Watershaping and water shortages are a problematic combination, and one that can require significant levels of adaption. According to Dave Garton, working the water-strapped Colorado market has meant creating features that look just as good dry as they do when in full flow. The best place to start, he says, is studying how nature looks when waters run dry.
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The enjoyment of soaking is universal, say Karen Larson and Brian Larson, or at least it has that potential. The founders of New Hampshire’s Soake Pools set out to offer a concept that combines the health benefits of immersion in hot or cold water, with the convenience of compact, pre-manufactured concrete pools, a business concept that has steadily gained momentum over the past seven years.
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When trade shows resume, will attendees return as well? It’s hard to know for sure, says Eric Herman, but as he points out, it’s very likely that the industry is about to find out. The first big test looks to be the upcoming International Pool | Spa | Patio & Deck EXPO set for Dallas in November, where organizers are betting on pent-up demand to overcome reluctance to attend in-person events.
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California’s largest lake, the Salton Sea, has a deeply troubled and enigmatic history. Located in the arid Imperial Valley, the aptly named and highly saline body of water is shrinking and becoming more and more toxic, leading to disuse, abandonment and environmental damage to wildlife and air quality. To say the future of these troubled waters has become uncertain is an understatement.
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Watershape designer and builder, Steve Kenny, believes that water encompasses both art and science. While his day job is focused on running a company that designs, builds and services high-end residential and commercial swimming pools, he also takes time to explore his purely artistic instincts. The result is a body of water images that represent the beauty and inner mysteries of the world’s most important and beautiful fluid matrix.
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Automatic Pool Covers, Inc. now offers eight different color options for its automatic pool covers including colors to match backyard décor. With pools often being visible throughout the home, consumers are looking for an automatic pool cover that matches the home’s aesthetic. Designer colors such as charcoal gray have become extremely popular, the company says. Read More
Oxium Water Technologies introduces MicroGlass, a plaster treatment product that penetrates pool plaster matrix by up to half an inch, and chemically converts and displaces the soft, vulnerable calcium hydroxide with small but significantly harder glass-like silicates. By removing most of the calcium hydroxide, and filling most of the voids and capillaries, the application greatly minimizes the chemical interactions between the plaster and the pool water. Read More
Pentair offers GloBrite lights, color changing LED fixtures that generate five fixed colors; with seven preprogrammed light shows. The fixtures are compatible with the IntelliTouch and EasyTouch Control Systems, they can also be used with an optional Color Sync Controller for Pentair Color LED Pool Lights. They do not require grounding or bonding and they consume far less energy that halogen or incandescent lights. Read More
As in-person education continues to stumble as a result of the pandemic, Watershape University continues to develop new on-line instructional offerings. Extensive Programs covering construction, engineering, cost estimating, along with dozens of other topics in our weekly Wednesday Webinar series are all designed to give watershapers the information needed to advance in today’s unusual market.
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Drains, or more accurately, suction outlets, should be easily understood. Setting up safe and code-compliant outlet configurations involves simple plumbing with no moving parts, and it requires a relatively straightforward coordination of outlet sizing to maximum flow rate. But, as Dave Peterson explains, some builders are still getting it wrong. Fortunately, this simple detail can help many get it right.
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