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Annual Experts’ Issue
AwardWinning Pools
Hot Tub Havens Pool Care Guide Dramatic Pool Features Choosing a Pool Shape
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C o n Departments & Features Cover photo courtesy of Pool Builders, Inc., Davie, Fla.; Photography by Kevin Ford Inset cover photo courtesy of Essig Pools, Inc., North Miami, Fla.
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Fun Finds Unique birdbaths
17 A Touch of Gold Award-winning pools from Aquatech速, a National Society of Pool-Building & Retailing Professionals, and Master Pools Guild
66 Top-Notch Swim Spas & Hot Tubs New and popular models from leading manufacturers
84 Backyard Gourmet Fruity beverages perfect for sipping poolside
87 Advertisers Index 88 Finishing Touch A beautifully landscaped lagoon-style pool
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t e n t s
Volume 16 Number 2
Articles
36 Pool Care Basics Discover the routine steps for keeping your pool clean, covered, sanitized, and filtered.
50 Dramatic Pool Features
Before 11 Pool Makeovers Check out the before and after of these amazing renovations.
26 Choosing a Pool Shape A look at some of the most popular shapes for your pool
Add style and flare to your poolscape with laminar jets, fire features, caves, waterfalls, and waterslides.
56 Inside, Outside, or Poolside? Make the most of your pool space with an enclosure or pool house.
60 Hot Tub & Swim Spa Havens Enjoy the fun, relaxation, and health benefits of a hot tub and swim spa.
76 Entertaining Spaces How to create the ultimate outdoor room
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One name says it all‌
www.LuxuryPools.com Photo courtesy of Downunda Aquatic Environments; Photography by www.ConnieAndersonPhotography.com
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GOLD AWARD WINNERS
A Touch of Gold well-designed swimming pool is more than a manmade body of water: it is a work of art, designed to stimulate our visual sense and evoke emotion. From an exotic resort reminiscent of vacations past, to a mountainside oasis that vanishes into the horizon, to a mirror-like form that reflects the surrounding landscape, today’s talented pool builders utilize water’s natural beauty and unique properties to create breathtaking poolscapes that enhance the human experience of any setting. Pool & Spa Outdoor is proud to honor many of the gold award winners of Aquatech®, a National Society of Pool-Building and Retailing Professionals, and Master Pools Guild. To view all of the winners, visit www.poolspaoutdoor.com.
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Armond Aquatech, Bridgeport, Pennsylvania www.PoolSpaOutdoor.com
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Aquatech Society GOLD AWARD WINNERS
Essig Pools, Inc., North Miami, Florida
Charlottesville Aquatics, Inc., Charlottesville, Virginia
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Baker Pools, Jenks, Oklahoma
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Pool Shapes
Shaping Up Your Pool Options Size, shape, and style are important when building a swimming pool. Here are a few tips to help you determine what design is best for your property. By Patti Plummer
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Choosing the Building Material There are three basic types of inground pools: concrete, vinyl, and fiberglass. Each type of building material has its own set of pros and cons when it comes to forming a shape and creating a style. Make sure the design you imagine for your pool can be fabricated in the material you want to use. Don’t hesitate to do your homework: research options, ask
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other pool owners, and interview prospective builders of all three types. Concrete is the most accommodating material for crafting a pool shape and style: your imagination and your budget are its only limits. Ideal for any kind of custom design, you can further enhance your concrete pool with a finishing material like glass tile, colored plaster, or stone aggregate. Vinyl, like concrete, is great for all types of pool designs. The material and styles for vinyl-lined pools have advanced over the years; the number of patterns and colors are almost infinite, giving homeowners a large assortment to choose from for the look of the pool’s interior. Built from pre-manufactured molds, fiberglass pools come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and styles, including popular designs like infinity pools. Fiberglass pool companies can further customize your project by adding ceramic tile, custom jets, mosaics, and other water features.
The pool designer created a simply elegant poolscape by combining a vanishing edge with the rounded edges of a geometric shape. Added bonus: the far-off vista is invited to play a larger role in the setting’s tropical splendor.
Photo courtesy of Kona Sunset Pools & Spas; Photography by Michael Paravano
hile being spontaneous can be a good thing, building your long-desired swimming pool should not be left to chance. Today’s designers have a variety of pool shapes and styles in their portfolios, from freeform pools and infinity edges to Grecian styles and classic rectangles. What is best for your property will come from a number of inspirations. But before you get to this step, consider what material will be best to construct the pool design you have in mind.
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Pool Maintenance
Pool Care
Basics Discover the routine steps and equipment for keeping your pool clean and safe.
