Cursed By Knowing The Numbers

  I have built several pools, and all of them have been headaches.  I don't know if it is the trade contractors, or if my specs are difficult, but I have never made it through the process without a great deal of handholding.

Pools, and water, add magic to a home.  It is one of Legorreta's trademark materials, and no resort home would be the same without a resort pool.

So the headaches, in the end, are worth it.  I have learned a few things along the way.  Here's some of what I know:

Pool Mechanicals

Controllers--I find either the Jandy or the Intellitouch systems work well and both tie into my home automation systems--although I wish they offered an IP based controller.

Install a little meter on the makeup water line.  You will lose roughly 0.5 to 0.75 inch per day from evaporation, any more than that--you have a leak.  7.82 gallons to the cubic foot, or 1 gallon from 200 SF of pool surface area.

 I use the Strantrol system to monitor and maintain pH and HRR.

For oxidizing bacteria, I prefer a bromine system over a chlorinated system, and ozonation for hot tubs. 

The big things to understand are how quickly you need to bring pool temp up, what the turnover is--usually <4 hours for a residential pool, and flow rate and flow rate changes through the different elements [fountains, waterfalls, spa, main drain, infinite edge, etc.)

Infinite edges seem to be a part of all the pools I have done.  The architectural appeal is significant, and the way you can get the layering of different materials at certain vantage points.

Tip:  if you use a floating cover with an infinite edge, you need to reverse the angle on the infinite edge to trap to cover when the cover is closed. 

Rule of thumb, you need 5gal/min flowrate per LF of infinite edge to maintain 0.125" of water over the weir.  Nothing worse than an infinite edge that shows high spots at the weir edge.

Finishes-- your choices are plaster, tile, or a plaster modified with crystals or aggregate such as 3M Quartz, Pebble Sheen or Gem Sheen. 

Plaster is the most economical pool finish and should last 15 to 25 years if the substrate, and the bond to the substrate, were good.  Keep your plaster a light tint.  The bleaching from the pool chemicals that inevitably happens looks worse on a dark colored pool.

If your preference is for a dark color pool, use tile, or a dark aggregate mix-in.   

I used a glass mosaic tile on the pool in these photos, to match the color of the ocean off of Hawaii.

Saving energy is a big concern of pool owners.  When I have the budget, I specify the Hydralux cover from Aquamatic in Gilroy, CA.  95% of the heat is lost through the water surface, and the Hydralux cover is a floating segmented cover that stops a larger percentage of this heat loss.  They also offer a floating solar cover, that allows the irradiance from the sun to pass through this cover and trap it in the pool.  This does not meet spec as a safety cover, so you will still need the fence.

The other way is to install a solar thermal system that loops through the pool pumps.  My rule of thumb is that I get an extra month on either end of the season here in Northern California without using a lot of gas. 

Here is a recent article that concluded that human relationships are built from four types of interactions.  This got me thinking about land use economics--entitlements, getting uses approved, and why we miss the boat sometimes on leaving things better than we found them. 

The gist of the article is that all human relationships, are built from four  types of human interactions:

• Communal Sharing
• Equality Matching
• Authority Ranking
• Market Pricing.

Too often, I focus on the last in meetings/negotiations and don't fully understand/value the other three building blocks--and the process of entitling a specific land use becomes more difficult because I don't fully understand the other three building blocks of a relationship.

Communal Sharing--of benefits like views, open space, and utility access and traffic impacts.  Malama 'aina, the care and nurture of the land, is a great description of this.  Community.  Oft times we run into trouble when the use we are proposing is less than the value the community places on the current land use.

Equality Matching--restoring balance--mitigating traffic impacts, affordable housing set asides.  Transferable development rights.

Authority Ranking--non-conforming uses.  zoning.  Think San Quentin State Prison.

Market Pricing--investment go/no go decisions.  option payments. value add strategies. Cost of debt, equity.  Terminal Cap Rates.

If you are up to geeking out on this, here is the original study the article was based on--The Inherent Sociability of Homo Sapiens.

Try this metric out on your next meeting--how do you fare on the four elements?

I have been producing architecturally significant homes for ten years now.  Along the way, I have learned a few things that the pros use that can really make a difference in your home [and in our own home] that help make waking up in the morning an Insanely Great experience.

Make one or more of these part of your New Year's resolutions:

  Buy and have handy a copy of Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language.  It formalizes many of the spatial relationships into a grammar for great residential design.  It is a book you can jump in and out of when you are looking for "how to say" a solution to a site, a problem, or a requirement.

Install a Skylight in your Bathroom.

Install Dimmers on all dimmable Circuits.  I like the Lutron Maestro dimmers, about $25 at Home Depot. All your circuits (other than closets or garages) should be dimmable.

No naked bulbs.  You want to see the wash of light, not its source.

Experiment with LED's.  We still need a warm white version in the 3000K range, but we are getting there.

Add a lamp--layer the lighting in the room. Uplights behind furniture act as background lighting at night.

Combine the three types of lighting--ambient or background lighting; task or focused lighting, and mood lighting (candles).

Get paid for being Smart & Green.

Install a Solar Roof Fan.  This lowers the cooling load in the summer.

Check your insurance coverage.  Increasing home values over the past three years may have left you exposed on what is probably your largest asset.

Install a photovoltaic power system to replace the higher tariffs of power.  Look to replace any power that costs you more than $0.20/KWh (>130% of baseline in PG&E territory).

Bring more southern light into your home--windows, clerestories, anything to get more daylight into your home.  Install/Replace a window with one that better captures the light or view.

Find a Better Shower head.

If you are thinking of selling your home, check your property information on Zillow.  If someone knows the property owner's name--a matter of public record--they can post false information about a property because Zillow does not independently verify it.  Zillow says it will ban anyone who posts maliciously from claiming homes in the future, and will respond to owner comments in one day.  False information on Zillow about your property can be one more roadblock to a successful sale.