Aquavida offers commercial and residential pool deck resurfacing services, we use the finest acrylic polymer deck overlays available today. Common structual cracks and lifting of pool decks generally consist of geothermal expansion and mature roots systems from large trees, depending on the situation we can generally repair most of the common issues. When you are ready to resurface your pool deck the following steps are involved to ensure a lasting decking system. The first step in the pool deck resurfacing process is to remove all of the furniture and items on top of your decking, after this step we pressure wash the pool deck surface and prepare the area by covering your plants and perimeter with a poly plastic to reduce any over spray of material. Most pool decks will require some type of machine scarification to remove the old pool deck material, after the old material is removed enough to leave a good substrate for bonding we then move into the crack repair process. Crack repair is an important part of pool deck resurfacing, opening up your structual cracks with a diamond blade hand grinder is the best way to give us an injection channel, after the cracks have been opened we use a two part epoxy system to inject the cracks and seal them. Your pool deck is now ready for the scratch coat or sometimes called base coat, this process consist of spreading and acrylic aggregate with hand trowels on the entire surface to create a good bonding surface for your texture of choice. Once the scratch coat has cured we are now ready to perform either the stamp process or the lace texture process, this process puts down the actual surface texture. After your surface texture is dry you are now ready for the color to be applied to your new pool deck surface, this phase will transform your decking to the finished product. If your pool deck is in need of a new surface contact Aquavida for your free estimate.
Due to their growing popularity in the past few years, you may have heard of saltwater pools, but unless you own one, you may be wondering how they work and if purchasing a saltwater chlorinator is a water care option you might consider for your swimming pool. Read on to learn how water is effectively sanitized and maintained with a saltwater chlorinator.
Arizona Saltwater Pools
First of all, what is a saltwater chlorinator?
Also known as a chlorine generator, a saltwater chlorinator converts salt to chlorine for effective and automatic sanitization. This means that you don’t have to add chlorine; instead, you add several bags of quick-dissolving, specially manufactured salt to your swimming pool at startup, and typically a few times a year, as needed. A saltwater pool is not chlorine-free, but its eco-friendly draw comes from never having to buy, store, or handle chlorine.
If a saltwater pool contains chlorine, how is it different from a traditional chlorine pool?
In a swimming pool with a saltwater chlorinator, the free chlorine is created during the conversion (or electrolytic) process. Because chlorine is produced constantly, strong-smelling chloramines (the byproducts responsible for that “chlorine smell”) are unlikely to form, allowing for a more pleasant environment. After the chlorine is used to sanitize, it reverts back to sodium chloride (salt), so most of the swimming pool water contains saline rather than chlorine.
Won’t the water feel like I’m swimming in an ocean?
The salinity is actually gentle to the skin and eyes because the salt levels are relatively low—about half that of a human tear drop (a concentration of 0.5 percent). At recommended salt levels of 3,000 – 4,000 ppm—compared to an ocean’s 35,000 ppm—the pool water doesn’t taste salty or make your skin feel sticky, though you may want to wear goggles if swimming in the pool for extended periods.
How exactly is the salt converted to chlorine?
Chlorine is produced due to a reaction in the unit’s electrolytic cell. You first add salt that is produced specifically for salt chlorinators. As the salt dissolves and the water circulates, it passes through the cell and becomes free chlorine. “The process of producing free chlorine (hypochlorous acid) and sanitizing the water happens in one place—the cell,” says David Pruchniewski, field applications engineer at Goldline Controls, a Hayward Industries company that manufactures salt chlorinators and other pool equipment. “After that, the chlorine converts back to a mild saline solution (sodium chloride and water) to be reconverted to chlorine again as the process repeats.”
The swimming pool water is sanitized continuously as long as the pump is running, and one bag should keep the salinity at the proper level for at least several months. Levels drop gradually due to splash-out and backwashing only—evaporation will not reduce the salt content.
How do I maintain a saltwater pool?
