engineering

Soil Retention Offers Verdura Plantable Wall Systems
Soil Retention (Carlsbad, CA) produces Verdura, a strong, versatile, plantable retaining wall system. Designed for…
Raypak Offers Low-NOx Pool/Spa Heaters
Raypak (Oxnard, CA) manufactures four models of low-NOx gas heaters for residential pools and spas.…
Emperor Aquatics’ Multi-Cyclone for Ponds
Emperor Aquatics (Pottstown, PA) manufactures the Multi-Cyclone pre-filter for pond applications. A centrifugal solids-separating device,…
Rainwater Harvesting Brochure from Roman Fountains
Roman Fountains (Albuquerque, NM) has released a four-page brochure filled with information on its systems…
Sealing the Deal
The project we've been covering in this series of videos is definitely in the home stretch, but there are several key details that still need our attention.  The most important of these from the perspective of long-term performance is properly securing the liner to the faceplate of the waterfall/filter unit. As seen in the video linked below, this step in the process is all about preventing leaks:  No matter how small they might be, the fact that they'd allow water to
Cascading Exertion
Earlier in this sequence of articles and videos, I mentioned how much I enjoy the fact that pond installation is an improvisational art form:  You can roll through a design in your head and sketch it until your pencils are worn to nubs, but the reality is that working with boulders is a process of placement and on-site adjustment that ultimately brings a design vision to life. That's particularly true with waterfalls, which is why this single part of the series encompasses four videos and nearly 40 minutes of running time.  And as you will notice, there are probably more
#10: Acrylic Pool Wall
Of all the new twists that have been added to the realm of swimming pool design in the last dozen or so years, one of my very favorites is on display in this video. I absolutely love the way acrylic walls add an exclamation point to just about any suitable project.  I'm also of the opinion that, as watershape designers, we're only beginning to scratch the surface when it comes to exploiting their potential in our
2013/11.2, November 20 — Behind Disney’s Magic, Rocking a Pond, Olympic Vistas and more
November 20, 2013 www.watershapes.com ESSENTIAL Riding a Golden Wave Completing the fountain for Disney’s California…
Designing for Access
This video is a great example of the phenomenon known as "mission creep":  We started out with a discussion of what's involved in making a residential swimming pool and spa accessible to someone who uses a wheelchair - a good and worthy subject on its own - but the project so perfectly illustrates a couple of additional points that we kept the camera rolling. The video covers one specific ramp in fine detail, but I want to stress two more general points about planning for wheelchair access:  First, a properly sloped ramp
Designing for Access
This video is a great example of the phenomenon known as "mission creep":  We started out with a discussion of what's involved in making a residential swimming pool and spa accessible to someone who uses a wheelchair - a good and worthy subject on its own - but the project so perfectly illustrates a couple of additional points that we kept the camera rolling. The video covers one specific ramp in fine detail, but I want to stress two more general points about planning for wheelchair access:  First, a properly sloped ramp