failures
For quality watershapes, there's nothing like a finish made up of mosaic glass tile: The material has a great look and a spectacular texture, comes in amazing colors and offers a full range of visual effects, from complete transparency to shimmering iridescence. It's the perfect crowning touch for an outstanding project if the budget is right - and that's where the trouble often starts. Through the years, I've inspected more than 40 projects in which
Through the past 20 years or so, the vanishing-edge look has become perhaps the most recognizable hallmark of high-end, custom swimming pools. In that time, these vessels have gone from relatively rare to remarkably common. These days, in fact, it's a rare builder who doesn't have at least a handful of these projects in his or her portfolio. Unfortunately, this growth in the popularity of vanishing edges has been attended by a dramatic increase in problems with these structures, particularly on the outside surface of the freestanding wall that creates the elegant edge detail. The problems manifest themselves as cracks, surface delaminations, efflorescence and, in severe cases, as leaks. These are issues that have led to scores of dissatisfied homeowners and numerous potential
Through the past 20 years or so, the vanishing-edge look has become perhaps the most recognizable hallmark of high-end, custom swimming pools. In that time, these vessels have gone from relatively rare to remarkably common. These days, in fact, it's a rare builder who doesn't have at least a handful of these projects in his or her portfolio. Unfortunately, this growth in the popularity of vanishing edges has been attended by a dramatic increase in problems with these structures, particularly on the outside surface of the freestanding wall that creates the elegant edge detail. The problems manifest themselves as cracks, surface delaminations, efflorescence and, in severe cases, as leaks. These are issues that have led to scores of dissatisfied homeowners and numerous potential
When you work with any type of concrete, there are right and wrong ways to do things - basic issues of workmanship that really do determine whether a structure will be reliable or not. In the case of swimming pools and spas built using pneumatically applied concrete - either shotcrete or gunite - there's a presumption in structural design that the concrete will cure to the strength specified, which, in the case of pools and spas, is typically 2,000 pounds per square inch. If that's not the case, these structures do not meet their specifications and may be subject to failure as a result. To achieve that desired level of strength, the concrete must be