Most saltwater chlorinators have a digital control panel that provides the most current salt reading. Recommended salt levels are specific to the actual system you purchase, but generally speaking, the ideal salt level is 3,000 – 4,000 ppm. If levels dip below 3,000, use a manual test to make sure the levels are correct before adding more salt. On occasion, a pool can actually be so oversalted that it will not produce an accurate reading. If that’s the case, the last thing you want to do is add a giant bag of salt! If you add too much, and the salt level exceeds 4,000 ppm, the pool must be partially drained, then refilled with hose water. (Note that draining of any kind must be done under the guidance of a professional to prevent serious damage to the pool structure.)
While sanitizer, total alkalinity, and pH levels should still be monitored regularly (at least once a week), “it’s much easier to maintain a chlorine level of 1 – 4 ppm in a saltwater pool because the chlorine is being produced constantly, as long as the pump is on,” says Bob Harper, general manager of Pristiva, which produces the Pristiva™ two-step system for saltwater pool care. “You also want to use purer forms of salt to ensure clear pool water, prevent corrosion, and minimize scale buildup on the generator’s cell.” Impure forms of salt may contain metals, notes Pruchniewski, which can lead to stains on the pool surface. As with all pools, it’s a good idea to take a water sample to your pool supply store about every month to check for proper water balance, total dissolved solids, and the presence of metals, says Harper.
Because the chlorine produced is unstabilized, a stabilizer, such as cyanuric acid, is added to maintain a chlorine residual, unless the pool is indoors. If you have a chlorine generator and you run the pump during off-peak times (usually 9 pm – 9 am), you should run it for about two hours in the daytime during hot, sunny days to avoid algae blooms. (Remember that chlorine is not produced when the pump is off.) If you have a newer variable-speed pump, this should not be an issue as the pump can run 24/7 on the lowest speed.
How do I know if a saltwater chlorinator is right for my pool?
The type of pool you own and its surrounding materials and equipment are important—and experts’ opinions vary. “Other than stainless steel, which is rarely used in today’s pools and equipment, I have no concerns with the ability of other finish materials to withstand salinated water over time,” says Bob Harper, general manager of Pristiva. If using natural stone around the swimming pool, Harper advises speaking with stone suppliers on how to properly prepare it for exposure to saltwater.
However, Thomas Lopez, president of Aquavida Pool Remodeling, Phoenix, Ariz., notes that saltwater chlorinators may pose a risk to stone and other finishes: “If you’re adding a salt system to an existing pool, it should be gunite or vinyl-lined and have either faux rock or concrete around it. Salt can eat away at natural stone and cause etching to grout used around boulders and tile.” If you plan to install a fiberglass swimming pool, it’s important to choose a builder who uses high-quality materials and is aware of which saltwater chlorinators are safe for its surfaces over time.
When installing a saltwater chlorinator, experts recommend using newer swimming pool equipment because current pumps and heaters are designed to withstand exposure to saltwater, now that salt systems are more prevalent. “Older equipment could be susceptible to corrosion so you may want to replace it or contact the manufacturers,” says Lopez.
If you plan to make the switch or integrate a saltwater system into a new swimming pool, make sure your pool builder is knowledgeable on the subject, and ask for any references from customers who have been using a saltwater chlorinator for a few years.