Photo courtesy of In the Swim
By Kimberlee Courtney
long with endless hours of fun with family and friends, owning a swimming pool also brings with it the need for regular upkeep. Maintaining a clean pool is essential to the health of swimmers and will preserve the beauty and function of the structure. Learn how to keep your pool in top shape so you and your family can enjoy swimming all season long.
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Sanitize the Water Proper water care is one of the most important parts of maintaining your pool. Over time, organic contaminants such as sweat, lotion, and other germs build up in the pool. Treating your pool with sanitizers destroys the organic matter and prevents the growth of bacteria and algae, keeping the water clean and safe to swim in. Chlorine is the most widely used and 36 Pool & Spa Outdoor
highly effective sanitizer and oxidizer. It can be added to a pool in the form of granules (dichlor) or tablets and sticks (trichlor), which are used in floating chemical feeders or filter baskets. Chlorine also functions as a shock when used in large doses of 10 ppm; you may need to shock (superchlorinate) your pool when there is a major drop in stabilizer levels or if you see algae growth. Some pool owners have been converting to saltwater sanitizing systems, which eliminate the need to add chlorine by hand. Instead, several pounds of salt (sodium chloride) are added to the pool, and as the water (and dissolved salt) passes through the system, a chlorine generator containing a catalytic cell converts the salt to chlorine. Once the water is sanitized, the chlorine reverts back to sodium chloride. Since most of the water contains saline, it becomes
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Pool Features
Creating Drama & Fun Add style and flare to your poolscape with laminar jets, fire features, caves, waterfalls, and waterslides. By Debra Maurer
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hile most pools are designed to create a certain theme, such as tropical, modern, or classic, your pool doesn’t have to be limited to one kind of look or purpose. With the right pool features, control settings, lighting, and some creativity, your pool can go from family fun to chic and sophisticated with the flip of a switch. While there are many features that can add drama and excitement to your pool, we’ll explore some of the most popular, including laminar jets, fire features, caves, waterfalls, and waterslides.
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Laminar Jets vs. Deck Jets
Fire Features It’s easy to see how pool and landscaping lighting can change the mood of an outdoor setting and give a whole new look to your backyard. If you want to take lighting to the next level, you can heighten the drama with a fire feature. Fire woks and firebowls, typically filled with lava rocks or fire glass, can be placed on retaining walls, stone columns, or pedestals around the pool. Firebowls can double as a water feature with sheer descent waterfalls flowing down into the pool. Firebowls come in a variety of colors, shapes, and materials, including concrete, copper, and stone.
Photo courtesy of Brierhill Homes, Inc., Orlando, Fla.; Harvey Smith Photography
Laminar jets shoot glass-like tubes of bubble-free water into the pool, creating a spectacular effect.
Photo courtesy of Downes Swimming Pool Company, Inc.; Photography by John P. Frantz
Laminar jets, or laminar fountains, create beautiful arcs of water that leap from your deck into the pool with very little sound or splash. You may have seen them at resort pools, lit up at night with color-changing LED lights. What makes laminar jets different from—and more expensive than—standard deck jets is that they produce a steady stream of bubble-free water, as if the water is flowing through a glass tube. Standard deck jets (or stream jets) contain air, meaning the water sprays slightly apart in droplets. They serve as an affordable alternative to laminars, and many pool owners enjoy their effect. Deck jets are also the better choice if your backyard has
a high degree of wind coming through, which ruins the effect of laminars. Laminar jets are installed at the edge of the pool deck and can shoot water up to 7 feet high and 8 feet out. They can be turned on or off individually so you can have only a few on at a time or all of them flowing at once. When you have laminars installed with LED lights, your pool will take on a whole new level of drama at night. Whether you prefer classic white or a multitude of alternating colorchanging patterns, laminar jets create a spectacular effect when the sun goes down.
This Gem Stone firepit table features a Costa Esmeralda Quartzite countertop and the same glass mosaic tiles used in the pool. Accent rope lighting adds a subtle glow, making this piece an attractive work of art, as well as a lively entertaining area. Pool designed by Bazar Pools, Orlando, Fla.; Quartzite supplied by Steve Elliott Granite & Marble, Inc.; Ivory travertine decking and coping by International Tile & Stone www.PoolSpaOutdoor.com
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Hot Tubs & Swim Spas
Soak Up
a Healthier Lifestyle Enjoy the fun, relaxation, and health benefits of a hot tub and swim spa.
Photo courtesy of SwimEx, Inc.
By Kimberlee Courtney
e all know getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and managing stress are essential to our health. But with the constant demands of our busy lifestyles, accomplishing any of those activities may seem like an impossible feat—and can cause us to feel even more stressed. Luckily, there’s a way you can relax, sleep better, work out, and enhance your overall well-being all at the same time. Learn how a hot tub or swim spa can improve your health, and discover the best options for your budget and space.
