Pools & Spas

Mastering the Long View
This story is an example of what can happen when preparation meets opportunity. It started way back in 2014, when the client first hired me to build an acrylic fountain at an office building she owns in the Los Angeles area. She liked the results and asked me get involved at her residence in Rolling Hills, an upscale enclave on the scenic Palos Verdes peninsula overlooking the ocean, where she had a pool that was experiencing
A Checkerboard Beauty
Creating works of watershaping art requires close attention to countless details and complete control over the installation process, says design and builder, Joan Roca. To demonstrate his point, he recently profiled a spectacular project on Wolfpack Webinar Wednesdays.
Lessons in Frustration
Upgrading a tired classic kidney pool should not have been a particularly tall order, or so thought homeowners Kris Anna Andersen and R Lee Steele. Little did they know the depth and complexity they would face in trying to reclaim the pool's classic beauty and updating its equipment. 
Detail: S034
Installing structural steel in a swimming pool means negotiating a variety of fittings, contours, corners…
Exploring New Efficiency Rules
It might be the biggest change the pool industry has seen since passage of the Virginia Graeme Baker Act: The U.S. Dept. of Energy is banning most single-speed pumps and changing the way all of these devices are rated.
A Study in Contrasts, Part 1
Most watershape designers and builders I know largely rely on referrals to generate new business. That's certainly been true in my case and I've learned that word of mouth is extremely important, and arguably the best form of marketing. It is unusual, however, to have one referral from a satisfied client turn into two massive projects at the same time. That's exactly what happened, when one of my past clients
Detail: A201
This time, Dave Peterson shares a simple, reliable way to extend stone veneer from the deck surface all the way down into the pool's interior. It's a great way, he suggests, to create a transition from dry to wet surfaces that is durable, graceful -- and visually seamless.
Design and Desire
This project had it all - balance, symmetry, style and luxury on a grand scale, and fantastic clients. More than three years in the making, and recently finished this past spring, the design integrates a number of key principles and modalities with the clients' desires for elegance, all with a European flare. It was the kind of project that makes you love being a watershape designer. I'd worked with the pool contractor, Lee Seelig of Waterscapes Backyard Resorts in Nashville, on several past high-end projects. In this case, he was in the early stages
Botched Plaster Bonding
Construction defects often first reveal themselves on the plaster surface. When the concrete substrate isn't right, those issues will always transmit to the plaster and become painfully visible. Making sure that the shotcrete bonding plane is up to standards is key to successful plaster installation.  While the subject of plaster's relationship with
Raising the Floor
  Sometimes you never know how one thing can lead to another. That's certainly been true of my journey into the world of swimming pools and specifically movable pool floors. Today, our company Custom Pool Systems is making steady headway into the market by offering a system that solves many of the challenges associated with movable pool floors - but it did take us time to get there. My first contact with the pool industry was 25 years ago when