Orange County Landscaping: Pool Design, Construction, and Repair

You may spend many hours daydreaming about the design of your perfect pool. We can help you move in the right direction to make sure you build not only the "perfect" pool, but also the "right" pool for you. What is important to consider when purchasing a new swimming pool? Most agree it's the installer who is the key. Take your time when considering your pool design. Given thoughtful consideration your swimming pool can become your home's attractive focal point.

The design of the pool is influenced by a number of items:

Number one: the land in which you wish to construct the pool, for example, on a large property you can locate the pool well away from the house as a seperate identity, while in a small property you will need to relate the pool more to the house as it may have to be close or adjoining the house structure.

Also if the pool is set out in the yard a freeform style design possibly with a more natural set of finishers may blend in well, while if the pool is close to the house it may need to have more formal lines to match the house lines.

Number two: the type of people who will predominately be using the pool, eg: adults with young children or elder adults, or teenagers. In most cases the depth of the pool will be determined by the long term use. If you have a large family then some deeper 1.5-2.0M depth could be good for playing games in, but if you consider its use for 20 years when the parents are the only ones using it and they are older then possibly a 1.2-1.4M overall depth would be better.

You must consider the trees and gardens you currently have and those that you propose to plant. It is nice (in some peoples terms) to have the pool in a "Natural Bush Setting" with trees over the top and garden falling into the water in various areas, but that will cause a dramatic increase in maintainance unless the trees are evergreen and even then they need to be the type that does not lose its leaves or drop pollen or flowers.

Everywhere that garden enters the pool or is very close to the pool increases the potential for algae growth & or spiders or other living creatures to get into your pool.

Sometimes it is not as "natural" but much more convienent to have a clean area around the pool & if you want shade over a portion of the pool then use the shadow of a tall tree furthur away or install an artifical shade structure.

Pool Repair and Maintenance

For pool leak repair, the first thing many pool store people recommend is to call in a leak repair company to pressurize the plumbing lines. Unless the pool plumbing is cut and capped at the equipment, a pressure test has no validity. If you're not losing 6" of water or more a day out of your pool, don't consider pressure testing. Chances of damaging the plumbing makes pressure testing a risky procedure and there are two simpler tests that show the same results, faster and with no possible chance of harming any of the plumbing.

First, make certain that you have a leak. Check the evaporation rate by placing a pail on your deck, adding water and marking the level. A loss of 1 inch in the pail over a weeks time explains a 1 inch loss in the pool over the same period.

If you know the 'stop-level' of the leak (where it stops leaking), you most likely now know the elevation of the problem and any fixtures at that level (skimmer, return and lights) become suspect. Leaks generally occur where two different materials meet. This includes where the skimmer meets the vinyl, tile, grout or marcite of the pool surface. The next most common site is beneath the vacuum and return wall fittings in concrete pools. Note: A skimmer is the weakest element in any pool.

Place a drop of the dye near a suspected leak site. When the dye reveals water flowing through the pool wall, you've found your problem.

Two-part pool putty is the basic cement pool leak repair material. Mix two equal marble-sized parts to a consistant color and apply to the leak site. You have about 20 minutes to work with putty before it begins to set. And the amazing thing: 2-part works underwater!

When a 200 pound man bounces on the board, it puts an incredible strain on the anchors holding that board to the deck. An inspection of all boards, the fulcrums the boards sit on and anchor bolts should be made every two years.

A study showed that pool owners who ran their residential pool pumps for as little as 3 to 4 hours a day in a staggered schedule were quite happy with the way their pool looked and greatly satisfied with the reduction in their electric bill.

Here are a few hints:

• Add chemicals to the pool at the start of a 1 hour pump cycle and all will be adequately mixed.
• High circulation rates do not reduce algae growth.
• Running the pump more than one hour after all debris is removed is wasted energy.

Researchers say the best way to run the pump is to break the cycle into 2 or 3 one-hour or hour and a half shifts.

Brush your pool once or twice a week; more often if you notice algae growth.