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Hydrotherapy & Aquatic Exercise Hot tubs promote both physical and mental health through warm water therapy, or hydrotherapy. The combination of heat, buoyancy, and massage jets increases circulation, loosens and relaxes stiff muscles, and stimulates the release of endorphins (your body’s natural painkillers). Numerous studies have shown that regularly soaking in a hot tub or spa for 15 – 20 minutes can alleviate muscle and joint pain, reduce stress, help control blood sugar, and promote deeper sleep. Hot tubs also provide a low-impact environment for exercise: Because you weigh only 10 percent of your actual body weight in
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Photo courtesy of Jacuzzi Hot Tubs
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Entertaining Spaces
Homeowners are discovering that their outdoor space is the perfect spot to entertain, celebrate, and have fun-filled days with family and friends. By Patti Plummer he great outdoors is quickly becoming the go-to place for homeowners seeking much needed leisure space. They are adding decks, pools, outdoor kitchens, tennis courts, putting greens, outdoor rooms, and a variety of other backyard additions to blur the lines between their in-home game rooms and outdoor play areas. For years, the home’s inside had all of the fun: home theaters, gourmet kitchens, and even rooms whose sole purpose was to
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accommodate all of the equipment ardent gamers needed. But that is changing: people are gravitating to their outdoor spaces and turning them into all-season at-home getaways.
Outdoor Rooms Landscape architects and designers are at the forefront of a new way of thinking about the backyard. When a homeowner determines that more space is needed, often
an outdoor room is suggested. Large or small, enclosed in four walls or left open, these settings have all the comforts of home, including incredible pieces of furniture, decorative items, high-tech sound and entertainment systems, and fireplaces or firepits, as well as dramatic lightscaping and sophisticated hardscaping. Outdoor rooms can be anything you want and anywhere you desire—and they don’t have to a have a roof overhead. Many
Photo courtesy of Fine Landscapes, Ltd.; Photography by Yodeling Goat Media
Photo courtesy of Walnut Hill Landscape Company; LandmarksPhotography.com
Photo courtesy of Summer Classics
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homeowners group sofas and chairs in an outdoor area that they want to make welcoming to guests. Often this spot is on a deck, next to the pool, or in a private area surrounded by lush landscaping. Other homeowners place their rooms under a pergola or tent, in a gazebo, or even enclosed in a screened lanai. The options are as many and as varied as a homeowner’s budget and requirements. More elaborate outdoor rooms are perfect
for families that need the added space for weekend parties, special occasions, or entertaining on a regular basis. These are usually designed by an architect and are either attached to the home or built separately. Fully covered or left open to breezes, these rooms are constructed to match the home’s architecture, so don’t be afraid to let your decorative side come out— you can imitate any indoor room you want, right down to the paintings on the wall!
Outdoor Kitchens Along with outdoor rooms, many homeowners are adding outdoor kitchens to their backyard living spaces—and like their indoor counterparts, outdoor kitchens become the hub of every event held outside. After an afternoon of splashing in the pool or improving your putting skills on the backyard green, gathering together with your guests for a snack or full-blown www.PoolSpaOutdoor.com
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â?‚ Backyard Gourmet
Thirst Quenchers There is nothing better on a hot summer day than a cool drink while sitting by the pool. Here are a few recipes that will wet your whistle and have you asking for seconds—and maybe thirds! By Patti Plummer
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Lady Tangerine 1 1¼ ¼ 1
strawberry, muddled ounces Florida tangerine juice ounce aged balsamic vinegar teaspoon strawberry jam Ice Champagne, chilled Strawberry for garnish
In cocktail shaker, muddle strawberry. Add Florida tangerine juice, vinegar, jam and ice. Shake and strain into champagne flute; top with chilled champagne. Garnish with strawberry. Serves 1 Recipe and photo courtesy of Florida Department of Citrus
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Sparkling Mango Strawberry Sangria 9 ounces fresh mango, peeled, pitted and pureed to make 6 ounces strained mango puree 6 large strawberries, pureed 1 ounce simple syrup 6 ounces fresh orange juice 6 ounces fresh lemon juice 2 cinnamon sticks 1 liter lemon-lime soda 1 mango, peeled, pitted and cubed Mint sprig, strawberries, orange and lemon slices Large Bordeaux glass with ice
Place ingredients (excluding lemon-lime soda) into a large glass container, cover, and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve pour into an ice-filled pitcher to 2/3 full. Add fresh sliced fruits and top with lemon-lime soda, stir gently to mix. Serve in wine glasses filled with ice and fresh fruit. Serves 8 Recipe and photo courtesy of National Mango Board
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