specifications
‘Why is it that, on the pool/spa side of the watershaping business, it’s so difficult to find much by way of truly workable plans and specifications?’ That’s how Brian Van Bower started his Aqua Culture column in the April 2003 edition of WaterShapes before adding: ‘In residential work, of course, the tone is set by local building inspectors and plan checkers, whose needs seem to vary tremendously from place to place. But that’s no excuse for the fact that the plans used in a great many residential projects are grossly
In the final installment of their series on the history and development of the shotcrete method of concrete application, William Drakeley and Lily Samuels examine the industry's current state of the art -- then cast an optimistic eye toward the approach's future.
Aquascape (St, Charles, Ill.) has announced the availability of more than 50 of its product…
Professionals often seek ways to distinguish themselves in their chosen fields of endeavor. For watershapers and others who work in design- and construction-related disciplines, one prized distinction is consistency when it comes to drawings: It’s something that makes them easier to work with and more valued as collaborators. Indeed, established firms repeatedly use the same drafting conventions, project after project, to a point where their plans become known and well-regarded for being easy to understand – and their projects much easier to
I operate under the hopeful assumption that all professional watershapers know that detailed, quality construction plans are crucial to the success of any project. Too often, however, I get the unsettling feeling that some contractors in the watershaping trades see plan documents mainly as a means of securing a construction permit. Such a bare-minimum approach can lead to an endless array of problems that can be summed up simply: Plans lacking in detail leave way too many issues to chance and inevitably lead to mistakes. And because we all work in a field where things are quite literally
Composition of this article began with an e-mail I received a while ago from a colleague working in Australia. "What," he asked, "is the maximum allowable depth for a fountain in the United States?" As simple as it sounded, when I took the time to research the issue I found that there was a noticeable lack of definition. I took the next logical step and called various people I know in the watershaping industry and asked them the same question. Surprisingly enough, nobody could point me to any code, regulation or standard that defined what depth a waterfeature's pool could
Why is it that, on the pool/spa side of the watershaping business, it's so difficult to find much by way of truly workable plans and specifications? In residential work, of course, the tone is set by local building inspectors and plan checkers, whose needs seem to vary tremendously from place to place. But that's no excuse for the fact that the plans used in a great many residential projects are grossly inadequate - especially when compared to the far more detailed and precise plans and specifications required by
