Arizona Pool Contractor

American icon modern architect Frank Lloyd Wright reflection pool at Taliesin West

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, the world renowned architect’s former winter home, studio and architectural laboratory, is preparing to undergo some major remodeling.  However, it is not the actual home of the famed architect that will experience the renovations, but rather the pool, which was a special request of Wright’s wife Olga, at the time the house was built.  Renovations are set to begin soon and Aquavida Pools of Phoenix has been awarded the contract for the pool remodeling. 

Taliesin West was designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1937 as a winter home for himself and his third wife Olga.  It was at Olga’s request that a pool was added to the design plans for Taliesin West and the 600-acres upon which it sits. A real estate broker at the time warned Wright that the land was virtually worthless because it had no water and tried to sway him away from the purchase.  But Wright could not be deterred, believing if he just dug deep enough he would find water.  And he was correct. 

Wright felt comforted by the sight and sounds of water and chose a triangular-shaped reflecting pool at the front of the main building to fulfill Olga’s request for a swimming pool.  Olga’s beloved pool juts out from the terrace, which provides sweeping views of Paradise Valley.  The property also boasts additional water features, including a circular fountain, which graces the center of the courtyard. At the entrance to the visitor’s center another Wright-designed metal dish fountain sits raised high on a wall. 

The pool at Taliesin West has not been altered since the early 1960’s.  Aquavida Pools plans to remove the existing pool interior “plaster” and resurface the pool with white plaster that includes a pozzolan admixture for strength and durability. The existing waterline tile will be removed and an exact “period correct” 6″ X 6″ deco aqua blue tile will be added, keeping the pool true to its original design. Taliesin West, just like its sister property, Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin, is listed as a National Historic Landmark, so great care has to be taken to maintain the integrity and original design, making the job just that much more challenging. We are honored to be involved with the Wright foundation and an American icon of modern design, says Thomas Lopez, Owner of Aquavida Pools.    

The project is scheduled to start the second week of January and will take one week to complete.

Operation Eco-vation

By Jenna Danninger

Aquavida Pools on a commercial clubhouse project.

Green’s the new black, as the fashionistas of the world would say, and it’s hitting the pool and spa runway full force. Energy-saving, eco-friendly products are making their way into the market, teasing dealers with trendier options and enticing homeowners to save a buck or two — not to mention the Earth. It’s time to look into upgrading and revamping the pool and making way for the next generation of “greener” pastures.

“The average age of pools we are renovating is 15 to 20 years old,” says Thomas Lopez, president of Aquavida Pools in Phoenix. “At that point in time, they didn’t really offer any economical or efficient motors back then.” But times have changed, and repair-driven renovations are now taking a backseat to lifting up the hood and replacing what’s inside — because you want to, not because you have to.

Renovating a pool can be costly, especially if moving toward a more eco-friendly backyard. It’s an investment, says Lopez, and one that not everyone is able to make.

Green makeovers are a smaller part of the renovations Aquavida Pools does, says Lopez, because of the financial investment Green renovations can cost anywhere from $225 to $12,000, adds Lopez, depending on what’s being done.

One of the main consumer selling points of going green — besides being more eco-friendly, of course — is the financial payback. But the initial cost of the project can scare customers away from green renovations. In today’s unstable economy, customers may have a hard time seeing beyond the bottom line and into the future.

New Knife Edge Tile

Pump Magic

For the consumer who has just started thinking about renovating a pool, there is a good place to start that doesn’t break the bank. “Probably the most economical approach is the basic industry-standard upgrade pump, an [energy efficient motor],” suggests Lopez. “The armatures in the motors consume less energy,” adds Lopez, so at a minimum, he recommends customers doing this upgrade.

But for consumers who are able to put a little more investment into their renovations, Lopez recommends a programmable pump. While these pumps generally cost more than the standard upgrade, their payback is well worth it.

Energy consumption savings are astonishing: manufacturers estimate savings between 30 and 90 percent. Pentair Water Pool and Spa says its IntelliFlo High Performance Pump can offer homeowners a $324 to $1,356 savings in yearly utility costs.

Introduced by Pentair during the 2007 trade show season, the IntelliFlo is great for a multi-purpose system, says Lopez. Part of the company’s Eco Select collection, the programmable, variable-speed pump relies on variable-drive technology controlled by an on-board computer to allow for custom programming to achieve optimum flow rates.

In an effort to encourage customers to make the green leap and renovate their pools with a more energy efficient product, Mary Hampe, president of Paradise Pools and Spas in Goose Creek, S.C, likes to tout the savings of the IntelliFlo pump by taping her electric bill to the showroom display.

“I installed it on my own pool and my electricity bill went down $80 a month,” she says. “I don’t know if you are like me, but people will say, ‘When you buy this new air conditioner, your power bill is going to go down, it’s so much more efficient.’ And I get my power bill and there’s nothing. No change. But this dramatically changed my personal power bill, which is what made me so excited.

