In residential settings, a safety audit might highlight areas where additional fencing or a pool alarm could enhance protection. By capturing and using the sun's free energy, solar pool systems reduce reliance on electricity or gas, leading to significant long-term savings. In-ground pools provide a more permanent, visually seamless addition to your landscape and can significantly enhance your property's value. If space is limited, consider compact designs like plunge pools or L-shaped configurations. Best nashville pool builders TN.
Labor costs for skilled contractors, engineers, and architects further raise the total expense.
Local building departments often have detailed guidelines for construction, equipment, and ongoing maintenance to ensure compliance.
Install the liner carefully to prevent wrinkles or damage, and then attach the filter system, pump, and any additional accessories. Start by determining the type of pool-concrete, fiberglass, or vinyl-and obtaining quotes from reputable contractors. The key difference lies in the degree of oversight and the complexity of safety measures required for public use." Look for professionals with a strong track record, verified licenses, and positive client reviews.
Some warranties won't cover issues arising from extreme weather events, unauthorized repairs, or misuse of the equipment.
Instead of relying on chlorine or other sanitizers, these pools use plants and biological filters to keep the water clean and clear. Popular options include resurfacing the pool with materials such as quartz, pebble, or polished aggregate finishes, which provide durability and a visually appealing texture. A contractor with years of experience has likely encountered and solved a wide range of challenges, allowing them to anticipate potential issues and provide effective solutions. In contrast, commercial pools prioritize functionality and safety, incorporating lane markers for lap swimming, ADA-compliant entry systems, and ample deck space for lifeguards and patrons.
Public pools must meet rigorous standards for water quality, lifeguard staffing, ADA accessibility, and equipment inspections. Balancing water chemistry protects surfaces, reduces algae growth, and prolongs the life of filters, pumps, and heaters.
Focus on cost-effective improvements like resurfacing with a durable but affordable finish, replacing old tiles with stylish yet economical options, or upgrading essential equipment to energy-efficient models. "Maintaining your pool warranty requires following specific guidelines set by the manufacturer or contractor.
Solar-powered pumps and heaters, combined with variable-speed technology, reduce energy use and lower utility bills. With careful planning and the use of sustainable options, you can enjoy a beautiful pool that treads lightly on the planet." "Essential pool accessories help ensure a safe, clean, and enjoyable swimming experience. Additionally, energy-efficient pools appeal to environmentally conscious buyers, potentially boosting your property's resale value.
"Energy-efficient pools often come with higher upfront costs due to advanced equipment, such as variable-speed pumps or solar heaters, but they offer substantial savings in the long run. Water features, such as fountains, waterfalls, or bubblers, add a touch of luxury and relaxation.
For modern homes, consider sleek, geometric pool shapes with clean lines and minimalistic materials. These pools offer a comfortable, non-abrasive interior that's gentle on swimmers and easy to clean.
Residential pools, by contrast, are primarily guided by general safety practices, such as installing proper barriers and maintaining balanced water chemistry.
"Regular pool maintenance is essential to keep your water clean, clear, and safe for swimming. With a warranty in place, you can have peace of mind knowing that issues such as leaks, cracks, or malfunctioning pumps will be addressed promptly and without additional financial burden. Aesthetic improvements, such as new tiles, fresh plaster finishes, or decorative coping, instantly elevate the pool's overall look. For those seeking a fully customizable pool that can last decades with proper care, concrete pools remain a top contender."
Avoid using abrasive cleaning tools or harsh chemicals that may harm the liner. "While both public and private pools must adhere to safety guidelines, the requirements for public pools are typically more stringent.
"Checking references from past clients is one of the most reliable ways to gauge a pool contractor's quality and professionalism. Additionally, contractors often have established relationships with suppliers, allowing them to secure better prices on materials.
Solar heating systems harness renewable energy, reducing reliance on traditional power sources.
Additionally, inspect the surface regularly for signs of wear, tears, or discoloration, and address any minor issues promptly to prevent them from worsening. Experienced contractors are also more likely to have established relationships with trusted suppliers, ensuring access to quality materials. Content"Finding a reliable pool installer in Nashville is crucial for ensuring your backyard oasis is built to last. A sunny spot ensures warm water and less energy use for heating, while positioning the pool away from large trees reduces debris and maintenance.
Slides come in various shapes and sizes, from gentle slopes suitable for younger swimmers to tall, winding slides that offer a thrilling experience. "Pool construction must adhere to strict safety standards to protect swimmers and ensure compliance with local regulations.
Homeowners can choose unique shapes, depths, and features that complement their landscape. It's important to understand the terms, including the warranty duration, what is excluded, and who to contact for repairs.
