ARTICLES Archives - Page 98 of 316

Happy, Healthy and Safe

Koi ponds can be watershapes of great beauty in which sizeable populations of large, gorgeous fish thrive through the long lives these creatures often experience. With the pond that appears at the start of the video linked below, however, there were key features that were missing from the existing pond that put the big fish at risk in a number of ways. I don't know the full history of the pond, but it's clear it

Quality Don’t Come Easy

'During the past few years,' wrote Brian Van Bower to open his Aqua Culture column in March 2001, 'I've come to the stark realization that there are too few quality craftspeople in most geographical areas of our country. And it's not just the watershaping trades: The same holds true for most areas of the greater construction industry as well.' 'The hard reality is that, for many people in the trades, it's easier to do three ordinary jobs in a week than it is to do one challenging project over a month. I'm starting to think that

Time (Mostly) Well Spent

I see something of this nature on the web about once a week in peak season and about monthly this cooler time of year. In this instance, it was labeled as "55 Most Awesome Swimming Pool Designs on the Planet." I feel obliged to check out these things, but I always do so with a high level of reluctance because I've generally seen all of the collected pools before and almost invariably end up

Planning for a Rainy Day

In most backyard swimming pool projects, we install the drainage systems for decks after the swimming pool's plumbing, basically because the pool plumbers use big trenchers that will likely destroy the small drainage plumbing if

Precious Cargo

Of all the tasks involved in giving a good-size pond a thorough spring cleaning, taking care of the fish is the biggest concern and, frankly, the riskiest part of the operation. It's not simply a matter of chasing them around the pond and cramming them into a net before unceremoniously dumping them in a garbage can: If the job is approached with that cruel and misguided spirit, it's fully possible that the fish and other aquatic wildlife will show their appreciation by

In the year to come, the renowned Main Fountain at Longwood Gardens will be undergoing a mass-scale renovation. Robert Nonemaker is tracking the process for us, beginning here with an insider's report on the grand display's gradual decline -- and imminent rebirth.

Imagination Renewed

When the management at Longwood Gardens announced in late 2014 that the Main Fountain Garden would be taken offline and become the subject of a $90 million restoration project, anyone who has ever visited the gardens had to be happy. I've been a regular visitor and huge fan of the Longwood for most of my life, and it's been sad through the years to watch various systems break down and the overall performance of what was left gradually

Standard Bearers

'If there's one thing about the watershaping world that continuously drives me crazy,' wrote David Tisherman in his Details column in March 2006, 'it's the existence and persistence of a sub-professional mindset that says creative designs and affluent clients deserve one set of standards, while projects with more affordable designs can acceptably be built to another, less stringent set of standards. 'To me, middle-class clients who've commissioned modest projects

Simpler Solutions

The lengthy headline atop the news item definitely made the story worth a look. It read: "Couple blow £4,000 on two-year legal battle with neighbour over his 'noisy' water feature, which they claim makes them need the loo." The article appeared February 16 in the online version of the Daily Mail, a U.K.-based publication known for sensational headlines up top with detailed text below that doesn't always

Chlorine Conversations

In recent years, it's been difficult to avoid two large and related discussions about water treatment as it relates to swimming pools and spas. One the one hand are discussions of the evils of chlorine, which, after more than a century of common and beneficial use, is still widely misunderstood by homeowners and many professionals in the watershaping trades. On the other are conversations about chlorine-free pools and spas - another set of exchanges where there's proving to be

Shotcrete Reborn

& William Drakeley The years after the Second World War were times of opportunity and awkwardness in the shotcrete business. From 1920 until the early 1950s, the Cement Gun Co. owned the trademark to "gunite" and established an aggressive licensing/franchising system to maintain as much control as it could over the process and profit from it to the greatest possible degree. By 1952, however - and apparently with