“It’s not just the money it saves you, but the fact that you are using that much less energy for those who are thinking in a green or global way.”

Hayward Pool Products also recently launched its own eco-friendly product line, Energy Solutions, designed to be kinder to the Earth and the cost of pool ownership, says Kevin Potucek, vice president. Products include pumps, a robotic cleaner, filter, heat pump, heater, lighting and Goldline Controls’ Pro Logic automation system.

“Probably the single largest energy savings opportunity [we're noticing] is with two-speed and variable-speed TriStar pumps,” says Potucek.

The variable-speed TriStar Energy Solution delivers additional features that are particularly well suited for pools that have attached spas where pool owners want variability in jet intensity or for pools that are equipped with water features. When the customer comes in wanting to revamp the look of their backyard and mentions adding a waterfall or something similar, programmable pumps are a great add-on and long-term cost saver.

“We’re in general showing a 70 percent dollar-savings opportunity, depending on what part of the country you are in. In Texas for instance, that two-speed pump has a one-year payback. In some place like northern California, that payback is probably four to six months,” says Potucek.

Behind The Curtain

Micromanaging the pool through the use of a home automation system has really taken off, and while it’s more popular to the buying public as a convenience, manufacturers are eagerly finding ways for consumers to understand its energy-saving purpose, as well.

Incorporating an automated system during the renovation process is a must have for the pool owner on the go. Time is a precious commodity these days and an automated pool makes life that much simpler.

“Controls themselves add flexibility and automation to managing the pool, even if people have got time clocks,” says Stuart Baker, vice president of Goldline Controls. “Whenever you’ve got a proper pool controller, you can have multi-day or weekend settings. You can have settings for different periods of the year.”

Not only does automation offer a finer, more optimized control of pump speed, but it also allows “you to do a better job of managing energy-efficient equipment,” says Potucek. “You claim more energy savings from it, and at times, it’s what actually enables the energy savings in some of the other equipment.”

What about other environmentally friendly aspects of an automation system?

Hayward also offers the Sense and Dispense salt chlorine generator control system. Sense and Dispense uses a proportional feed algorithm that continuously tests the water, sampling pH and sanitizer activity, and adjusts chemical feeding on a basis proportional to the demand, says Baker.

“Sense and Dispense has been a big step forward, not just for power management, but also for chemical management,” he adds. For the environmentally conscientious consumer who’s making changes to their poolscape, incorporating a Sense and Dispense would reduce the amount of chlorine needed in the pool and decrease person-chemical contact time. An additional advantage of the system is that it’s one less shipment of chlorine with its potentials for hazard.

The newest addition to our company.

Here And There

Little upgrades also mean bigger savings. Potucek recommends owners change over to LED lighting. The lights consume considerably less power and they last a lot longer, not to mention, “you probably have around a 79 percent savings in energy consumption with LED lighting,” he adds.

He also suggests owners invest in using a heat pump versus a gas heater, saying cost of heat savings can reach up to 80 percent. While it’s still relatively new — and quite expensive — Lopez also recommends looking into a heat exchange system that draws heat collected by the concrete deck.

After reading about this system on the Internet, Lopez pulled the deck up at his personal pool and installed geothermal collectors between the deck and the dirt. “If you see the temperature rise, you are basically just exchanging the heat from the concrete directly to the pipes around the perimeter of the pool and then returning it back to the pool. You can get a temperature rise anywhere between 8 and 12 degrees.”

A simpler renovation suggestion is a programmable time clock. Phoenix’s swim season ends around the middle of October, says Lopez, but he notes that customers with a typical Intermatic time clock would still allow the pool to run on an eight-hour cycle, even during the off-season.

“So when you have a programmable time clock, you are able to put two program groups in it and set it to the exact day, so it will switch from group A to B, meaning summer and winter,” adds Lopez. Oftentimes, Lopez groups the time clock with the standard energy-efficient motor, inviting customers to start with a small, yet affordable eco-friendly renovation.

Upgrading pool cleaners is also something manufacturers and retailers suggest during a renovation. Lopez suggests the Solar-Breeze solar-powered, robotic topical skimmer. The robot skims the pool’s surface throughout the day, keeping dust and debris from sinking to the bottom of the pool, reducing the amount of time a pool pump would need to run, says the company.

Because the cleaner operates on solar energy and without pumps, electricity costs are estimated to be 23 less than usual, as well as a 13 reduction of chlorine use, according to Lopez.

Potucek recommends upgrading to an electronic robotic pool cleaner during renovation, which can provide up to a 94 percent energy savings.

“Clearly, when you look at the energy savings opportunity, that falls in very nicely with the big push that’s going on in the world at large,” says Potucek. “Everybody is paying attention to the energy crisis. We aren’t green for the sake of being green. Everything is focused on the payback for the consumer. People are looking for the payback.”

What’s The Point?

Industry experts say the amount of money saved on power bills because of the new energy-efficient products is remarkable. A product’s payback varies throughout the United States.