If your swimming pool surface is looking old and stained it might be time to resurface the interior. Today’s pool finishes have improved in many ways offering you choices from a cost effective replaster to a modern pebble finish. Pool resurfacing is a relatively simple process, if other options are being added it might add some extra time to your project. Typically we can drain your pool and remove the old pool surface and apply a new surface within a five day time frame, however adding tile, decking or plumbing does take more time. White plaster is the most cost effective surface available to apply to your swimming pool, this surface is composed of a premium white portland cement with a pozzolan admixture to give the cement a higher strength, the cement is then mixed with a white marble dust sand and water to create the plaster formula. Plaster is a great surface to give you a cost effective fresh water look, but does require strict chemical attention, and is much more susceptible to surface stains than other pool surfaces with aggregate/pebble admixtures. Color can be added to the plaster, but doing so can cause problems. Once exposed to heavy doses of pool chemicals, colored plaster tends to streak or have increased instances of mottling, a natural, but uneven, graying of the white plaster. So until aggregate mixes appeared on the market, the color choices for plaster were limited. Quartz pool surface additives are gaining popularity due to the mid-level cost option and the durability. The addition of quartz granules to the white cement used in plastering brought about a revolution in the color scheme of pool plastering. Though quartz is an extremely tough stone–it’s harder than steel, according to Moh’s Mineral Hardness Scale–colors can be permanently bonded to it, much as color is added to floor tiling. For the less adventurous customer, quartz also provides the option of richer, more subtle and controlled colors, such as creamy white or bluish-green. As an added bonus, quartz’s durability meant the color wouldn’t fade or experience the same problems encountered by tinted white plaster. Pebble pool surfaces have earned the #1 spot in durability and the most stain resistant swimming pool finishes on the market today, early aggregate finishes were thought to be a rough texture, today the finishes have improved in texture and pebble sizes. A popular choice is to add colored quartz to the pebble to give it a unique blend of color with the pebbles. If you are in need of Arizona Pool Resurfacing please contact us to get a free estimate on your swimming pool.
Swimming pool remodeling can be as easy as updating the pool surface, waterline tile and resurfacing the decking, or it can be a new shape or even have an updated in-floor cleaning system. The majority of swimming pool remodeling projects in Arizona consist of simple upgrades, adding a dedicated suction line for an automatic pool cleaner, an automatic water leveler, or new pool equipment. When it comes to design we can help you create a swimming pool that meets your needs and your budget, we are not a typical swimming pool contractor who builds pools and runs remodel projects to keep cash flow coming in, we are experts in swimming pool remodeling and understand structure issues with aging pools and fluid dynamics. If your swimming pool is in need of Arizona pool resurfacing or you have been searching for the perfect AZ pool remodeling company you have come to the right place.
One of the common pool remodeling options is to convert an existing diving pool into a play pool. For most people requesting this option the swimming pool is no longer being utilized for diving and no longer fits the lifestyle of the pool owner. Depending on the transition points and the floor layout, a swimming pool depth conversion can transform your old diving pool to a new play pool that consumes less water and chemicals. When having a depth conversion done this is a great time to extend steps and benches. Aquavida Pools has converted numerous existing diving pools to functional play pools and can do the same for your pool. If you are in need of a pool remodel or pool resurfacing contact us to help you with your swimming pool needs.
Internationally renowned artist Dale Chihuly creates breathtaking designs in glass, from room-size hanging Chandeliers to vibrant outdoor architectural installations and glass gardens, to the Crystal Trees of Light at the White House.
Dale Chihuly Pool Sculpture Installation
This luxury gift offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: a privately commissioned Chihuly art installation measuring up to 22 feet by 12 feet—at the bottom of your Arizona swimming pool. Drawing from the forms and fluidity of nature, Chihuly combines vibrant colors and rich textures to create an aquatic experience that is both organic and fantastic.
The lucky recipient will be able to work with the artist’s studio for a rare inside look at Chihuly’s creative process. His installations have been seen around the globe in Venice, Jerusalem, the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, Chicago’s Garfield Park, and dozens of public spaces and private galleries. The artist studied interior design, architecture, and sculpture before mastering glass art. Combining them all into an amazing 40-year career replete with awards and firsts, Chihuly will transform your pool into a world-class private work of art.
Being born and raised in Phoenix and part of the Arizona swimming pool industry, I come across several different types of pools every day. I recently started to collect old print advertisements from Phoenix pool builders that are now out of business. Since Aquavida Pools specializes in swimming pool remodeling and resurfacing we see all of these swimming pools and remodel them every day. I have posted some of the classic ads from different periods of the Phoenix swimming pool industry. This first installment of ads is from 1975-1978
It’s truly a treat to be the first one to remodel an original vessel for the first time. Usually we are told by the homeowner that they had it built new, or we will see the original step tile displaying the company name like “La Casa Pools” ,”Morley Pools”,”Sunset Pools”,”Medallion Pools”,Anthony Pools” and so on.
