This is my personal syndication of my swimming pool blog articles. Anything related to swimming pools that I find interesting I will post here, be sure to subscribe and thanks for reading!
Swimming Pool Landscaping Tips
Tips” from the Your Pool Help Website:
Hayward pool products wants you to know how to work with the surrounding landscape around your swimming pool, take some tips from them! A beautiful and functional backyard pool environment is a pleasure to behold.
Read the original article here: Swimming Pool Landscaping Tips – Continued
See all articles & posts from this author
How to Get Started in the Pool Service Business
Water Tech Strikes Back Against Patent Infringement
Cardinal Systems to Merge with Fox Pool Corp.
Cardinal is the largest manufacturers of steel and polymer pool wall systems in the United States and it sells its products though distribution in the U.S. and Canada.
Adding Fox Pools, which makes powder-coated steel pool walls, vinyl liners and an aboveground pool system, will bring complementary products into the Cardinal family of brands, the company said in a release.
“We look forward to the Fox brand strengthening Cardinal’s position within the pool industry by providing a complete packaged pool line to our loyal customer base,” said Debra Haase, president at Cardinal Systems.
Read the original article here: Cardinal Systems to Merge with Fox Pool Corp. – Continued
See all articles & posts from this author Nexxus Pools October 23, 2018 at 06:00PM
Swimming Pool Learning FREE App!
Original Post Link: Swimming Pool Learning FREE App!
m here. You can also view the YouTube Video Index that I have created with over 800 videos listed here in alphabetical order. So, if you are watching a video and need to look up another video you can do all of this in the app.
Originally Posted by: David Van Brunt on Swimming Pool Tips & Reviews
Read the original article here: Swimming Pool Learning FREE App! – Continued
See all articles & posts from this author Nexxus Pools October 22, 2018 at 06:00PM
Pool Renovation by Your Pool Service of Texas
New post from the Your Pool Help Website:
A recent swimming pool renovation project completed by Your Pool Service of Texas shows signs of professional attention to details.
Original Post Link: Pool & Spa Renovation Conroe, TX 77302
- Waterline Tiles = 6×6 Ceramic Glazed “Trident”
- Coping Stone = 3cm Travertine Bullnose “Ivory”
- Pool Interior = Wet-Edge Prism Matrix “Indigo Blue”
Once the materials & quotation had been finalized, in order to create the new look there were several tasks that had to be completed. Our pool remodeling crew in Conroe discovered the best approach to this pool & spa remodeling project was to replace the following:
As for the more simple remodel projects such as pool resurfacing or pool tile cleaning those can be done much faster usually around 1 – 2 weeks.
- This project 4 weeks
- Budget: $19,895.00
Information in this post Via:
Your Pool Service Conroe
3915 W Davis St. Ste 130212
Conroe, TX 77304
(936) 701-1087
Related:
Swimming Pool Remodeling Info & Advice
See all articles & posts from this author Nexxus Pools October 21, 2018 at 06:08PM
How I got started in the Pool Industry
Original Post Link: How I got started in the Pool Industry
Originally Posted by: David Van Brunt on Swimming Pool Tips & Reviews
Read the original article here: How I got started in the Pool Industry – Continued
See all articles & posts from this author Nexxus Pools October 20, 2018 at 06:00PM
How to Set the Priming Speed on a Pentair SuperFlo VS Pump
Original Post Link: How to Set the Priming Speed on a Pentair SuperFlo VS Pump
Originally Posted by: David Van Brunt on Swimming Pool Tips & Reviews
Read the original article here: How to Set the Priming Speed on a Pentair SuperFlo VS Pump – Continued
See all articles & posts from this author Nexxus Pools October 19, 2018 at 06:02PM
How to Manage a Challenging Hire
Original Post Link: How to Manage a Challenging Hire
Hiring and training new employees isn’t a black-and-white process — in fact, there’s quite a bit of gray area. That’s because there’s a lot of emotion and opinion involved, and everyone approaches it differently.
For example: What do you consider satisfactory job performance? How much time do you think is required to properly train an employee? How long should it take before a new hire “gets it”?
