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Pool Building: Options
With
a pool the options are as wide as your imagination!
When exploring special options and
poolscape features, select safe and attractive enhancements that best
suit you and your lifestyle. Some options work well for a family setting;
others provide the perfect setting for entertaining; still other options
combine fun and sophistication.
Find a dealer!
LIGHTING
Pool lighting is always a good idea just for safety's sake, of course,
but today's pool lighting also adds a mixture of beauty and pizzazz
to the poolscape. While standard incandescent and halogen pool lights
are always great options to consider, fiber optic lighting is a fantastic
way to bring striking color to the nighttime poolscape.
incorporates varying colors of light for both traditional point-source
and band-lighting effects. Fiber optics are easily installed for landscaping
and architectural features as well as around water, because there's
no electrical current to worry about.
Some homeowners might prefer the traditional
elegance of standard white illumination, while others welcome color
into their poolscape. It's entirely possible to have amethyst point
lights illuminating your spa, or bands of ruby lights running around
the perimeter of your pool and marking the steps. Many of the systems
available will allow you to scroll though the color spectrum, turning
your pool into a sophisticated backyard light show. For a mesmerizing,
dramatic effect, point lights beneath water features such as waterfalls
and fountains create glowing streams of water.
No matter what you'd like to see in lights,
ask your builder about incorporating colorful fiber optics into your
poolscape.
FENCING
Whether you are a caring parent or someone genuinely concerned about
the responsibilities that come with pool ownership, you would be wise
to consider investing in fencing for your backyard pool. While pools
are wonderful creations, they can be dangerous if homeowners fail to
consider the safety issues.
Young children are the most likely to have accidents around a pool and
unfortunately, some pool related accidents have resulted in drownings.
However, drownings are preventable accidents! Fences are acceptable
barriers, some even come equipped with alarms, which comply with safety
codes. This method for enclosing and monitoring a pool definitely helps
to protect children.
Mesh pool fencing is one of the most popular
and effective barriers to safeguard the pool area. Made of poly-vinyl
mesh, aluminum or fiberglass poles, and stainless steel hardware, these
removable and generally non-climbable fences are available in several
heights, models and colors. Easily opened or removed by an adult, a
mesh fence makes for a substantial barrier to "buy you the time
you need" when your toddler disappears from your sight. This type
of fencing can also be permanently installed around your pool, with
or without a self-closing/self-latching gate. Don't take a chance when
it comes to the safety of children. Be sure to talk to your builder
about fencing.
SPECIAL FEATURES
There are many special touches your builder can add to your pool that
enhance the backyard environment and create a relaxing retreat from
the workday world. These types of features can create a poolscape as
simple or elaborate as you wish.
Consider adding extras such as streams, waterfalls,
fountains, water gardens or even ponds with aquatic plants and fish.
Water features such as fountains and waterfalls are a particularly popular
add-on for customers. There's just something about the sound of water
tumbling across rocks and falling back into the pool that inspires a
sense of absolute tranquility and inner harmony. A great thing is that
even a small space can accommodate an attractive water feature. It should
also be noted that water gardens and ponds typically do not require
as much maintenance as pools and spas, though some individuals may not
care to maintain fish and water plants.
Rock formations, using both natural and realistic faux rocks, are another
special feature available for today's pools. Builders can design a private
lagoon-like area or the basis for a spectacular waterfall by using various
shapes and sizes of rocks to create landscaping that would make even
Mother Nature jealous. Flat rocks can be used to create seating areas,
pathways or steps. Builders can also provide spacing in stone structures
to allow for plants and greenery, creating more balance and impact in
the whole poolscape.
There are several little things you can add
to your pool to increase its functionality, such as tanning shelves,
swim up bars, spas and benches. You might want to invest in in-home
remote controls for lighting, heating, fountains, etc.; laser security;
fences; pool safety covers; lighting and automated pool cleaners. And
you can't forget about cosmetic features such as glass blocks, negative
edges, tile inlays, fiber optic lighting, and colored plaster and aggregate.
There are more features available for your poolscape than we can possibly
mention here. Be sure to discuss the options with your builder, or take
a look at pool, architectural and lifestyle magazines for more ideas.
MOSAIC
TILE
Many consumers spend lots of time and money landscaping their backyard
and making the area around their pool beautiful, but forget it's often
what's inside that counts!
Mosaic artistry is a great way to make your pool unique and more attractive.
Many companies hand make their mosaic tiles,
but some use modern technology. With computers, these companies can
make them quickly.
Dealers offer lots
of choices from simple patterns, to Santa Fe décor of chili peppers,
lizards and geckos. Aquatic themes are popular, including dolphins,
sport fish, tropical fish and crabs. You could go with a classic garden
pattern of the sun, flowers, butterflies or ladybugs. Some companies
offer a shadow line, depicting the object and it's shadow, usually in
gray.
But if you want to be different, you could
go with a custom design, a feature offered by some dealers. From you
company logo to your favorite sports team, some dealers will tile your
pool with just about anything you can find an image of.
WATER GARDENS
Want to be the talk of the neighborhood and your friends? Check out
this up-and-coming trend in landscaping - backyard water gardens.
These backyard accents are growing in popularity and can be installed
by a dealer for a reasonable cost or you can do it yourself! What a
great family project.
Backyard water gardens not only enhance the beauty and mood of your
backyard, but the value of your property. And there are so many options
to make your backyard water garden unique! Choose from accent options
including under water lighting, stones, plants, bridges, gazebos and
statues. You can even have fish in your pond!
If you are looking for an outdoor project
this season, you could buy a "do it yourself" kit, like a
flex pond. This durable, plastic perform pond liner comes a box and
even has a 20-year warranty. And the best part is that the beauty comes
with little effort. A micro fall in your backyard water garden makes
it virtually maintenance free! A micro fall acts as a filter. Usually
you have to clean the garden only once a year!
But if you're not convinced a whole backyard water garden is for you,
consider just a waterfall. A pond less waterfall is even more maintenance
free than a pond. The water drains into a gravel bed with aquatic plants.
The reservoir needs refilling every few weeks.
Check out our gallery of backyard water gardens.
Visit our member dealers who can help you pick your backyard water garden
or waterfall today!
LAMINAR JETS
We've all seen them at amusement parks or
near monuments - streams of water that jump from place to place. They're
laminar jet water accents and they don't have to be for public places,
they can fit well in your customer's backyard.
Builders and getting into installing
laminar jets to enhance backyard water gardens. Invented by Mark W.
Fuller & Allen Robinson, these jets make a backyard come alive.
Laminar jets are basically a large tube with water continuously flowing
out of the end, by a vane system. Like the lance on a pressure washer
a second supply of water is forced across the main flow at considerable
pressure. A valve controls this second flow. So by controlling the rate
of the second flow, it is cut and looks like a glass rod floating through
the air. This also allow the installer (and ultimately the customer)
decide how long the rod will be.
But the fun doesn't stop at jumping water.
Lighting can be used to enhance this new look even more. Light effect
nozzles can be installed to illuminate the water rods in the dark. And
if you don't want to do the work yourself, or as an additional product
to sell, consider adding small jumping jet kits to your inventory. Customers
can use these small kits to create a laminar fountain effect. The packages
typically have all the needed parts and instructions.
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