Geothermal Swimming Pool Heating and Cooling Works in Arizona
If you live in Arizona, you know that keeping your home comfortable in the warmer months can be a challenge. The Arizona heat is constant and intense, and can lead to daytime temperatures of 110 Fahrenheit—or more. That is why you need a heating and cooling system that works with the climate, not against it. A traditional air-exchange cooling system works better in areas where the difference in outside and inside temperature isn’t that extreme. In Arizona, that usually isn’t the case.
That is why a new type of system, hybrid geothermal heating and cooling, makes more sense if you live in Arizona. Using the steady temperature of an underground water reservoir, a geothermal hybrid system exchanges heat from the indoor air into the water, resulting in a much more efficient transfer of heat. After all, it’s easier to transfer heat into a cool pool of water than it is an already hot mass of air.
What’s more, using a geothermal heating and cooling system in Arizona can bring with it other benefits, including:
Heating and cooling your pool. Geothermal hybrid systems can be hooked to your pool, allowing you to supply warm water to your pool in those months when it is typically a little too chilly to swim. There are also options available that allow you to cool your pool in those months where the water may be too warm to swim.
Free hot water for home use. Domestic water is heated for free during months when air conditioner is in use.
Tax credits and financial assistance. Programs through the Arizona Public Service (APS) and Salt River Project (SRP) will help you pay for this advanced technology, and tax credits are available for Arizona geothermal hybrid equipment.
Aquavida Pools recently completed a pool remodeling project in Moon Valley that included a Geothermal system. This Geothermal system included a dedicated Pentair IntelliFlo pump to supply the cooling tower, the pump has a split suction to allow intake and a dedicated return to send water back to the pool. This system has the ability to cool and heat the home and the ability to do the same for the swimming pool. Arizona swimming pool owners will enjoy a low cost solution to year round swimming while saving money on the extreme utility bills due to the constant running of air conditioning.
Geothermal Swimming Pool Cooling and Heating
Dedicated Pentair IntelliFlo Pump Suction and Return
Thomas Lopez owner of Aquavida Pools is the founder of Pool Patch™ LLC based in Phoenix Arizona. Pool Patch ™ is a leading manufacturer of specialty swimming pool improvement products for professionals and consumers. Pool Patch™ product lines include Plaster, Pebble, and Quartz swimming pool surface patch repair kits, Pool Patch™ also manufactures pool deck and tile repair kits. The product line was developed to assist homeowners and pool professionals in the repair of pool surfaces without having to resurface the entire swimming pool or spa. All of our products are simple to use and require minimal skill to apply them. Pool Patch™ products will save you money and help get your pool finish,tile or deck looking great.
Below we have included step by step instructions on how to use Pool Patch™ on a Pebble Tec repair
If you are the owner of a pebble tec pool, you undoubtedly know by now that you need a matching Pebble Tec patch mix to make most repairs. Pool technicians can cost a fortune and often an effective patch or repair can be made with a Pool Pebble Repair Kit from Pool Patch™ and without the added cost. Here are some guidelines to get you started on your DIY pool pebble repair project.
Determine the amount of Pool Patch™ you will need for your Pebble Tec repair project.
Once you have everything together, make sure that the area you will be working on is clean and dry (lower the water level of your pool if needed).
Study the instructions on your Pool Patch™ product purchase.
Tapping the area surrounding the crack with a hammer will expose any hollow cells and will let you know how much of the pre-existing pebble material needs to be knocked out around the crack to make a lasting repair.
Knock out the area to expose the underlying substrate using a hammer and large chisel (find one designed for this type of work) and continue tapping around the area to find more hollow areas until you find no more.
Use a 4″ masonry blade on a 4″ grinder to saw-cut the edges straight down so that they do not bevel or slant (always using the appropriate protective gear – goggles, gloves, etc.) You can also continue to use your hammer and chisel to do this, however it just isn’t as fast and accurate. Ideally you should have worked down at least 1/4″ for a good patch.
Leaving the working area smooth doesn’t always allow the most effective bond. To fix this problem, cut criss-cross grooves into the underlying substrate with the grinder or roughen it up with the chisel.