And what would you consider to be poor performance and/or unsatisfactory customer service? There are no one-size-fits-all answers to those questions.
Blurring the lines even further is the matter of potential. Finding employees is hard, so once you’ve invested time, energy and money into training that person, you want to keep him or her as long as possible. And if your new hire is struggling — not keeping up with training, forgetting things on the truck, making rookie mistakes, etc. — you may be tempted to cut the person loose.
If your new hire just isn’t getting the hang of the technical stuff, but is otherwise hardworking and does everything possible to make your customers happy, I strongly encourage you to do whatever you can to keep them on board. Letting someone go should be the last resort.
Here, we’ll take a look at some of the common, frustrating scenarios we often encounter when managing new hires, and what to do about them.
“I’VE TOLD YOU A MILLION TIMES…”
Do you ever feel like a broken record, repeating the same things time after time again? Yeah, me too.
It’s one of those things that comes with the territory, especially if you’re hiring someone as green as grass, like I commonly do. The fact is the variables in our industry are virtually endless, so expecting someone to learn everything quickly is unrealistic. Even a seasoned veteran may need to refresh their memory from time to time.
But at what point do you say “enough is enough” and start reprimanding the employee? Welcome to the gray area, my friend.
RELATED: The Better Way to Train New Hires
What I consider tolerable may be completely different from you or another manager, but here are the rules I live by:
Set realistic expectations
Knowledge retention, especially for a detail-oriented industry like ours, is difficult. Don’t be afraid to set expectations, but keep them on the lower end.
As the saying goes, “If you don’t expect anything then you can never be disappointed.”
For example, let your employee know they should be able to capably clean a filter and backwash a pump in X amount of time, balance water in Y amount of time, etc.
Repetition
When newbies in the field run into something they’re unfamiliar with, they often go into panic mode. (Cue the frantic phone calls.) Once you’ve helped them through, revisit the issue when they’re away from the job site and better able to focus on what you’re saying.
So yes, you should generally expect to repeat things a lot, but eventually, they will get it. Just hang in there and keep moving forward.
“YOU LOST IT AGAIN?”
“You lost your brush again?” There’s few things more frustrating to me than when an employee loses a piece of equipment. As we all know, pool equipment and tools are very expensive, so constantly replacing those things is irritating. (I’m just waiting for the day someone comes back from the field and tells me they don’t know where their vacuum system went.)
I would put this problem in the “performance” bucket. Simply put, an employee is not performing their job if they are not coming back with all of their supplies.
How can you solve this problem? I’ve tried everything from creating a checklist and requiring them to show me their tools after the day is over. Those things worked, but only for a short time. The best solution I’ve found is to make them pay for anything they lose. (You’ll be surprised how much longer nets and brushes last!)
RELATED: Tips for Hiring and Training Service Techs
This also applies to equipment condition. My employees are liable for anything outside of standard wear and tear, which helps me keep costs down and encourages them to be more careful with company equipment.
Take, for example, a net, which should last longer than a week. If your employee keeps coming back with torn nets and doesn’t have a darn good reason why, he or she will have to replace it. (Cases like this also present great training opportunities — if a tech keeps coming back with torn nets, they’re likely using your equipment incorrectly. Re-train them to prevent this issue from coming up again.)
Again, what you consider “normal use” is completely up to you, but you get the point.
“I RAN OUT OF…”
I remember getting regular calls from an employee, always at the end of the day, saying he ran out of chemicals because he “forgot” to stock up the night before or the day of. While it’s not the end of the world if the alkalinity was at 80 for an extra week, or the stabilizer was at 40 instead of the 50 that I prefer, it’s the principle of the matter.
You should also consider this a performance problem because without the right equipment, your new tech is unable to perform the job as intended. If forgetfulness is a regular problem, nip it in the bud by establishing expectations (“To perform well in this job, I need you to make sure your truck is stocked with everything you need for the day. Is that something you think you can do?”), revisiting the issue as needed (“We talked last week about keeping your truck stocked, but you’re still forgetting to top off your chemicals. What’s going on?”) and, if the pattern continues, letting them know their job is in jeopardy.
