pool
Coverall Stone (SeaTac, WA) supplies Pebble-Tile-1A, a mesh-backed mosaic tile made with natural pebbles. Designed…
As an engineering-oriented designer/builder, I know that it simplifies a project if I'm working with like-minded clients: They tend to listen well and get a quick grip on crucial details that have an influence on the outcome. They also tend to operate on the conservative side of the construction spectrum, preferring not to take unnecessary risks for themselves or their families, friends and neighbors. In the project discussed here, not only was the client an engineering and general contractor, but he and his wife were successful real estate investors with extensive holdings. As a result, they had the wherewithal, knowledge and desire to have the pool and spa behind their San Diego-area home stay put on the middle of a long
The backyard-design process, it's been said, is something like completing a jigsaw puzzle: You start with a framed space and assemble available pieces to fill in the picture. But there are two problems with this common analogy: First, the number of available pieces far exceeds the physical capacity of the frame and, second, there are no precut tabs or notches to guide placement of the selected pieces. So you'd be closer to the mark if you said that design is like the worst, most challenging jigsaw puzzle ever - and even then, the typical backyard-design task is much harder. Shining a light on this process is
Spectrum Products (Missoula, MT) makes the Aqua Buddy, a battery-powered pool lift that offers a…
Intermatic (Spring Grove, IL) produces the ComboConnect Junction Box/Transformer. The compact, hybrid unit provides two…
I've hesitated to bring it up, but you may recall that, last May, I wrote about finally getting around to updating our vintage-1983 pool and spa with a new interior finish and some cosmetic and equipment upgrades. I had every good intention of following through and indeed made some
If I've learned one truth about working with water in confined areas, it's that success is most often measured by how much more spacious an added watershape makes those areas seem. The funny thing in this particular case is that the yard wasn't especially small, sloping away from a formal house down to a rustic cottage set on the edge of the property. What was crowded was the upper-level area into which we decided to insert a big part of the pool: It was hemmed in on one side by the home and on the other by the lot's setback - a span of maybe 28 feet - below which the available space opened up and flowed down for about 30 feet to the cottage. In quick order, I found myself confronting three
Pentair Aquatic Systems (Sanford, NC) now offers IntelliConnect, a control and monitoring system that allows…
