Professional Watershaping
After years of serving as an expert witness in construction-defect cases, Paolo Benedetti knows what can happen when contractors fail to deliver the expected results. Here, he covers a set of practices aimed at keeping builders on the right path -- and out of the courtroom.
‘If you’ve ever designed or installed commercial swimming pools in the United States,’ wrote Brian Van Bower in his column for the August 2007 issue of WaterShapes, ‘it’s likely you’re well acquainted with just how strange certain health department standards (and the officials who enforce them) can be.’ ‘I believe things have gone so far wrong,’ he added, ‘that it’s time for the industry to do something about it. Yes, it will require a concerted, long-term effort to get anything done, but some of these issues are so ridiculous that
Bruce Zaretsky opened his very first On the Level column back in August 2007 with a question: ‘Does the size of a project or its budget correlate with its creativity or quality?’ ‘I know many of us have clients who think that way, believing the more money they spend, the better product they’re going to get,’ he wrote. ‘And my best guess is that there are
‘One of the fascinating things about working with the different types of clients we encounter as watershapers,’ wrote Brian Van Bower in his July 2007 Aqua Culture column in WaterShapes, ‘is that we can never really know what to expect. ‘If my years of experience have taught me anything,’ he added, ‘it’s that perception is often very different
‘With spring upon us,’ began Stephanie Rose’s column in May 2007, ‘calendars of local events are filling up with garden tours of all shapes and sizes. From large estate tours and special events at botanical gardens to tours of wonderful neighborhoods staged by local garden clubs, there’s much to be seen while wandering through
‘I know many of you absolutely dread the permitting process and are even more bothered by inspectors and the inspection process,’ observed David Tisherman near the top of his May 2007 Details column. ‘While this anxiety may be common, it’s nonetheless misguided. ‘Yes,’ he continued, ‘the nitpicking requirements applied in some areas seem unnecessary and, yes, some inspectors can be
'When I teach seminars on watershape design,' wrote Brian Van Bower in opening his Aqua Culture column ten years ago, 'I always emphasize the importance of having a list of questions to ask prospective clients during initial conversations. It's a point that always seems to ignite discussion - and it usually ends up with someone in the audience asking me to provide such a document for general use. 'I always refuse to do so, not because I
‘Whenever I’d call my mother on the phone when I was a kid,’ began Brian Van Bower in a column he wrote for WaterShapes’ January 2002 edition, ‘she’d start the conversation by asking me, “Are you smiling?” ’ At a time when the pressure is on businesses to perform with higher levels of client service and accommodation than ever before, that question might carry even more significance than it did when Brian first wrote about it. He continued: ‘Back then, I never gave her greeting too much thought because
'Anyone who runs a good business knows that day-to-day operations are so all-consuming that it's difficult to step back and scope out where you fit within your corner of the industry.' 'We can't give those daily details short shrift,' wrote Brian Van Bower in opening his Aqua Culture column in the December 2006 issue of WaterShapes. 'Still, it occurs to me that . . . our daily endeavors need to be
'If you've been paying any attention to the media lately,' wrote Brian Van Bower at the start of his Aqua Culture column in WaterShapes' November 2006 edition, 'you may have noticed that watershaping is "in" as a big-time topic for television, books, magazines, newspapers and other forms of mass communication.' 'Never in all my years as part of this industry can I recall a time during which the subject of
