buying
There comes a time with most ponds when the owners will want to add fish to supplement the original population or replace pets lost to age or predators. It's a perilous step, notes Mike Gannon, which is why he prepares his clients for the occasion early on with words of caution.
Once you’re as well informed as you can be about the business practices of the companies that might end up designing and installing your swimming pool, the hard work of the decision-making process begins. It’s time, in other words, to bring a few of your candidate companies in, ask them to look things over and, ultimately, request bids for the work to be done. A quick heads up: The prices are going to be all over the map, and that’s because, if you’ve done things the way most homeowners will do, you’ve set up a situation in which
After a long, mostly weather-related break, it's finally time to return to the rolling hills near Hanover, Pa., and the huge, multi-phase watershaping project I began discussing in the fall of 2003. When we last visited the project in February 2004 (page 22), the primary gunite structures were in place; we are now proceeding with the meticulous work that will give the project its visual appeal. Even in unfinished condition, the pool complex is pretty impressive: a big, free-form vessel with a variety of features including an island spa, an enormous associated waterfeature, bridges and a range of bells and whistles I'll discuss in upcoming columns as the project draws to a close. As previously discussed, one of the defining design elements on this project is the extensive use of natural boulders and large expanses of stone decking. Even without the weather delays, these project phases alone have turned into
