Author: pti-ji

If the jewel of your outdoor space is your pool, an exquisite tile may be its perfect accent—bringing it to a whole other level of luxury. For a tile that really brings the sparkle, we love Lightstreams™ Glass Tile. 

Whether used throughout an entire pool or just on the water line, this jewel-toned, artisan tile just seems to catch the light; and each tile is handcrafted to be one of a kind. Made in America, the line is specifically designed for use in pools, spas, and other water environments. It’s twice fired for maximum durability, making it highly resistant to cracking or breaking over time. Silky smooth edges add the finishing touch for a luxurious pool experience. 

Lightstreams glass tile delivers stunning iridescence. Choose from Renaissance II and Gold Iridescent Collections in colors ranging from peacock, royal, and turquoise blues to elegant gold, silver, and bronze tones. Each tile—available in 1”, 2”, and 3” sizes—has one side of striking iridescence as well as a reverse side of deeply saturated solid color. There’s even a wide array of jewel inlays, accent tiles, and custom colors and sizes available to make a pool or spa unforgettable.

For more information on our Lightstream collection, click here.

Creating glass tile that is project specific – i.e., custom-made for a single client – is both a great opportunity and at times a tall challenge. It’s almost always a chance to stretch creatibely and technically, and almost always big-time fun, the part where I can really think and create in terms of a specific, more personal environment for the client without considering as much, universal appeal. 

To learn more about glass permutations, click on the link below: https://pti.cmmg.xyz/products/lightstreams-tile/

Mountainside construction provides exciting challenges for an engineer/builder who enjoys them

By Scott Webb

A sweet pool with three knife-edges and a fourth vanishing edge overlooking the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina provides ample builder interest on its own. But hang that vessel off a granite cliff, with all the complexities of cantilever construction and load support, and you have the kind of project that stimulates an aquatic engineer.

Such was the joyful challenge for builder Mark Dorsey, licensed engineer, GENESIS instructor and president of Medallion Pools, Asheville, N.C.

“When we arrived on the scene, the homeowner had actually been hammering away on the granite rock cliffside for about a year, trying to get ready for construction. They almost gave up on the property, they’d spent so much on it. They kind of got into it with no way of getting out of it, other than just plowing ahead and finishing.

The problem was that they couldn’t do traditional blasting. So there was nothing else to do but a whole lot of hydraulic hammering.”

The goal was worthwhile — a home with a spectacular view of Asheville, the French Broad River valley and the mountains above, complete with a pool to reflect the entire scene — but there were some construction quandaries to be solved. All told, it took 2 1/2 years, a year to hammer out a flat place to stand and build on, and another 1 1/2 years to complete construction. 

“Basically, in a situation like this, you can’t get your equipment below the site, so you have to do everything from above.”

CANTILEVER CALCULUS

With a stout retaining wall anchored into the mountain and extending from the house across the face of the pool area, notched for the cantilevered pool and spa, Medallion’s engineering team got to work on the torsion calculations. “The spa extended 5 feet out beyond the retaining wall, and the pool extended 3 feet out,” says Dorsey. “The most challenging part of it was the forming for the concrete cantilever supports. When we shot the cantilever forms, we’re supporting wet concrete with wood (see picture of wood support structure), and those calculations were important, too. We checked those several times to make sure we had it right.”

 

“There were several ways of doing it, and it wasn’t like you could get a piece of equipment below the wall. We had to do everything from above. So we basically built heavy duty framing, like you would frame a deck with 2-by-12s, and then we hung that over the edge. And lag-bolted it to the top of the wall, and then supported that down to the footing at an angle with 4-by-4s.”

A DISCREET SURGE TANK

Another unusual facet of the project was the overflow system Medallion Pools uses.

“We don’t build the trough below the vanishing edge big enough for the entire surge capacity,” says Dorsey.

“We use a gravity system where the overflow drains down into a 1,300-gallon plastic tank in the equipment room underneath the porch, and then gets circulated back into the pool.”

The stainless steel overflow trough is 8 inches deep by 8 inches wide with pipe outlets positioned every 4 feet to ensure complete drainage.

“We have a local steel fabricator make the trough for us, which saves a lot of money and time, as we can hang it in just one day with the use of special tabs and bracing, instead of shooting a surge trough as another concrete piece on the outside of the pool. This system also results in less evaporation and heat loss.”

With the cantilever support structures and the overflow drainage system in place, and the pool and spa shot, it was time for a finish worthy of the stylish mountain retreat.

“The choice of finish on the pool is always a difficult one for a homeowner,” says Dorsey, “but when I showed her the Pebble Tec Lightstream iridescent tiles, she got excited about having those on the spa. Eventually she went with the Pebble Brilliance finish in the Majestic Sound color for the pool — those have been so reliable for me over the years, and we’ve found they make chemical start-up and maintenance easier, requiring little to no brushing.”