Rinse and scrub the area of loose dust and debris, using a sponge to remove any excess water.
Apply the prepared Pool Patch Pool Pebble Repair mix with a trowel or your hands to fill in the area that needs repair and smooth it out to be flush with the surrounding area. Use a rounded edge trowel level out the area, removing excess repair material from the repair area. Holding your trowel against the existing pebble surface acts as a guide as you remove excess pebble material to obtain levelness at the edges.
Sponge the edges to fill in any voids. While waiting for the material to stiffen you can clean up any loose materials – using a hairdryer or anything else to speed up the drying process is not recommended. Once the material is stiff to the touch (confirm this with the labeling of the product), use a hose with a soft spray or bug sprayer to remove extra cement and expose the pebble. Use a sponge to clean off any excess repair material surrounding the repair area.
For Pebble Tec repairs inside the pool let it set overnight before refilling the pool (or per product instructions).
Performing a DIY Pool Plaster Patch Repair
Swimming Pool Improvement Products
Small cracks and patches can be easily repaired by anybody with the patience that is required to undertake such jobs. Here, I outline a generic procedure for pool plaster repair.
Pool plaster repair is an integral part of swimming pool maintenance. Old swimming pools especially are prone to cracks,blistering,chips and other types of damage. This is because water has a way of weathering every surface that it comes in contact for a long time. Older plaster pool surfaces are prone to damage due to this relentless weathering caused by water exposure.
When the pool gets damaged like this, the pool plaster debris can get dissolved with the water over time and create health problems and a be difficult to balance the water chemistry. Over time, a small patch may widen if not fixed in time and necessitate a complete pool replastering job. Hence, it is a good practice to go for pool plaster repair as soon as possible.
Pool Plaster Repair Instructions
Pool plaster problems can be taken care of, by some good old masonry work. This job is quite time consuming and might take a few hours. So, plan the repair job on a weekend.
Things You Will Need
Before we begin let me list out the tools you’ll need to get the job done. The list is quite long and you may have to shop around a lot in the hardware store before you start. Here are the things you’ll need:
That is quite an exhaustive list, but then you will have to buy it all only once. Pool plaster repair kits and pool concrete repair kits are also available, which provide you with most of the materials required for the job besides tools. I recommend purchasing the brand Pool Patchfrom the website company website located at http://www.poolpatch.com
Repair Patch Clearing and Preparation
Before you begin, you must drain out the whole pool. That will make the repair easier and prevent any hazards caused by electrical tools. The main challenge is to patch up the damaged plaster and make it blend in with the old plaster surface. You might see a pool plaster repair kit that claims to work under water, however draining the pool when the ambient temperature is below 70 degrees and the pool surface is dry will give you much better bonding and a superior patch to one performed under water.
First part is cleaning up the repair patch and preparing it for repair. Using the age old masonry tools, which are hammer and chisel, clear out all the loose plaster material that is hanging around and inside the damaged plaster patch. Scrape off any part that is hard stuck using a putty knife.
First bevel in the area encircling the repair patch, using disc and angle grinder and make sure that you go about ¼ inch deep. You could do the same using a hammer and chisel around the repair patch and create a depression ¼ inch deep. Also make sure that you clear out the plaster.
Next you must subject the whole repair patch to a thorough acid wash using a pump sprayer. Clean it out with an acid brush. Then spread soda ash in the area to neutralize the acid wash remnants. Make sure that all the acid has been cleared out by the soda ash and wash it all with water.
Patching with Plaster
After you have prepared the pool plaster damaged area for patching, you can begin mixing the pool plaster in a big bucket. Make sure that the color of the pool plaster matches with the surrounding old plaster.
Start filling in the prepared patch with finished plaster mix. Using a notched trowel, spread the plaster evenly inside and and around edges of the patch. Use a stainless steel trowel to finely finish the patch up job. Leave the patch to dry out for some hours. Then use the grinding disc again to even out the whole area and match its finishing with the plaster around. You could also alternatively use a diamond polishing pad to do the job. With that your job is done. After the whole patch has sufficiently dried out, you can clear out all the debris and fill the water back.
