Pools & Spas

Viva Versace!
The fabled Versace Mansion in Miami Beach is a place rich with history, luxury, style and even infamy. Now a boutique hotel, JC Escudero recently visited and photographed the historic property, taking a deep dive into the Versace legend, eclectic design tradition, and a rich taste of the good life. ...
Growth in Motion
Embracing change is not always easy, it can take courage, foresight, wisdom and sometimes luck. Veteran watershaper, Kevin Woodhurst has been through many such passages in his long career, but perhaps none more rewarding than a recent move to a new home and into a new chapter. ...
Construction software from RB Retail and Service Solutions
RB Retail and Service Solutions (Monroeville, PA) now offers a fully integrated construction software solution that is designed specifically for pool and outdoor living builders. This unique module tracks construction costs, inventory, and the actual progress of each job – with customizable notes, enabling builders to track the ongoing costs of construction work, and the physical progress of the project with job progress management. Learn more here.
Spatial Emotions
Designing spaces for human use -- especially those of the recreational variety -- starts by understanding that the primary goal is to generate a positive emotional response, regardless of style, the size of the property or the client’s budget. That’s why Mike Farley considers the ways that different spatial configurations make his clients feel. ...
Education Far and Wide
In its ongoing efforts to meet the industry’s demand for top-shelf education and training, Watershape University has come out strong in the first quarter of the year, and is now set for a tour de force set of offerings later this month. ...
P804: Plumbed Snorkel Detail
There’s much more to making a perimeter overflow detail work than meets the eye. What looks like a thin slot at the edge of the water surface conceals the gutter and required plumbing below. This detail shows the dropouts, main drainage line and the snorkel detail necessary for reducing noise from air being sucked into the system. ...
Reflecting the High Life
Four years in the making, this Ohio project gave Jerry Hammerschmidt and his staff at High-Tech Pools an opportunity to execute at the highest possible level, both in terms of design collaboration, and construction. Here he pulls back the curtain on a project that deftly blends modern and classic motifs in a uniquely luxurious estate setting.  ...
Watershape University Steps into Service
WU has announced a new training program for watershape service professionals. Designed to support commercial service licensing and education, the course is also aimed at elevating the work of residential service companies with WU’s unique brand of quality instruction. ...
Words of Wisdom for New Service Technicians
Independent pool service is a solitary task – an often-lonely profession built on sweat equity and skill. Veteran technician, Robert H. Foutz Jr., has made it his business to educate his fellow technicians, in classrooms, print and in conversation. Here he shares nuggets of wisdom for young technicians entering field.  ...
Indoor Water & Air Quality (part I)
Indoor pools, known as natatoriums, are notorious for bad air quality. These facilities are unique in the world of design, construction and maintenance because they contain open bodies of water. In this two-part series, Eric Knight describes the basic framework for maintaining quality water and air in these special aquatic spaces.  ...