Professional Watershaping
Becoming an independent aquatic designer is an aspiration for many watershape professionals looking to leave the rigors of construction behind. Working his way through nearly all aspects of pool design, construction and sales over a nearly three-decade career, Kevin Woodhurst recently made the full design transition, a journey, he says, that was both deliberate and, at times, also unexpected.
...
The pool and spa industry recently lost one of its founding fathers and most influential figures, the magnetic, always colorful and sometimes irascible, Al Rizzo. His career building pools spanned more than six decades, during which time he doggedly worked to unify and elevate the industry he loved.
...
Regardless of style, scale or budget, watershape design in one way or another is about forging connections with the surroundings, especially in the presence of natural beauty. Making those natural connections by way of orchestrating human experience is a philosophy that has driven some of history’s greatest designers and continues to resonate today.
...
Lazy Rivers are among the most complex systems found in residential settings. In this installment of Direct Connections, builder Scott Payne details a recent backyard river project that pushed him and his company beyond their comfort zone, but one that yielded a treasure trove of knowledge and a river that takes the clients for a joy ride.
...
Watershape University proudly introduces its most comprehensive online educational offering to date – CON 2211: Essential Pool Construction Workshop. It’s all about understanding essential construction processes needed to competently construct swimming pools, and other concrete structures that contain decorative and/or recreational water.
Providing online content has become a necessary preoccupation for educators throughout society. Knowing that the watershapes industry is overrun with demand and facing severe labor shortages, Watershape University has stepped into the breach with a host of digital, mostly live online courses, such as Advanced Fluid Engineering and the parade of topical Wolfpack Webinar Wednesdays. Collectively these offerings have necessarily replaced in-person instruction during the pandemic.
...
One of the biggest and most common mistakes watershapers can make, cautions builder Dave Penton, is projecting their own financial perspectives onto their clients. It’s a misstep that can, he says, lead to an errant assumption the customer is either unable or unwilling to pay for something that might seem extremely expensive to most others.
...
Coining a term intended to define anything truly new is no small task, even for the most skilled of wordsmiths. But that is exactly what Jim McCloskey did 23 years ago, when he came up with a way to describe an emerging industry – an epiphany that, by the way, materialized during a nice, long soak.
...
Corrosion in swimming pools can present something of a mystery, explains Jeff Freeman and Mark Holden, and that is especially so if all the possible causes are not taken into account. After years of investigation, the pair discovered a set of corrosion-related issues that are pervasive, as well as sometimes challenging to identify and decipher.
...
Although pricing and profits go hand in hand, Mike Farley points out many in the watershaping industry are woefully misguided when it comes to what they charge. That needs to change, he says, and for anyone seeking guidance in this all-important facet of doing business, there’s a terrific “no BS” resource worth reading.
...
A Million Blue Marbles