Sat, 04 May 2024 02:15:51 -0700WeeblyMon, 05 Mar 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://universalpools-idaho.com/blog/winter-water-care--When it comes to pool design, we like to examine the site first and foremost. Nearly everyone is familiar with the privacy aspect; after all, who wants to have their pool installed in a “fishbowl”. Sometimes it’s just unavoidable, but things can be done to alleviate the situation; like pool placement, landscaping or hardscaping.

--Another consideration is trees and it seems everyone is aware of the interaction between trees and pools. Regardless of the type of trees they still drop things; leaves, pine needles, sticks, seeds, buds, you get the idea. Maybe not today, but someday, the trees will need to be trimmed. This can impact the pool, as well as, the cost of trimming the trees. However, the trees can sometimes provide privacy.

--Of course, there's always the Sun, it comes up every day. We'd like to have the pool in the Sun after all, that's kind of the point. We like to design such that water glare from the pool isn't reflected into the pool area users eyes during times of expected use. However, pool users also need a place to escape the sun and still be part of the pool activities.

--Safety is another concern, you've just built this awesome natural lagoon in your backyard and your insurance company says fence it, and the homeowners association says it must be white vinyl, ouch. So definitely check with your homeowners insurance and your homeowners association before you get too carried away. Also, most building departments have adopted Pool Barrier Codes. It lists fences, gates, covers, alarms, etc in terms of what is required. If you have powered pool cover as a means of satisfying the barrier codes, it must have an ASTM rating as a pool safety cover. Other considerations are door alarms. The pool location, architectural materials and the design itself can pose some safety concerns also.

-- Consider buried installations where the pool may be going. For instance, if you are on a private septic system, there are generally rules in terms of distance from the pool to the septic system. The gas and power lines going to your shop may be in the way and can have cost impacts to relocate them. You can call dig line to locate utility owned installations like cable, phone, power and gas services to your residence as well as big items like the a large pipeline, fiber optics lines and that sort of thing that may pass through your property. Again these can have a cost impact that may not be reflected in your pool contract. Dig line doesn't mark your buried installations like sprinklers, the gas line to the shop, etc.

-- Access for the construction itself is a consideration. It's pretty likely that the pool won't get dug with shovels and wheelbarrows so there should be some consideration for access for trucks, excavator and other heavy equipment. If the pool is installed during house construction, it’s not a big deal because there are usually no fences, landscaping or driveways in place.

-- Does the style of the pool fit the style of the house and surrounding landscape? Generally you don't see a natural lagoon installed with a Greek revival house, nor do you see a log cabin style home with Grecian style pool. But if that's your vision who are we to tell you otherwise. We try to blend these conditions by pool placement, hardscaping and landscaping.

-- Consider pedestrian flow, how will your family and friends access the pool and pool area. Also, consider how many family and friends you intend to entertain.  Bottlenecks to the pool are generally found immediately outside the back door. The design should encourage or invite guests to venture to the pool area and not congregate by the back door. Another thing to consider is bathroom facilities, remember the guests will be wet and you probably won’t want them dripping across the hardwood floor headed to the restroom unless you have made provisions for that.

-- The necessary evil is the pool equipment and I say evil because everyone thinks it's really noisy. However it's usually quieter than an air conditioner, noisier than an old dishwasher but it does hum. If it's just a standalone pool, we prefer to keep it outside. It's all suitable for outdoor use. The system breathes better and, if there is a situation, it doesn't flood the game room.

-- Eventually you will accumulate lots of floating toys, patio furniture, chemicals and pool tools to store. So push your fast forward button. I compare these things to flowers where the pool toys are usually annuals while the furniture is a perennial. You may want to consider a bath house with storage or at least some type storage shed or bin, especially during the winter.

-- Drainage is pretty important since a pool will likely interrupt any current drainage routes on the lot, including roof downspouts. As with the house, the pool would like a certain amount of slope away, for a certain amount of distance. But with the pool, it has more to do with giving the splash from a well performed “cannonball” a place to go and to keep the members of the landscaping in the landscape instead of on the pool deck. Drainage should be addressed early on.

-- We recommend planning for possible future installations by installing sleeves under patio areas, walkways and running empty electrical conduits out beyond the pool area during the underground phase. These steps can save a lot of money and lessen destruction later if done with the pool construction. Then, if you find you want to add something later most of the work is done. They also come in handy when the sprinklers go back in or you add low voltage lighting. The trick here is remembering were the sleeves are located.

--The pool and pool area maintenance should be evaluated early on in the design. I know when I was doing pool maintenance; a basic pool would take about an hour to clean, test and balance the water. This usually included drive time and very seldom were there other problems to get fixed. With the “thoroughbred” pools, i.e. vanishing edges, swim up bars or lots of natural rock with plants right next the pool; it could take 3 to 4 times that. Additionally, many times there was something else that needed to be scheduled, be it sandblasting the water stains from the rocks, fixing tile or a pump that was not happy. On one pool, I can remember wondering what the protocol was for vacuuming the pool from the swim up bar counter. Do I remove my shoes or not? While I enjoyed designing and building the thoroughbred pools and the wow factor is great, I did not like working on them. The lesson here is to try to determine the time commitment, (your time or someone else’s) for owning the pool, regardless of the type, before you trot off on a thoroughbred.
​
--The final thing we should discuss is controlling the pool. The Energy Code, where adopted by the building department, tells us that the pool pump must have a means of turning on and off filter cycles as a function of time. It also indicates that if we heat the pool, a vapor retardant cover or other means must be provided unless 70% or more of the heat energy is recovered from the site. A solar blanket, electric cover, a solar system and/or a heat pump will usually satisfy the requirement. With a standalone pool, one without a spa or water features, we use a very basic and reliable time clock switch near the pump. Set it up for the season and walk away. If the pool design has water features, spa jets, spa heat, etc. we will use an electronic control with an app for your phone, tablet and/or computer. Some builders will include an electronic control with a simple pool, but I argue that the additional expense isn’t justified if all you’re controlling is the LED lights. After all, who needs to turn their pool lights on and off from New York. It can turn the heater up, but again the pool heat up time for the pool is typically so slow that we recommend setting the thermostat at the heater and walk away. A spa on the other hand is a different story, if you’re up skiing; it’s nice to turn the spa temperature up from your phone before you leave the mountain.
​Controlling the pool lights are accomplished by a simple LED light controller. If you have an electric pool cover, a secure keypad is supplied with the cover and it cannot be integrated into some other control. It must be on its own and the pool must be in full view along with other criteria. So determining where the pool controls will live is a pool site consideration. We recommend that they be installed outdoors so that pool maintenance people can access the pool without entering the house.
​ 
--So when it comes to pool design, there is so much more to consider, but the pool is just a pool.  

 ]]>