Aquatic Technology Pool & Spa, "Creating Water as Art."™

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Whether you call them waveless pools, overflow pools, perimeter overflow pools, slot overflow pools, knife edge pools, flooded deck pools, slot edge or wet edge pools, zero edge, wetted edge, no edge, or flooded coping pools, or wet deck pools, they all provide essentially the same appearance... that someone forgot to turn off the fill line. They are not to be confused with vanishing edge, negative edge, infinity edge, or disappearing edge pools, though the basic hydraulic principals are the same.

While these pools appear simple, they are actually quite complex. It is what you can't see that makes them complex. To make their design even more difficult, their hydraulic systems are a hybrid of pressurized returns and gravity drain lines.

Adding further to their complexity, they must have remote holding tanks, called surge tanks. The size of these tanks must be carefully calculated to provide enough water to raise the pool (to flood level) and continue the flooding process until that water returns to the surge tank. This quantity of water must be held in storage, plus a quantity necessary to prevent the tank from being pumped dry (a common mistake).

The capacity of the gravity drain lines must be carefully calculated, so that the amount of water held in reserve can be calculated. The time it takes for the water to begin to return to the holding tank is another critical calculation. The pitch (slope) of the gravity drain lines also determines the velocity that the water travels. Too slow, and the water cannot scour the debris in the lines. Too steep, and the entry point of these lines within the tank, drops significantly below grade. The further away from the pool the tank is located, the larger (or deeper underground) the tank must be placed - as the descending slope of the drain line gets lower & lower the further from the pool it travels. These gravity drain lines also cannot be calculated at their maximum capacity, as they must maintain some "freeboard." That is air in the top of the pipe. This prevents the formation of suction & a really annoying sucking sound!

The tank must have additional storage capacity to allow for displacement from the pool. Displacement comes primarily from wind and from bathers. Now there's a novel idea - people actually swimming in the pool! I cannot tell you how many of these tanks I have seen that were undersized. Every time someone went swimming, a few hundred to a thousand gallons of water was forced out of the tank's overflow line, only to have to be replaced when the fill line turned on.

On the opposite side, the lack of understanding of the hydraulic complexities of these pools, oftentimes results in the surge tank being WAY over sized. While there is nothing wrong with an over sized tank, it is a waste of money, labor, materials, and energy to build them over sized. Having to filter & chemically treat a few thousand gallons of extra water adds up over time.

The lack of proper planning, oftentimes leads to the neglect of maintenance of these tanks. This is where all of the large debris from the pool settles. If the builder designed the tank improperly, this debris is never drawn into the suction line, and therefore the pump strainer basket or filter.These tanks should be outfitted with main drains, inlets to direct the flow towards these drains, auto-fill lines to also assist in the debris management, ladder rungs for personnel access, vacuum ports for cleaning, personnel access hatch over the ladder rungs, lighting (when fiber optic or low voltage is used on the project), and most importantly, a strainer. The strainer sifts out the large debris before it is deposited onto the floor. I have my own design for a SS basket placed in the path of the incoming line. A smaller lid is placed over this strainer basket to facilitate inspection and servicing of the basket.

By failing to make servicing these tanks easy, the service personnel will simply fail or neglect to service these tanks. At least 2X each year, they need to be drained, rinsed out, and vacuumed with a shop vacuum. An alternate approach, is to drain them to within 12" of the floor, and if one was installed, utilize the internal vacuum port in the floor with a pool vacuum to collect the debris into the pool filter system. This is best performed immediately before the filters are serviced 2X annually (cartridge or DE).

This brings us to filter selection... DE filters are not the wisest choice. They are simply too difficult to recharge after they are back washed or serviced, without the installation of a slurry line or tank.

The detail that is used on the edge of the pool where it meets the water, is one of personal preference. The current rage and most difficult to execute, is the knife edge. I will discuss this technique in detail in another blog.

PAOLO BENEDETTI is the Founder and President of Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa. Aquatic Technology is a swimming pool design, aquatic consulting and construction firm. We also offer design collaboration and project management services to architects and design professionals. Aquatic Technology specializes in high-end luxury pools, hotel and resort pools and spas, water parks and aquatic facilities. We have international aquatic design and construction experience, which includes successful collaboration with world famous architects and construction firms.
Paolo Benedetti is an internationally renown designer and builder of the Worlds most luxurious watershapes, swimming pools, spas, fountains, and water features. Paolo Benedetti, has been described as the Michealangelo of the swimming pool industry.
He accepts design commissions from around the world. So you are never too far away to deserve the best that life has to offer!
Paolo collaborates with architects, landscape architects, design professionals, developers, property owners, pool builders, and those who just relish the finest things that life has to offer.

Education, Certifications, Credentials

Paolo has a Degree in Business Management from California State University. He has performed post-graduate and professional studies in the fields of Materials Science, Art History, Architecture, Design & Spatial relationships, Art - Mediums, Materials, & Color Theory, Fluid Dynamics (hydraulics), World History, Geology, Structural Engineering, and Construction Management.