“I keep going back to Texas and northern California just because it’s a great example of where the price of energy is the highest,” says Potucek. “That’s where your energy savings, your dollar savings, is greatest” — not to mention two states that make up a large percentage of the installed pool base in the United States. “They are two of the top four states in the country in terms of pool population,” he adds.

“[Energy is] somewhere around 36 or 37 cents a kilowatt hour in PG&E land. You’ve got similar costs of energy down in southern California when you’re in the third-tier Southern Cal Edison energy plan.

“Texas is down around 16 cents a kilowatt hour, and so the savings aren’t as great, but it’s still a 12-month season similar to California. Your energy rates in Northeast, like New Jersey or Connecticut, are similar to Texas.” But because that part of the United States really operates a five-month-long pool season versus a yearlong season in the Southwest, the payback is longer.

Hampe’s summer campaign includes a direct-mail piece to all owners of in-ground pools Paradise has installed since 1981. “What we said to them was that the future of pool care is here now and we talked about the Pentair IntelliFlo pump and their Clean and Clear Cartridge filter.”

But Hampe’s aware of the challenges marketing to her area will bring. “I like to tell people that South Carolina is 20 years behind the times. It’s not as bad as it used to be because we are seeing the same news as everybody else has seen. I think there are people out there thinking green, but they’re really not quite there to spend the big bucks.”

Like others in the industry, Hampe thinks education is key in raising awareness about the eco-friendly products and the cost and energy savings they bring and is hopeful for a greener and brighter future.

“I want to be out there talking green,” says Hampe. “I think we are going to make a strong market for it.”

Replaster or resurface your Arizona swimming pool.

Plaster also called white cement or marcite, plaster is an age old process of finishing many structures. Used underwater, it provides the watertight seal that the more porous gunite or shotcrete beneath it cannot.

Plaster finishes provide twenty years of service under ideal conditions, however, ours is rarely an ideal world. The plaster surface is meant to degrade slowly, eventually requiring a fresh coat. Plaster has shading variations known as mottling, and distinct from surface stains and deposits, mottling may appear as grayish hued areas. Rarely do I see a plaster job that is white like milk. They’re usually white like clouds. Being a natural product, mottling is inherent in any plaster job and should not be considered a defect.

Swimming Pool Replastering Experts

Strengths: When filled with water, pools and spas surfaced in white plaster create a brilliant, clean, light blue appearance that is very smooth to the touch. A long-time favorite for many customers, it remains the most affordable pool finish product on the market today. Standard white plaster is a reliable product when installed by a quality contractor and properly maintained.

Concerns: It’s important to know that white plaster is susceptible to all water conditions especially from attacks of improperly maintained or fluctuating chemical conditions. Therefore, it is only reasonable to expect that during the life of the product, it will change in appearance. These changes may be subtle or minor, perhaps slight shading or scaling, or far more dramatic in the form of pronounced staining, etching, cracking, or delaminating in extreme cases.

There are a great many variables in play when it comes to determining the exact cause of such changes in appearance and one could spend a lifetime exploring the complex chemical phenomena at the heart of these concerns. For the purpose of selecting standard white plaster it’s critical to be fully aware that it is a relatively “soft” finish compared to other options and one that is more susceptible to the effects of water chemistry than some newer innovative products.

REPLASTERING IS A TIME TESTED PRODUCT: Plaster has been used as a swimming pool surface coating for the past 50 years. This experience has shown that plaster is a durable surface that can stand up to the environment of proper pool water chemistry. There is no other pool surface on the market with this time tested history.

REPLASTERING IS ECONOMICAL: Plaster is the most economical pool surface. Its initial cost is well below more expensive options. In addition, the average plaster surface can easily last 15 to 25 years, which makes Plaster one of the most economical components of a swimming pool. That’s value for your investment.

REPAIRABLE AND FORGIVING: Taking care of your pool takes time and attention. As time goes on and mistakes are made, a pool surface can become stained, discolored, and/or damaged. Stains on a plastered pool can be chemically removed or sanded off. A plaster surface can tolerated several of these procedures in its lifetime.

REPLASTERING IS LONG LASTING: The secret to long life of any pool surface is properly maintained water balance. Improper water balance will destroy any pool surface and in many cases, void the warranty of that surface. A plaster surface, in a properly maintained pool, can last 15 to 25 years.

REPLASTERING IS NON-TOXIC AND ECOLOGICALLY SOUND: There is a lot of concern today about toxic products. Pool plaster is made from some of Mother Nature’s finest materials. Plaster, being a cement product, is part of the largest segment of the construction industry. The backbone of construction and the world, is cement.

REPLASTERING IS AVAILABLE IN A VARIETY OF COLORS: Pool replastering is available world-wide. You need not worry that your pool surface will become obsolete. Plaster can be done in a wide variety of colors to create any appearance desired. The color is not just surface coating but continuous through the entire material. In addition, options are available for different finish. For more information on pool resurfacing options please visit Aquavida Pools

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