LOSS OF FOCUS
I saved this one for last because this is more than likely to be the cause of all of the other problems mentioned above. If you can figure out how to have your employee stay focused, all of these other “careless” problems should go away.
In my experience, there’s just a single thing that prevents employees from getting their jobs done: their cell phone. With music, games, texts, selfies, status updates and more, smartphones are essentially made for distracting people, making it difficult to do a job correctly.
RELATED: How to Hire Young Hotshots
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to correct this issue. If it’s a company-issued phone, you can monitor the phone bill to see how much time is spent talking on the phone, how many texts are sent, etc., and reprimand employees who abuse their phone privileges. Aside from that, occasionally remind your team of your phone policy, whatever it may be, and take note of any sudden drop in productivity.
REMEMBER…
…no one is perfect when you first hire them. And sometimes, when you’re frustrated after explaining how to backwash a filter for the hundredth time, you might think you hired a bad apple. Before you cut them loose, though, do whatever you can to mold them into the employee you want them to be. When that happens, it’s a win-win for everyone.
Originally Posted by: Erik Taylor on Aqua Magazine
Read the original article here: How to Manage a Challenging Hire – Continued Nexxus Pools October 18, 2018 at 06:02PM
Pool Remodeling Breakdown Pt-1
Pool Remodeling PT-1
Topic / Pool type: Gunite (concrete) in-groundSummer is almost over and most of us are taking our last vacations before fall & winter – if you own a (old) swimming pool – you know it’s about to sit all winter long, ugly & unused. Maybe renovating the pool is something you have been thinking about for a few years and now is the time – but when?
Another consideration that is related to this topic is “pool restoration” which involves some specialized work to keep the same materials originally installed but to make everything look new & fresh again.
A good remodel can benefit you in many ways. Don’t regret having a swimming pool, you just need a trusted source to give you the right information so you can take action on the items that apply to you. Remember, the best way to stay fit – exercise in a swimming pool!
As you can see – there’s a lot to think about before a search for local pool companies to get some bids. You don’t want to miss out on something that you wish you would have known or else you would have done it – know what I mean?
There are some rumors going around about how you might be able to strike a nice deal with a swimming pool contractor in the fall / winter seasons.
- Time to give your pool an overhaul
- Water features for your next pool remodel
- Add a spa to your existing pool
- Swimming Pool Construction Terms
An Experiment in Energy Efficiency
Original Post: An Experiment in Energy Efficiency
It’s no secret that variable-speed pumps have become the primary means for increasing energy efficiency in pools. Since their introduction in the early 2000s, the technology has become widely accepted at all levels of the market.
But what about the other factors, such as the plumbing size and layout, and selection of valves, heaters, chlorinators and filters? How much do they affect energy efficiency?
Jeff Farlow, program manager of energy initiatives for Pentair, decided to conduct a case study aimed at answering those questions. “We wanted to demonstrate the additional savings and benefits you can obtain by combining variable-speed pumps with enhanced hydraulic efficiency,” he says. “An efficient system starts with a variable-speed pump, but it’s clear that those savings can be dramatically increased by addressing other points in the system.”
The pool Farlow selected for the study contains 36,000 gallons and was plumbed exclusively with 1½-inch rigid PVC pipe. It was equipped with a sand filter and in-line chlorinator. The system had already been upgraded with a variable-speed pump and was experiencing significant energy savings. All of the improvements for the study took place on the equipment pad; none of the other plumbing in the pool was altered.
All of the existing equipment was removed by cutting both the suction and return pipe entering the equipment pad at ground level. The equipment pad was re-plumbed with two-inch rigid PVC pipe.
In terms of equipment, Farlow installed a new in-line chlorinator and a new cartridge filter, both chosen for their improved hydraulics due mostly to the reductions in fl ow restrictions. The existing variable-speed pump was re-installed so that any changes in system performance were directly due to the hydraulic modifications on the equipment pad.
The pump and system performance was monitored before and after the retrofit using a BK325 clamp-on kW meter, along with vacuum and pressure gauges to determine total system head in feet of water.