Paolo has continued his professional education in the field of Water Shape Design, by becoming one of the first designers to be certified by the Society of Watershape Designers.

He has performed countless forensic case studies of failed swimming pool structures, consulting for property owners & contractors alike. He sits on committees that write & edit the Contractor's Licensing Exam for the State of California. In 2001, the State of California deemed him a "Subject Matter Expert." Paolo has also previously held a Top Secret Security Clearance.

As a consultant, he has consulted, advised, and designed swimming pools for Architects, other swimming pool contractors, Landscape Architects, and property developers. He has even designed the personal pools of other swimming pool contractors - ones that went onto win international awards for those builders!

Paolo is also an educator, teaching the nuances of complex swimming pool design & construction to international audiences at least twice annually at a construction school. He moderates a on-line swimming pool design & construction forum - providing most of the solutions & answers to issues presented.

He is the principal & founder of Aquatic Technology Pool & Spa, and the European design firm "il Studio Paolo." The firm is licensed in California as a General Building Contractor & Swimming Pool Contractor (#721117, classes: B & C-53).

Continuing Education & Experience

Paolo travels the world personally visiting the craftsmen, factories, and vendors that he employs - learning firsthand their capabilities and limitations. He travels the globe seeking to expand the horizons of the inspiration for his designs.

For example, Paolo has studied the architecture of the Moors in Istanbul and at the Alhambra & Generalife in Granada, Espana and various sites around Cordoba, Espana; ancient fountains and ruins of Ephesus, the Roman ruins and pools of Aphrodisias; Roman mosaics in Merida & Italica (Sevilla), Espana; major temples & sites of Egypt; art & tombs of the Etruscans, Phoenesians & Ephesians; the Renaissance Movement, art and the Boboli Gardens in Florence; and the architecture, gardens, & fountains of Versailles.

He has studied art, history & the architecture of Paris, from his townhouse just outside of the city.

He has performed studies of the art of Pablo Picasso & Joan (Juan) Miro in their private studios, and has delved deeper into their art & lives at the Fundacion de Picasso, Malaga, Spain, and Fundacio Pilar i Joan Miro a Mallorca, Balaeric Islands.

Paolo has expressed a focused interest in the Byzantine era of the Roman Empire. From the adoption of Christianity by Constantine, his influence in the formation of the modern bible, the efforts of Constantine's Mother Helen in collecting the early Relics of Christianity, Helen's maintenance and preservation of the early sites of religious importance, the Roman influence on other societies. The surviving art, architecture, engineering and mosaics of the Byzantine Empire displayed the ever increasing ingenuity of mankind.

He has toured the famous glass factories of Murano, Italy and has observed the glass tile mosaic operations of Bisazza, in Vicenza, Italy. He has visited the operations of granite/marble quarries & processors in places as far away as Turkey, Italy, Vermont, Brazil, & Egypt.

Paolo has experienced Carnival in Venice, Italy. He has explored the House & Gardens of the Virgin Mary (her last known residence) and the ancient sites of the 7 Churches in the Book of Revelations (Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatria, Sardis, Ephesus, Philadelphia, Laodicea).

He has has witnessed a rare performance of Bach's Passion of Christ by the combined companies of the Paris Opera & Paris Symphony - inside Paris' Cathedral de Notre Dame.

The highlight of his travels, was when he was actually allowed to kiss Jesus Christs' Crown of Thorns. It is recognized by the Vatican as one of Christendom's 12 sacred artifacts, attributed to the Passion of Jesus Christ. It origins are documented as far as Saint Helen, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. It was the subject of the Crusades and even the motivation for the construction of the church, Sainte Chapelle. To this day, the Sainte Chapelle church stands nearby the Cathederal de Notre Dame. Stained glass windows & a beautiful alter inside the Sainte Chapelle Church pay homage to the Crown & document it's arrival in Paris. Refer to: www.notredamedeparis.fr/Veneration-of-the-Crown-of-Thorns for more information & images.

On a personal note... Paolo is a student of the martial arts. He holds advanced black belts in tae kwon do & eskrima & he teaches martial arts a few hours each week. He loves cooking for friends & family in his 800 sq. ft. gourmet kitchen - complete with a 14 foot water feature down the center! He enjoys collecting & trading wrist watches, ancient Roman coins, and stamps in his passport. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his two teenage sons.

What others are saying about Paolo & his abilities...

"Paolo (Benedetti) is one of the top Aquatic Designers in the World," heralded the editor & publisher of one of the leading consumer luxury swimming pool magazines. "He is constantly surprising us with something new."

He has been described as, "The Aquatic Industry's equivalent of da Vinci & Buonarroti."

"A master illusionist, an expert at deceiving the eye and tricking the brain."

Paolo or his projects have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, CNN, New York Times, USA Today, HGTV, and the following magazines: Robb Report, Lux (Spain), the Affluent Pages, Millionaire, Luxury Pools, Water Shapes, Gentry, Luxury Homes, Options, Lexus, Seasons (the Four Seasons Hotels Magazine), Luxury Real Estate, Aqua, and the Franklin Report.

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