For further instructions on how the pool plaster patch is applied I have attached the instructions below:
Lower water below repair area.
Remove loose cement and chip area down a minimum of a ¼ inch deep.
Add 2 oz. of LIQUID CEMENT BONDER per 1½ lb. of DRY POOL PATCH CEMENT MIX.
Add water and mix until a putty consistency is achieved.
CRACK REPAIRS – Apply POOL PATCH into crack and wipe off excess material with a moist sponge.
CHIPS & LARGER AREAS -Trowel POOL PATCH firmly filling the area. Trowel till patch is smooth and flat. Remove excess from edges with a moist sponge. After POOL PATCH stiffens, trowel again with a moist trowel until area is flat and smooth.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Reflection Pool is a unique right triangle shape with no steps into the pool. The pool has two 45′ft. long walls and one 65′ft. long wall giving this pool a perimeter of 155′ft and a surface area of 1012 SF. The pool has a 2′ft. depth that takes on a slight transition to 3′ft. then drops quickly in the 90 degree corner that points Northeast to a total of 4′ft. The internal area is approximately 1477 SF. Aquavida Pools started this project at sunrise Monday morning January 11, 2010, the project was really a restoration of the original pool, being that Taliesin West is National Historic Landmark it’s important to keep everything period correct. We drained the pool and chipped out the 50 year old plaster and removed the original 6″ X 6″ Aqua Blue solid waterline tiles. On Tuesday morning January 12th 2010 we installed an exact replica of the original 6″ X 6″ Aqua Blue solid waterline tile and repaired all of the existing wall fittings. On Wednesday morning January 13th 2010 we applied new Finest Finish plaster and ran a new electrical service of 280′ft through the hard desert rock to the exisitng equipment location. The pool started filling at 1:30 PM January 13th 2010, and will be started up as soon as we are full of water.
This was a very special project for me, I was born and raised in Arizona and can remember as a child listening to stories of my fathers life many years ago. One of those great legend stories was of my fathers produce delivery job from 1943 to 1944. He worked for Spector Produce located at 16th St. & McDowell Rd. He would tell me about his job delivering produce and the places and people he would deliver to. One of those stories was my fathers ventures in a 3/4 ton flatbed pick up truck crossing the desert to deliver produce to Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin West, he told me about the long 2 hour drive from 16th St. & McDowell to the McDowell Mountains, one time he stacked all the produce up in the kitchen and waited for Wright in his day room to wake up so he could get the check for the fresh produce he just delivered. My Father was born on 1928 in Arizona and is now 81 years old, on January 11th 2010 I had the best experience of my life, I arranged a tour for my father and mother to come out and walk through Taliesin West, my father had not been back since 1944. Words cannot explain what it was like when we approached the room where he waited for Wright to hand him the check, he said to me “this is the room” we walked in the door and he says to me ” I sat right there” the feeling i had that moment is one i will never forget.
Refurbishing Wright’s Triangle
By Thomas Lopez
Of all the structures at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, the triangular reflection/swimming pool may be the most iconic – a highlight on a campus that is itself a monument to modern architecture. But the watershape hadn’t been touched since the 1960s and was in need of a serious cosmetic update, which is why watershaper Thomas Lopez was called in to install new tile, fresh plaster and a new equipment set – and do it all in a hurry.
I grew up in the Phoenix, AZ area and have known about Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West all my life. It was kind of unavoidable: One of the major streets here is named after Wright; the area is marked by examples of architecture that directly reflect his influence; and pretty much everyone in town knows that it was the place Wright used as a summer home while teaching his numerous protégés about his approaches to project design and execution.
For my part, however, my closest association with the facility had to do with the fact that my dad routinely delivered produce to the 600-acre facility and often shared stories about the unusual buildings and the occasionally eccentric people he met there. Several decades passed in which I became a watershaper who specializes in contemporary designs, but until quite recently I had never been to Taliesin West.
