Professional Watershaping
Pool service can be complex and challenging, with the level of difficulty largely determined by decisions a builder makes long before a technician ever shows up. That's why Steve Kenny infuses his design and construction approaches with awareness of the basic needs of gourmet water.
Editor's note: Welcome to 'Direct Connections,' a new department that is now part of the WaterShapes feature array. What you'll find here are videos and multi-media presentations on technical and business topics -- including this podcast by Dave Penton about a key factor in system engineering.
At Watershape University, our sponsors, which we call our Corporate Engagement Team (CET), is a critical part of our program development and the benefits we provide our students. We actively pursue relationships with industry-related businesses as a way to further our mission to bring quality education for students at all levels of the pool, spa and aquatics industries.
When you target the high-end custom pool market, you have to be prepared to work with clients who like to change things along the way. It can be a real challenge because it causes delays, re-engineering and sometimes removing work you've just installed. More than anything, you have to remain patient, constantly listening and explaining the ramifications of changing things to the client. It helps when you have a good rapport from the start. All of that was true and then some for the project pictured here. It's located in an upscale neighborhood in Sherman Oaks, Calif. The property is about a third of an acre on a relatively flat corner lot completely surrounded by tall fichus hedges for privacy.
Creating swimming pools that save on energy costs is a consuming passion for Douglas Cook. As he explains here, he achieves best results with combinations of energy-smart solutions -- often including solar heating and power generation -- that can lead to dramatic savings.
Watershape University is pleased to announce the newest edition to the Wolfpack, Brett Herman, who will join our team effective July 27. Brett is an experienced writer and editor with a long work history in online education as a tutor and academic advisor.
As this strange time keeps on rolling and builders' phones continue to ring off the hook, Watershape University (WU) is serving our audience with our dynamic Wolfpack Webinar Wednesdays series of online educational offerings. When we started down this path, admittedly it was something of an experiment, but now with three months of presentations under our canine belts, we have been thrilled with
Working on high-rise installations is a specialty that can test even the best in our industry. Rooftop pools are a constant challenge and every project comes with its own list of idiosyncrasies. Odds are what works in one location won't in another. It's work that requires solving problems with close investigation and inventive thinking. We've worked on hundreds of rooftop pools and spas; the vast majority have been in New York City where we're either figuring out what went wrong with an existing watershape or determining how to locate a new vessel in an existing building. In either situation, our goal is to provide a
The conclusion of the pond installation process offers moments to create lasting client impressions. As Dave Garton points in this final entry in his series on client relations, it's a critical juncture where all of the physical work and management of expectations come together.
Tying form boards to structural steel is a huge mistake, says Paolo Benedetti: There's no standard or rationale that supports the practice, and as he notes here, that's simply because doing so conjures a host of problems and can result in structurally incompetent walls and shells.
