A great guide to updating or renovating your inground swimming pool from the APSP
Renovating a Pool? Get Started Here
from the APSP
Need a make-over? With an APSP member professional at your side, you can enhance your home's value and reveal new opportunities for enjoyment with a refreshing upgrade or new treatment. Here are seven ways to renovate or restore your pool:
1. Resurface. Resurfacing an in-ground concrete pool restores beauty and comfort to cracked or roughened surfaces and extends the pool's functional life. For pools with a vinyl interior, a replacement liner in a new pattern can transform your pool overnight. Fiberglass pool owners can also consult with an APSP member professional for the product that will make your pool look like new.
2. Add a water feature. Install a waterfall or fountain to bring the sound and beauty of moving water to your outdoor environment. Water features like a dramatic spillover create a strong focal point and provide a dynamic addition to an otherwise ordinary pool.
3. Add a hot tub. Experience the relaxation of a soothing soak or the health benefits from warm water therapy. There's a hot tub for every need, every setting, and every budget.
4. Install new tile. Just as a new backsplash transforms a kitchen, new tile can set the tone for your beautiful new look. By selecting from the vast tile options available, you'll make the most dramatic improvement in appearance for the greatest value.
5. Enhance your surroundings. Consider a new or updated pool deck. You can extend the look of interior flooring to experience an outdoor family room with man-made or natural materials. Stain existing concrete. Or brush up dated, cracked or stressed concrete patios with a thick overlay and new finish. Add a sound or media system, or even an outdoor kitchen or fireplace for greater enjoyment.
6. Consider new lighting. Lighting not only enhances safety, it also adds a touch of beauty and pizzazz. Halogen and fiber optic lighting can add striking color to a nighttime poolscape. And long-lasting color-filled LED replacements can create an entirely new mood with little or no modification to an existing pool.
7. Think technology. New automatic cleaning systems have units that "walk" along your pool floor. These newer systems require practically no supervision. And you can still swim while the system cleans your pool. Digital controls make operating pool equipment easier than ever, letting you control lighting, heating, and cleaning with the touch of the button or with your tablet or smartphone. And upgrades like a salt chlorinator system or a solar cover and heater can improve both functionality and efficiency.
Keep in mind, you don't have to do everything at once. Pool renovations can be done over several seasons, allowing you to make the improvements and fund your investment at a pace that works for you. Of course, to ensure you get the most for your money, you'll want to hire an experienced pool contractor. An APSP Certified Professional will help ensure that your vision is transformed into reality — safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively. Find an APSP Certified Building or Service Professional here.
Top 5 Investments to Make in Your Pool for 2013
Top 5 Investments to Make in Your Pool for 2013
from poolfyi
Innovation has long been the key to the success of new pool equipment. These new products are more energy-efficient and in turn save pool owners money on their utility bills. Additionally, many pool products have become easier and more convenient to use. With so much innovation taking place there are an ever increasing number of options for pool owners to enhance their backyard pool experience while saving money on the side. Take a look at the top investments for 2013.
Variable Speed Pumps
Variable speed pumps were an evolutionary jump when they were first introduced. With multiple settings and the ability to program for an individual environment, variable speed pumps run no more or less than needed for each task, such as pool heating, water features, spa jets and more. The amount of money variable speed pump owners save will often pay back the investment in only a few years.
LED Lighting
Lighting is another area of development for swimming pool products. LED technology consumes less electricity than older technologies such as incandescent or halogen. LED lights also last longer and are less expensive to operate; saving owners money while enhancing the look of their poolscape.
pH Controller
Simplifying pool maintenance is at the heart of many recent pool equipment developments. For example, new pH controllers can add adjustable amounts of acid to a pool with the push of a button or be programmed to help keep pH levels in the proper range. By helping to prevent fluctuations in pH levels, a pH controller makes sanitizing more effective and protects pool equipment from corrosion. Therefore, it reduces wear and tear on all pool equipment, lowering the need for replacements down the road.
Automation Systems
Providing total control of pool and spa functions from home or on the go is another recurring theme in new product development. New automation systems are making pool and spa control easier than ever. Pool equipment like heaters, pumps, lights and more are able to connect with an automation system and provide you with a central control for all their functions.
Automatic Cleaners
Pool cleaning equipment has taken a number of strides forward in recent years. After hearing from pool owners, many manufacturers have placed an emphasis on reliability, performance, simplicity and convenience. While new automatic cleaners are much better suited to clean than previous generations, they are also becoming more energy-efficient, saving owners from additional utility charges. Regardless of your needs there is an automatic pool cleaner for you and your budget.
The innovation that has gone into these, and other products, is a testament to the pool industry's forward thinking and focus on creating convenience for pool owners. What other pool investments do you suggest for 2013 and beyond?
Swimming pool designs are pushing the creative envelope
Homeowners' Bold Pool Designs Mark Poolscape Renaissance, Reports Pentair Aquatic Systems' Poolfyi
Sanford, N.C. – Homeowners committed to the pool lifestyle this summer are fueling a poolscape renaissance as they push designers and builders across the country to create custom outdoor living spaces with resort-like amenities around their pools, according to Pentair Aquatic Systems and its social community, Poolfyi.
Many homeowners recognize they can do more with their pools and see them as "the centerpiece for creating a backyard getaway," said Carlos Del Amo, VP of global marketing at Pentair Aquatic Systems, the world's leading manufacturer of pool and spa equipment. A well-planned poolscape gives homeowners an oasis for everyday leisure, entertaining and swimming.
Enhance your inground swimming pool design with Laminars
Here is an interesting article from Pool FYI about what Laminar Flow Jets can do for your inground swimming pool design.
Swimming Pool Designs
Check out this article about some interesting options that are available to existing inground swimming pool owners.
Ever thought of adding a climbing wall to your swimming pool?
It may not be as challenging as climbing some of the great peaks of the Himalayas, but the AquaClimb is a hell of a lot warmer and safer than a mountain. Towering and transparent, the AquaClimb Sport offers a new experience for amateur and professional rock climbers. A sleeker alternative to the AquaClimb Classic version, the AquaClimb Sport is much more challenging. The interesting design has been created by Christofer Born, an award winning industrial designer, which will change the whole scene of aquatic recreation. The AquaClimb Sport can be installed indoors or outdoors. Nevertheless, the idea of a swimmer's splash rather than a crunching crash is sure to encourage people to embrace the height of the AquaClimb Sport rather than shy away from it.
