Pools & Spas
Decades ago, people in the pool industry started becoming aware that there was more to pool maintenance than just adding sanitizers to the water (to kill algae and bacteria) and filtering it (to help keep it crystal clear). Gradually, we learned that even properly sanitized and filtered pool water could become unbalanced. Further, we figured out that unbalanced water could be either scale-forming, in which case a layer of
It happens more often than it should: Even in times when trade shows and educational enterprises such as Genesis 3 all stress the importance of knowing the basic forces at work within and around pool shells, I am all too often called in to investigate cases in which a builder has made a large and careless mistake that can have disastrous consequences. The point these contractors are overlooking is that the bond beams of many (if not most) pool shells are engineered in such a way that
Through the years, professional watershapers have learned that good hydraulic design can significantly increase system efficiency while lowering the ongoing costs of operation. Now they're also recognizing that achieving these efficiencies and finding these savings are perceived as "going green" - a key to helping
If you've been a contractor for any length of time, it's likely that you've installed more 500-watt incandescent lamps (and the niches, rings and glass lenses that enclose them) than you can easily count. These fixtures aren't installed as commonly as they once were, but there are
Even after all these years, in which countless seminars and classes have covered proper techniques for designing, engineering and building vanishing-edge pools, I am still all-too-frequently confronted in my role as a construction-defects expert witness by installations that are just plain wrong in one way or another. The biggest problems usually have to do with the
When I listen to people as they stare at a fountain, I often hear them say, "How wonderful!" In witnessing that praise, however, I know for a fact that what they find appealing is the gracefulness of a sculpture or the beauty of the stone or tile finishes or the way the water flows - what I refer to as the fountain's "façade." In many cases, what's behind that façade can be pretty mundane: maybe a small pump, some simple plumbing, a cascade head or sconce and little more. In other cases, however, what's going on behind the surface is
For almost as long as I've been in business, people who are interested in swimming pools have also usually been interested in having a spa or hot tub to go along with it. It's always been a natural combination, and as watershapers we've found myriad ways to meet thegeneral demand. In the video linked below, I offer a quick discussion of two key factors homeowners need to consider in
In a great many of the renovation projects I come across, one part of the program involves raising the floor in the deep end of the pool to create the classic play-pool contour with a deeper area in the middle and shallower sections on both ends. This retrofit brings these pools into line with one of the most popular features of today's new pools, so many of which are set up for pool volleyball and other vigorous games. The great thing about these sporty pools is that the shallower ends have a
When I first became involved with this project, the property was little more than a muddy slope - a dramatic piece of Panamanian topography that nobody had ever considered developing before my clients came along and decided to build a large, custom home. There was a reason it was available to them when they arrived: The building site was a logistical nightmare not only because of the topography but also because of the configuration of the lot. But they
Lots of clients come to the design process for their watershapes with certain preconceptions. Sometimes, they even have full-fledged and dearly held visions of what they want. Every once in a while, that can be a good thing; other times, however, not so much. But what I try to do regardless, each and every time, is