The results were dramatic: The pump’s power was reduced 77 percent from 1,500 watts to 350 watts while maintaining a consistent 50 gpm flow rate both before and after the retrofit. The total system pressure was reduced 69 percent, from 65 feet of water to 20 feet. Before the retrofit, the pump was operating at 3,000 rpm. But by removing the hydraulic restrictions to fl ow, the pump was able to deliver the same 50 gpm at only 1,600 rpm.
Based on both improved hydraulic efficiency and lower pump speed, the pump’s energy factor (gallons pumped per watt-hour consumed) increased from two to eight. That improvement translated into an increase from 2,000 gallons/kWh to 8,000 gallons/kWh. In terms of cost, the upgrades reduced the cost for one 12-hour turnover from $2.16 to $0.51, a 76 percent savings.
According to Farlow, one of the keys to the dramatic savings was to the removal of the 1½-inch multiport backwash valve. “That was No. 1 on the list,” he says. “Whenever water has to make the turns in the backwash valve, you’re dramatically restricting the fl ow. Second to that would be the filter itself. We found the cartridge filter is far less restrictive than the original sand filter.”
Farlow places the less-restrictive chlorinator and upsized plumbing and improvements in the layout as third and fourth on the list of contributing factors. “Most people do focus on the variable-speed pumps, as they should because that’s the first step in improving system efficiency,” he says. “But based on these results it’s obvious that with some very basic hydraulic improvements on the equipment pad, you can achieve even greater savings.”
Note: the results of this case study are indicative of only this pool and no others.
Originally Posted by: Eric Herman on Aqua Magazine
Read the full article here: An Experiment in Energy Efficiency – Continued
Recent Pool Remodel The Woodlands, TX
The team has restored a 16 year old swimming pool in 77381 Spring, TX into the days of the new at an affordable cost. We have re-shared their original post to show how you might also renovate your swimming pool.
Our Conroe Pool Service team was able to show this pool owner what pool-interior finish was the best option for their desire & budget plus a few added cosmetic items to freshen up the look of this 15+ year old pool in TX, 77381
In 3 weeks the following had to be completed:
- Resurface pool interior
- General pool repairs
- Service of pool equipment
- Install new trim tiles
- Pool Waterline tile cleaning
- Repair & Re-grout masonry stone
Before & After the Renovation
The team had fun finishing this pool resurfacing project in less than 4 weeks, and now our client is enjoying a like-new pool & spa!
Your Pool Service Conroe
Swimming Pool Remodeling
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
3915 W Davis St. Ste 130212
Conroe, TX 77304
(936) 701-1087
9am to 5pm Monday – Saturday
How are pools renovated? (Watch)
Watch to get an idea of how much work is involved in a video about remodeling a swimming pool.Not in Texas? That’s ok, we can help you find a qualified swimming pool pro to handle your renovation or repair project!
Originally Posted by: Your Pool Service Conroe on Your Pool Service of Texas Read the full article here: Recent Pool Remodel The Woodlands, TX 77381 – Original Post Link
purplebuddhaquotes: “Don’t think too much - you’ll create a problem that wasn’t there in the first...
“Don’t think too much - you’ll create a problem that wasn’t there in the first place.”—
Article Source: purplebuddhaquotes: “Don’t think too much - you’ll create a problem that wasn’t there in the first...
https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
How to find pool companies near me
Find Swimming Pool Companies
Owning a swimming pool is an exciting thought if you have never personally owned one. However, figuring out how to install a pool leads to some more challenging problem solving right at the start. Here are some points for those looking at purchasing a swimming pool. For most types of pools these considerations apply.The process is a bit like:
- How much do inground pools cost?
- How to finance a swimming pool?
- What type of pool can I get for my budget?
Finding the Answers
If you are reading this that means you are using the #1 resource at your service – yourpoolhelp website. There are a few other online resources who can give you straight answers, but not many.- Local Swimming Pool Pro Locator
In select states you can search for local pool companies in your area listed with us means they have been approved for quality and certification standards.
Here are a couple of tips from: https://healthxoxo.wordpress.com/author/healthxoxo/
Article Source: How to find pool companies near me