sub-group and ponds, waterfalls, and streams in another. Obviously, there's room for overlapping here - waterfalls installed with pools, for example, or fountains in the middle of ponds. The key distinction for me, however, is the closeness with which a pond, waterfall or stream must imitate

Easier by Analogy

Several years ago, I was asked to conduct a seminar on basic electricity for the members of a small homeowners' association. They were working their way alphabetically through the various trade disciplines with which a homeowner might come in contact. As I recall, they had covered attic fans, brickwork, cabinetry, carpeting, decks and doors at previous meetings. I learned that I was to be followed in coming months by fences, fireplaces and

Searching for Style

Among the most complicated tasks you'll encounter in designing a watershape is determining your clients' style and how it applies to the project. How important is it to know what style they want? That's a complicated

Client Collaborations

One of the most critical moments in the life of any watershaper occurs when he or she meets prospective clients face to face for the first time. This is when jobs are won or lost - and, more significant, the point at which watershaper and clients begin what can become a long and fruitful relationship. I'll state right up front that I do not approach my initial customer meetings with the idea of walking out with a signed contract and a check. Instead, I go in trying to do what I can to help clients realize their dream of becoming owners of a quality watershape. Whether I end up

Arriving at Common Ground

There was a time not long ago when the thought processes of swimming pool and spa designers and contractors stopped at the edge of the deck - or even at the

‘When you install a pond, you install a lifestyle,’ says Greg Wittstock, proclaiming the universal appeal of ponds, the variety of settings in which they can be placed and the huge range of aesthetic options available to consumers. In this pictorial, he shares some of the many projects his company has completed, pointing out along the way the simple power found in these living watershapes.

A Passion for Ponds

Waterfeatures may well be the hottest thing in landscaping today, and the reason is simple: No other landscape detail captures all the senses the way moving water does. I don't get the impression that people sit around for hours watching their tulips grow, for example, but I know for a fact that people who have ponds in their yards will sit for hours, with others or in solitude, drinking in the scene and communing with the koi and the water lilies. In that sense, ponds have more to offer than the average waterfeature: A pond's live component adds interest and touches of tranquility that work in countless settings, from backyards and corporate offices to dining terraces and the common areas in apartment complexes. The possibilities are

Designing for hydraulic balance and efficiency is critical for any watershape, but nowhere is it more important than with inground concrete spas. Indeed, laying out these projects offers plumbers an unmatched level of complexity – and an outcome that will be permanently enshrined in concrete. You can knock the challenge down to size, says hydraulics expert Steve Gutai, by paying close attention to the fundamentals.

Hydraulics in Hot Water

Of all the features associated with inground swimming pools, attached spas almost certainly have the most complex designs. Achieving proper hydrotherapy-jet action requires the interweaving of air lines, water lines, fittings, jets and associated pumps, blowers and motors in a way that delivers results the customer wants and expects. And making mistakes is definitely costly: Once the plumbing is set in concrete, there's no easy way of turning back. The bottom line: You have to get it right the first time! Yes, you can adjust inground systems, but it usually involves ripping out expanses of decking and chunks of the spa shell at the very least - definitely not activities that breed customer satisfaction. It's a high-stakes game, but all too often I see pool builders take an ill-advised roll of the dice by not doing the work ahead of time to make sure the

Driven in part by the popularity of waterslides and the resulting explosion of attendance at waterparks, aquatic designers are being pressed to rise to the challenge of creating interesting public pool facilities for recreation-oriented communities. So much so, says architect Holli Adams, that traditional public pools are being rethought and completely transformed with ideas of both flexibility and fun in mind.

Public Forms and Functions

These aren't our parents' public pools. Whether run by a city or by a county, these recreational facilities are now subject to a new set of rules in response to evolving consumer demand and the growing popularity of elaborate waterparks. The inert, rectangular pools of years past - ten or 12 feet deep at one end, three or four feet deep at the other - are fast being replaced by multi-faceted, multi-purpose, quasi-organic forms that appeal to users of all ages and abilities. The new designs incorporate large

It’s often said that what you don’t know can hurt you – and that’s seldom truer than when the unknown in question has to do with the soil and geologic conditions that underlie watershapes. On hillsides in particular but even on certain flatlands, say prominent engineering geologists Larry Parmelee and Larry Schick, accommodating the forces at work beneath the surface is critical for professionals working to maximize the integrity and longevity of their installations.

Powerful Grounds

If you're in the business of digging holes, lining them with steel and concrete and then filling them with water, you need to know that the ground will support the structures. That's particularly true of hillside areas, but the same can be said of areas with high water tables, expansive soils or improperly compacted fill - to name just a few. We've all heard the horror stories of distressed vessels, including pools and spas out of level, significant structural shell cracks and differential movement between the decking and the shell. As we see it, part of the problem is that many pools are simply built with too low a structural tolerance for the stresses to which they