Categories
New Pool Construction News Pool Maintenance

Common Mistakes in Pool Design

Top Mistakes in Pool Design

Pool Design: Jumping Right In

Designing your pool doesn’t need to be a complicated task. You might have an idea of what you want it to look like, but how do you get there? We want you to have a clean, beautiful pool that you can enjoy safely for many years, not one that’ll put you in a place of debt and disappointment. We get to design and guide both homeowners and businesses through the process of matching the pool design to their lifestyle every day.

Backstroke or Butterfly?

When you start planning a pool, there are a lot of things to consider and a lot of boxes to check. Some of the questions we ask are:

  • Do you want to swim laps, splash around, or catch the rays on a float? Swimming for fitness versus play greatly affects the size, shape, and depth of your pool.
  • Do you have children? Safety is our top priority, and we take extra precautions to keep little ones safe while we design a pool appropriate for their use and a pool that grows with them for years to come.
  • What kind of space are we working with? A wide-open, flat yard offers more freedom than a smaller space with trees that will drop debris where hills give us unique design ideas for waterfalls and more.

These are only a few of the factors that we keep in mind. Sometimes knowing what not to do gives us a better idea of what to do. Let’s cover some of the more common mistakes and how to avoid them in pool design.

Sloppy Budgeting

You might think that you’re taking everything into consideration when budgeting to build a pool, but it’s worth engaging a professional to take a look at your project. A well-planned pool can add a lot of value to your property and a lot of enjoyment to your leisure time, but not being thorough with your budget can turn that pretty lagoon into a giant money pit. We suggest:

  • Budget for maintenance. We can help you find the right sanitation system and put the right tools in place to keep your pool pristine in a manageable way.
  • Experience = value. While we can tell you that mistakes cost money and try to give you a guide on how to avoid them, an experienced eye on the project will spot mistakes we can’t cover in any guide.
  • Budget for value. Consult with professionals like your financial advisor and real estate agent to get an idea of how much a pool or spa could affect your financial outlook. Pools can make a property harder to sell, so if you are planning on selling your property, a pool could be a liability.

Design Overdose

Pool design impacts more than just use. Choosing the wrong design can make your pool impossible to maintain as well as increasing cost. It’s easy to go overboard on making your pool beautiful, as there are all kinds of attractive options, like waterfalls, fountains, decorative stonework, tanning ledges, and more. We’ll help you come up with the perfect combination to make your pool or spa look great while staying within budget.

Think about what you’re actually going to use. We bring a very realistic approach to pool design and having a deep end to a pool that nobody really uses any more, can move that financial dial by thousands. Are you planning to socialize poolside? Maybe a free-edge design that facilitates movement would be better than a long rectangle. Do you want your pool to be the defining feature of that space or would you rather have it compliment your surroundings?

Whether you like it sleek and minimal or are set on a adventure paradise, making smart design decisions from the beginning will make you much happier with the end result.

The Danger Zone

Not accounting for local zoning laws is a mistake that is sure to sink your pool before ground is broken. Treat it like you would another home construction project and get your building permit in order. New York building permits must account for environmental factors like the water table and where the sewer lines are. Every New York pool built or altered after December 2006 must include equipment like a state-approved alarm and a secure barrier around the pool to prevent entry, with inspections conducted multiple times throughout construction.

Precision Pool and Spa is well-versed in New York zoning laws for swimming pools and will help you make sure that everything is approved and complies with local regulations.

Swim with the Big Fish

We love seeing our clients’ dreams for their ultimate pool or spa come true, and to make that happen in the most efficient way possible, it helps for us to be involved from the beginning. That way, we can guide design the process as well as the pool to streamline your project from start to finish.

Dave always says, “It’s always about finding the right VALUE to the project.”

Talking with a professional in the early stages of planning your pool or spa reduces mistakes that will drain your budget, waste your time, and slow progress. We want to avoid all of that. Whether we are designing a backyard spool or hotel lodge retreat we design the pool to match your needs and make sure to get the right value out of the project.

Categories
News Pool Maintenance

Ultraviolet Sanitation Systems for Pools and Spas

What is UV Sanitation?

Ultraviolet (UV) sanitation is a method of cleansing water using UV light. UV light kills or neutralizes microorganisms, producing safer water for drinking, washing, and swimming.

UV Sanitation for Pools and Spas Diagram

How does a UV pool sanitation system work? First, the water goes into the pool’s existing filtration system, then into a graphite compartment where it passes through a beam of UV light. The UV light wipes out microorganisms by attacking cell walls and damaging nucleic acids, effectively ripping apart their DNA. This either kills the organisms or leaves them unable to reproduce or carry out basic cellular activities, keeping us safe from these contaminants. These microorganisms include algae, spores, viruses, and bacteria.

UV vs. Chlorine Sanitation

Using UV light as a water cleanser has been practiced for some time and is regularly used to treat drinking water and wastewater. Today, most new pools and spas today are equipped with a UV sanitation system, but is that the right choice for you?

While most new pools and spas are made with a UV sanitation system, chlorine is still the most common pool sanitizer. Why is that, and what should you choose for your pool? We’re going to look at some pros and cons for UV and chlorine and give you our professional opinion.

Pros & Cons of UV Pool Sanitation

Pros of UV Pool Sanitation Systems

  • Easier to use, requires less monitoring, and needs less maintenance than chlorine cleansing systems
  • Does not cause chemical buildup and will not damage pool materials and structures over time
  • System is enclosed, so swimmers never come into contact with UV rays, and it’s not impacted by weather
  • Produces extremely clean water without any chlorine odor, buildup, or irritation

Cons of UV Pool Sanitation Systems

  • Does not clean the pool itself, only the water that passes through the system – you’ll need to have chemical cleansers on hand to keep your pool or spa’s walls, floors, and other structures clean
  • While we design our pools to recycle the water through the filter system, we can’t guarantee when or if the dirty molecule of water will make it into the system
  • All UV systems are not maintenance-free forever; the UV light source will weaken over time, so you need to make sure to replace it periodically so that bacteria and parasites can’t survive in your pool

Pros & Cons of Chlorine Pool Sanitation

Pros of Chlorine Pool Sanitation Systems

  • Works into the entire pool of water, not just when it passes through a compartment containing a UV ray; this allows chlorine to attack bacteria everywhere in the pool, immediately
  • UV light is excellent for disinfecting pool and spa water, but it does not oxidize. Inanimate substances remain whole and harmful in water if they are not oxidized. Chlorine does this by either adding oxygen molecules or removing electrons from the substance, breaking it down
  • Chlorine systems are easy – the automatic chlorinator systems we install are nothing like the old school chlorine you used to work with
  • Helps keep the pool surfaces and equipment clean, not just the water, and is necessary to keep the pool free of bacteria growth

Cons of Chlorine Pool Sanitation Systems

  • Requires more regular upkeep than UV, as keeping a good chemical balance is key
  • Need more monitoring – chlorine levels must be checked regularly
  • Chlorine itself is caustic – without proper setup and handling it could cause irritation, or even damage to equipment
  • Some parasites, like cryptosporidium, can withstand chlorine

Why you need BOTH UV and Chlorine in your Pool

While the world debates whether one is better than the other, the systems really do complement each other, which is why we recommend both. Using both gives you two different levels of protection that reinforce each other to make sure your pool is as clean as possible. Using UV light means you can use less chlorine while still guarding against contamination at all times and keep your pool structures clean.

There are many UV systems available in the market. We install and recommend the Paramount UV2 system which kills off 99.9% of micro-organisms.