poolnerd

Anyone building a new pool should seriously consider adding some sort of waterfeature. It is often the single element that visitors to your backyard will remember most. Also, it’s the sound and look of falling water that speaks to some ancient part of our souls, which is why so many find it so relaxing, so peaceful. And isn’t bringing a bit more peacefulness into your life one of the reasons you’re getting a pool, anyway?

A waterfeature in this context means some sort of moving water. Running, falling, cascading, squirting, spraying. Anything from a natural stone cascade waterfall, to a contemporary sheet waterfall; from a simple pottery spill-pot or hammered copper bowl, to illuminated laminar-flow deck jets. They come in many different styles, sounds and looks, but they all have one thing in common: that visual and auditory element that is so memorable to guests, so relaxing to residents.

In this post we’ll examine some readily available waterfeatures, as well as looking at some site-built alternatives. All have differing construction and flow requirements, some are suitable to a particular style of pool and backyard, while others aren’t. While reading about all these waterfeatures, start envisioning what you want your backyard to be like. Maybe visualize yourself in a lounge chair by the pool some quiet summer evening. Think about what style of waterfeature, visual as well as auditory, you’d like. But please, just get some falling water into your life.

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A near-by neighbor of mine has a swimming pool with an attached spa. His system is set to come on at 11:00 pm and circulate for three hours. I know this because I can hear the system come on and run. It wakes me up almost every night. It’s LOUD.

Know why it’s so loud? The main reason is that the pipes feeding the pump are too small. Since it’s a pool/spa combination, there’s a 2 hp pump running everything: pool circulation, spa jets. Nothing wrong with that, though; it’s pretty common around here. It’s a fairly basic (cheap) way of setting up the plumbing systems, or what us pool nerds call “hydraulics.”

Also common around here, and in many parts of Southern California, is the practice of using 2-inch lines for most pipe runs: skimmer line and pool return, spa suction and spa return, and often a 1½-inch line for a suction-side pool cleaner.

That’s the set-up my neighbor has… unfortunately.

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No one wants to spend time fussing with pool maintenance. Chlorine levels, pH, algaecides. You could be swimming or soaking up some rays instead of messing with that stuff. More free time, less maintenance is what we want, right?

So, let’s look at some things that may help you out in these areas: automatic pool cleaners, sanitizing systems, control systems, plus that old favorite that none of the pool salesmen talk about– water turnover.

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If you’re thinking of tackling the job of building your own pool and/or spa, you need as much good, accurate info as you can get: if you know what you’re doing, you can save a lot of money, but if you don’t it can cost you big time later. I’ll cover a few of the highlights of pool design, and, hopefully you’ll uncover some valuable ideas along the way.

The design basics I’ll lay out here will come with some explanation. I’ll try not to just assert my own views as fact. For example, I’ll tell you not to locate your pool light in the shallow end of the pool, and I’ll follow that with an explanation of why it’s not a good idea. Hopefully, you’ll see the sense in what I’m saying. My views usually come from years of experience: I’ve put a light or two in the shallow end, so you can gain from my mistakes.

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