poolnerd

There are two basic kinds of pools: above-ground and inground. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but they all have a few things in common:

• A pool is just a vessel that holds water for folks to swim and frolic in. It doesn’t much matter if that vessel is made of concrete, fiberglass or vinyl. From a frolicking standpoint, its all the same.
• The water in that vessel must be kept clean and sanitary, so those same frolicking folks don’t get nasty ailments from water-borne creatures like bacteria and viruses. That’s where filtration and sanitation come in to the picture.
• While the pool is busy holding water, it must — above all — be safe. Pool safety is a whole series of articles in itself. But besides the obvious issues like supervision, fencing, knowing how to swim and perform CPR, there other issues not talked about much that need to be covered: electricity in and around the water, hair or bathing suits being sucked in at drains, appropriate types of (non-slip) decking, and so on.

But let’s get back to sorting out pool basics.

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If you’re pool shopping, you’ve probably already learned that it’s extremely difficult to find good information. One salesperson will tell you their filter is the best, the next one will claim theirs as the greatest. So, who really has the better filter? I’ll explain filters– and other pool arcana– from top to bottom, and try not to put you to sleep in the process.

And, hey, every ad in the yellow pages says, “Quality Construction.” What the heck does that mean? I’ll endeavor to explain construction basics and how to assess whether a pool is a piece of, uh, junk or not.

So, who do you put your trust in? That sleazy salesman or me?

Me!

Free Advice? What’s the Catch?

I’m offering my views, free of charge. What do I get out of it? A good feeling inside, and hopefully some good-karma points or something. Maybe I’ll even make enough off those Google Adsense advertisements to pay my web hosting costs.

About Me

I own a pool and spa design and construction corporation based in Southern California. It’s licensed, bonded, insured… a for-real business.

I’ve got over twenty-five years experience in just about all areas of things pool related. Construction, mainly. But I’ve cleaned pools for a few years, and I’ve done repairs of all sorts, from fixing leaky pumps, to trouble-shooting balky heaters, even repairing structural problems in pool shells (normal people call that kind of thing a “crack”). I’ve even worked in sales and repair of above-ground (Doughboy-type) pools and portable spas.

If you’re interested, here’s some more about me.

So, if you’re pool shopping, or even starting out in the pool business, and have questions, shoot ‘em on over. If you find any of the posts worth something, please let me know. Everyone likes to get encouragement now and then.

Like I said, I’m not trying to sell you anything. Just offering my knowledge and experience. Free of charge. Nothing to gain– so why would I tell you anything but the honest truth?