experience
In listing ten more guideposts Paolo Benedetti wishes he'd known before he started his business, this entire second set is about knowing, following and being on the right side of the rules when it's time to work with inspectors and the codes and standards they're sworn to enforce.
With the many questions he's asked in classrooms and in conversations with fellow watershapers, Paolo Benedetti is constantly reminded of things he wishes he'd known when he started his business. In the first of two articles, he begins by discussing ten of these key observations.
'Over and over at seminars and trade shows, watershapers ask me three distinct but interrelated questions: "How do you get into the high-end market?" and "How do you deal with wealthy customers?" and "How do you handle those kinds of jobs?" 'The short answer to all of them,' began Brian Van Bower in his Aqua Culture column in the April 2004 issue of WaterShapes, ' is that I've set myself up for it and am prepared to
While he understands why some homeowners might think that acting as their own pool contractor is a good idea, Paolo Benedetti also knows it's likely to be a huge mistake. That's why he wants professional watershapers to get involved and be part of the solution.
In my career, I've applied lots of fine finishes to swimming pools, spas, fountains and other types of waterfeatures. Most often we work with glass tile, but we also keep our hands in a variety of ceramic or porcelain tiles, various mosaics and, generally, what most would call classy, top-flight materials. No two projects are ever quite the same, but the procedures we follow are: In every case, we at Rock Solid Tile (Calabasas, Calif.) end up having to work through imperfections in the concrete shells left for us by builders and their concrete crews - and that's true even if they're experienced and have
As I suggest at the start of the video linked below, one of the most important decisions made by a soon-to-be poolowner has to do with the tile and coping: Among all project components, these are generally the ones that stand out most in visual and aesthetic terms, so we do all we can to persuade our clients to choose wisely among all available possibilities. While we do tend to set them a little loose with this part of the process, we’re also
Back in the early days of WaterShapes, I recall a long breakfast conversation with David Tisherman in which we discussed the importance of travel as part of a complete design education. It was the summer of 1999, and I was on the hunt for artwork to go along with an article Mark Holden was preparing on the history of watershape design: David was known as someone who had traveled extensively and, more to the immediate point, was an avid taker of photographs of superior quality. He’d brought several sleeves filled with slides (remember them?) along to breakfast, and as we talked and I reviewed the photos, I was endlessly impressed by how meticulously he’d recorded so many places and details. I’ve always been a traveler, too, but I never much cared for
To the Good Life!