That seems crazy given its vast influence on design in this region, but I made up for my information deficit in a big way last November, after I received a call from a representative of the facility who wanted to speak with me about restoring the facility’s famous triangular reflecting/swimming pool – one of the most recognizable of all the design elements on the property.
Needless to say, I jumped at the chance – and along the way gained a much greater appreciation of the genius of one of the country’s greatest architects.
DESERT RETREAT
I was amazed to learn in the course of the initial conversation that this was to be the first-ever renovation on the vessel, which Wright designed in 1946. It was finally built in 1951 at the request of his third wife, Olga, and, according to campus records, had been untouched since the early 1960s. As I saw it, this meant that I would be interacting directly with a structure designed by Wright toward the end of his life and ultimately built by his own students – truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The overall facility was established in 1937 and, beyond serving as Wright’s wintertime alternative home for the original Taliesin in Wisconsin, has served as the primary setting for both the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Such is its stature that the campus was designated as a National Landmark in 1982.
Up to his death in 1959, Wright continuously added and altered Taliesin West’s buildings, with most of the work being performed by his students. In addition, a number of the master’s most famous buildings were designed in the school’s drafting room, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
As for the campus itself, many of its buildings are considered masterworks on their own, notable for the way they blend seamlessly with the surrounding desert environs and used indigenous materials to achieve that effect in their design and construction.
To this day, a small number of Wright’s own apprentices still live on the site among the school’s current crops of architecture students. It is a place filled with the lore and legend of one of America’s most creative minds – a spirit captured in the hypnotic forms and movement of the architecture itself.
When the call came to me at Aquavida Pools (Phoenix, Ariz.), Russ Karlstad was on the line. He is an architect who also serves as Taliesin West’s property manager, and he explained to me that the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation had decided it was time to update the pool.
I met him shortly thereafter along with a number of other representatives of the foundation. With all of us at poolside, they asked me a number of questions about my background and my 21 years of building and remodeling swimming pools, but to some degree I also think the fact that my dad was a regular visitor to the site had some effect – a sort of mystical, familial bond. Whatever the case, Karlstad called me back the next day with the news that he wanted to move forward.
So we met again on site and started getting specific. The scope of the work was simple: replace the waterline tile, replaster the pool, rework some of the plumbing and fittings, run new electrical wiring and replace the equipment set. I wasn’t surprised at all when Karlstad said their biggest concern – and the reason the project had so often been delayed – was that the pool might crack or suffer some other sort of serious damage during the process of removing the old material.
THE RIGHT SHAPE
Helpfully, the pool has always been a favorite subject of photographers, so we had a very good idea of how the watershape had appeared when first built.
It takes the form of a large right triangle, with two sides measuring 45 feet in length and the third side at 65 feet. There are no steps down into the water, which has a surface area of 1,012 square feet and a perimeter of 155 feet. It has a depth of two feet across the long side, dropping very gradually to a depth of three feet before plunging quickly to a depth of four feet that carries into the 90-degree corner. This corner points to the northeast, directly toward the main drafting room.
The fact that it’s a right triangle designed by Wright has given some rise to speculation that there was some sort of jovial link or pun at work in the architect’s mind – or maybe it was just his homage to the drafting triangles he used in his work? More likely, say the historians, it has to do with the fact that the furthest point of the triangle points to vast desert views – more an embodiment of Wright’s blending of structures and landscapes than any sort of inside joke.
The pool sits three inches above grade, wrapped in a three-foot-wide band of coping made using “Desert Cast” stonework (a mixture of concrete and crushed desert stone that is one of the primary materials used throughout the campus). The area surrounding the pool is covered in grass and was, according to some of the older residents, a popular place for sunbathing among Wright’s students.
I examined the watershape with great care: The tile and plaster were in horrible shape after 60 years of service in the desert sun, but I saw no signs of settlement or cracking, and the eight-inch-thick concrete walls looked rock solid. In fact, before we installed the new tile, we put a laser level on the coping to see if we needed to make any adjustments for settlement: The perimeter was perfectly level – something that surprised all of us in a pool of this vintage.