With finishes applied and the pool filled, Dorsey had a chance to step back and reflect on the pleasures of meeting a difficult challenge and fulfilling the dreams of a client. Especially enjoyable was the experience of making detailed plans, force diagrams and calculations, the accuracy of which was borne out in the final product.

“I’m an engineer, and I have another structural engineer on staff. Together, we enjoy the technical part of the job,” Dorsey says. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s so fulfilling to put something on paper and then go out there and actually do it.”

Camp Southern Ground Celebrates the Building of a Brand-New Pool – with Pool Industry Partners Coming Together to Help! (Master Pools Guild)

The opening of the DAYLO Aquatics Center on May 6^th marked the start of this year’s summer for Camp Southern Ground. Founded by GRAMMY Award-winning artist Zac Brown in 2011, Camp Southern Ground stretches across more than 400 acres of land in Fayetteville, Georgia, about 30 miles south of Atlanta.  During summer months, it is an inclusive, residential camp—bringing together typically developing children, children with neurodevelopmental differences, underserved kids and kids from military families to participate in programs that challenge, educate and inspire.  The rest of the year is dedicated to supporting post-9/11 veterans through work and wellness programs that help them find community, direction, purpose and healing during—and even long after—their transition back to civilian life, all at no cost to participants.

“The new pool is a wonderful addition to camp,“ said Mike Dobbs, Camp Southern Ground President and CEO. “We felt so blessed to be adopted by the Georgia Pool and Spa Association, by so many pool industry partners and by the Weiss family (DAYLO Foundation). Together, they helped us to raise funds for building the pool, together with bathhouse, laundry facility, pumphouse and recreation room.

Shawn Still (owner of Olympic Pool Plastering) brought in Eric Brooks (Innovative Pools) as the pool builder for the project, following three years of fundraising by the Georgia Chapter of the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance. In addition, pool industry vendors rallied to provide materials at no charge or at a deep discount.

Pebble Technology provided the finish material for free. (The pool features Aqua Blue PebbleSheen™.)  Olympic Pool Plastering contributed the pool finish application.  Jandy and Fluidra contributed significantly, as well.   Dobbs added, “So many vendor partners got behind the effort. It’s a beautiful thing to see even competitors come together for good in this way—and with such high standards for the result. In fact, the pool has already won an award for design and construction excellence, through the Atlanta Business Chronicle.”

The DAYLO Aquatic Center pool is just one part of a camp experience designed to teach the beauty of inclusion and that, in our differences, every person in the world has immense value.  Kudos to the Pool Industry community for working together to make a real difference for so many. As Zac Brown sings, “Love is the remedy.”

Submitted by Kari Paulson, Pebble Technology International. All photos were provided by Olympic Pool Plastering.

Griffin Pools is continuing its 45-year history of setting the industry standard in new pool construction. Two of Griffin Pools’ stunning new pool projects in Lake Wales, Fla., were named in the 2019 edition of Pebble Tec’s World’s Greatest Pools, which recognizes pool design that goes above and beyond in design and appearance. Griffin Pools is honored to receive these awards from a staple of the world’s pool building industry. As Elite Pebble Technology builders, Pebble Tec is key to their commitment to setting the gold standard in residential pool construction and building eye-catching pools.

“This recognition is not only historic for our company’s compelling 45-year history, but also historic for the entire Polk County pool industry,” says Andy Hernan, president of Griffin Pools. “Griffin Pools is the first pool company in Polk County to ever receive such an award. We give a tribute and thank you to our loyal community supporting our team since 1975.”

In designing the pools, Griffin teamed up with world-class architects and a designer to build cohesive and aesthetically-pleasing backyard pools. They worked with American Institute of Architecture Medal of Honor-winner Max Stang, award-winning architect Claudio Noriega and designer Candace Holladay to incorporate superb design elements into their pools. 

“The combined talent level involved with these projects was such a blessing and an amazing opportunity for everyone involved,” Hernan says. “The level of respect and customer satisfaction achievement were always listed first on the agenda at meetings.”

Both of the award-winning pools were built in Lake Wales. The first winning pool used the Majestic Sound finish from the Pebble Brilliance series, which combines glass beads and natural stone. The second pool used classic PebbleTec with a Moonlight Grey color.

Pebble Tec has over 50 colors to choose from throughout their product lines, making it easy for Griffin Pools to find the right natural pebble pool finish.

In 2020, Griffin Pools celebrates their 45th anniversary. Since 1975, they have been building the finest pools and spas for our customers in Central Florida. With recognition in the World’s Greatest Pools 2019 edition, they have now been named alongside the best luxury pool builders in the world.

No other pool company in Central Florida has the same history, expertise and personal touch as the team at Griffin Pools. With over 7,000 completed pool projects, Griffin Pools is the premier pool builder in Polk, Hardee, East Hillsborough and Highlands Counties for a reason.

The Griffin Pools history of excellent projects would not have been possible without the support of the Lakeland community coupled with over 300 years of certified and tenured talent who masterfully craft each and every pool they build. Griffin Pools works with their customers every step of the way to exceed expectations.