Page 194 – Water Shapes

The Way-Back Machine

A couple weeks ago in this space, I raised a few questions about public swimming pools and their current tendency toward becoming utterly grand, infinitely varied, impressively expensive mega-facilities. I also hearkened back to watershaping on the level of the places in which I'd learned to swim - pools where I gained the strength and skill required to

When he builds custom pools for fully engaged homeowners, Randy Beard usually has no problems with setting and exceeding expectations. But here's a case where the client just couldn't absorb a key message about how to use the pool -- and therein hangs a tale.

A Lesson in Communication

This project is wonderful in so many ways that it's tough to believe our clients could be anything less than perfectly satisfied - but, surprisingly, they've had a bone to pick with me. It's just gorgeous: A great shape, beautifully detailed tile, a perimeter-overflow system augmented with a vanishing edge, underwater speakers, lush landscaping - a perfect Hawaiian-style plunge for

Those who own or manage swimming pools know that heating the water can be a major expense. But higher efficiencies and new technologies can bring those costs way down, says Mike Fowler, who leads a tour through the money-saving possibilities in this article.

Heat of the Moment

There are two truths when it comes to swimming pools and heat: Year in and year out, some months are colder than others and, year by year, energy prices tend to rise. For a facility built around a heated swimming pool, those two truths are powerful drivers of the ongoing cost of staying in operation - and it's safe to say that seasonal expenses related to keeping the water warm are never far from the minds of