Further investigation revealed that fact that the original plumbing consisted of black “poly-pipe” that ran to four wall returns, a main drain, an old-style drum skimmer and a dedicated suction fitting that presumably had worked with an automatic pool cleaner or a vacuum head. The original equipment set (just a pump and filter) was positioned some 280 feet away at a point five feet below the waterline.
We also learned that the electrical systems had been down for about a year, having rotted out at some point. This left the staff to maintain the pool with a cumbersome routine of draining, rinsing and refilling – one of the main reasons the foundation finally decided to move forward with the renovation.
(On other thing: In the center of the pool is a submersible pump surmounted with a standpipe. This generates a flow that creates a subtle surface effect that had to be maintained. We offered to run a new line and install a more efficient external pump to drive the effect, but this would have involved saw-cutting the shell, so it was decided we should just leave it alone.)
THREE BRISK DAYS
Although the project was simple in nature, there were two complicating factors.
First, the campus receives thousands of visitors each year who are keen to go on the various guided tours the facility offers. As part of our agreement, those tours would continue during our time on site – so we were obliged to shut down any noise-making equipment when tour groups stopped to see the pool. This definitely slowed us down a bit; more significant, it was a steady, nerve-wracking reminder that we were performing major (albeit cosmetic) surgery on a national treasure!
Second, we had to be in and out in just three working days. To that end, we visited the site on Sunday, January 10 of this year, set the sump pump and started draining the pool to a point well out into the desert and away from any structures. The clock started ticking when we showed up Monday morning at sunrise and we began chipping out the 50-year-old plaster – a process that took us about twice as long as usual because of the hourly noise-breaks for the tours. We also removed the original six-by-six inch waterline tiles that first day.
As we started chipping away, I could see that Karlstad was extremely nervous: Despite our optimism that we could do the work without damaging the structure, he was painfully aware that we were taking power tools to one of the country’s most significant watershapes. Much to his relief (and ours), it was quickly apparent that the shell was up to the challenge. (Later, when we replaced the wall fittings and actually had to bore into the walls, we discovered that they were extremely hard.)
On Tuesday morning, we repaired all of the existing wall fittings and began installing an exact reproduction of the original aqua-blue waterline tile. One of the old tiles had fallen off the wall and had had the maker’s mark on back. Karlstad had saved it and turned it over to me early in our discussions in hopes I might be able to track down something similar.
It was labeled as Franciscan Ceramics, and I called my contacts at Dal Tile’s Phoenix branch to see if they had any suggestions. Much to everyone’s relief, it turned out that Gladding, McBean & Co. of San Francisco is still in operation and still makes these tiles – and in fact still produced a tile in the exact same color, size and style we wanted.
The next day, January 13, we applied new Finest Finish plaster, a pre-mix marble aggregate product from Universal White Cement Co. of Glendale, Ariz. This is a beautiful, pure-white product that was about as close a match to the original material as we could find.
That same day, we also ran 280 feet of new electrical conduit through the hard desert rock to reach the old equipment pad. Here, we installed a new 48-square-foot diatomaceous-earth filter and a Whisperflo pump, both from Pentair Water Pool & Spa of Sanford, N.C.
We started filling the pool 5 p.m. that same day, following up in the next few weeks with daily brushing and various water-chemistry adjustments.
WHAT IT’S WORTH
As far as pool remodeling projects go with respect to scope and technical difficulty, this one was about as light as they get. But given the historic nature of the pool, we were all put on edge and spent an unusual amount of time making certain that what we were doing was as non-intrusive as possible. (As is true of most types of historic restoration work, less is almost always best!)
Despite the simplicity of the work, we were constantly aware of the broader meaning and context of what we were doing. It was an honor – quite the heady experience to know we were working on a pool designed by Wright and built in his lifetime by his students – and by far the most unusual and memorable project we’ve ever tackled.
Furthermore, everything we did to the pool was carefully documented, so now our small contribution is part of the site’s history. I know I’ll come back to visit again and again, proud of my work and filled with memories that no longer have much to do with bags or boxes of fresh produce!
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