Features such as wide entry steps, handrails, and shallow wading areas make it easier for children, seniors, and individuals with mobility challenges to enter and exit the pool.
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Salt water chlorination is a process that uses dissolved salt (1000–4000 ppm or 1–4 g/L) for the chlorination of swimming pools and hot tubs. The chlorine generator (also known as salt cell, salt generator, salt chlorinator, or SWG) uses electrolysis in the presence of dissolved salt to produce chlorine gas or its dissolved forms, hypochlorous acid and sodium hypochlorite, which are already commonly used as sanitizing agents in pools. Hydrogen is produced as byproduct too.
The presence of chlorine in traditional swimming pools can be described as a combination of free available chlorine (FAC) and combined available chlorine (CAC).[1] While FAC is composed of the free chlorine that is available for disinfecting the water, the CAC includes chloramines, which are formed by the reaction of FAC with amines (introduced into the pool by human perspiration, saliva, mucus, urine, and other biologics, and by insects and other pests).[2] Chloramines are responsible for the "chlorine smell" of pools, as well as skin and eye irritation. These problems are the result of insufficient levels of free available chlorine, and indicate a pool that must be "shocked" by the addition of 5–10 times the normal amount of chlorine.[1] In saltwater pools, the generator uses electrolysis to continuously produce free chlorine. As such, a saltwater pool or hot tub is not actually chlorine-free; it simply utilizes added salt and a chlorine generator instead of direct addition of chlorine. It also burns off chloramines in the same manner as traditional shock (oxidizer). As with traditionally chlorinated pools, saltwater pools must be monitored in order to maintain proper water chemistry. Low chlorine levels can be caused by insufficient salt, incorrect (low) chlorine-generation setting on the SWG unit, higher-than-normal chlorine demand, low stabilizer, sun exposure, insufficient pump speed, or mechanical issues with the chlorine generator. Salt count can be lowered due to splash-out, backwashing, and dilution via rainwater.
Research has shown that because saltwater pools still use chlorine sanitization, they generate the same disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that are present in traditional pools. Of highest concern are haloketones and trihalomethanes (THMs) of those the predominant form being bromoform. Very high levels of bromoform—up to 1.3 mg per liter, or 13 times the World Health Organization's guideline values—have been found in some public saltwater swimming pools.[3]
Manufacturers have been producing saltwater chlorine generators in the United States since the early 1980s, and they first appeared commercially in New Zealand in the early 1970s (the Aquatech IG4500).[4]
The chlorinator cell consists of parallel titanium plates coated with ruthenium and sometimes iridium. Older models make use of perforated (or mesh) plates rather than solid plates. Electrolysis naturally attracts calcium and other minerals to the plates. Thus, depending on water chemistry and magnitude of use, the cell will require periodic cleaning in a mild acid solution (1 part HCl to 15 parts water) which will remove the buildup of calcium compound crystals, such as calcium carbonate or calcium nitrate. Excessive buildup can reduce the effectiveness of the cell. Running the chlorinator for long periods with insufficient salt in the pool can strip the coating off the cell which then requires an expensive[clarification needed] replacement, as can using too strong an acid wash.
Saltwater pools can also require stabilizer (cyanuric acid) to help stop the sun's UV rays from breaking down free chlorine in the pool. Usual levels are 20–50 ppm. They also require the pH to be kept between 7.2 and 7.8 with the chlorine being more effective if the pH is kept closer to 7.2. The average salt levels are usually in the 3000-5000 ppm range, much less than the ocean, which has salt levels of around 35,000 ppm.[5] In swimming pools, salt is typically poured across the bottom and swept with the pool brush until it dissolves; if concentrated brine is allowed into the return-water system it can cause the chlorinator cell to malfunction due to overconductivity.
Salt water chlorination produces an excess of hydroxide ions, and this requires the frequent addition of hydrochloric acid (HCl, also known as muriatic acid) to maintain pH.[6]
The benefits of salt systems in pools are the convenience and the constant delivery of pure chlorine-based sanitizer. The reduction of irritating chloramines versus traditional chlorinating methods and the "softening" effect of electrolysis reducing dissolved alkali minerals in the water are also perceived as benefits. For some people that have sensitivities to chlorine, these systems may be less offensive.
Disadvantages are the initial cost of the system, maintenance, and the cost of replacement cells. Salt is corrosive and will damage some metals and some improperly-sealed stone. However, as the ideal saline concentration of a salt-chlorinated pool is very low (<3,500ppm, the threshold for human perception of salt by taste; seawater is about ten times this concentration), damage usually occurs due to improperly-maintained pool chemistry or improper maintenance of the electrolytic cell. Pool equipment manufacturers typically will not warrant stainless steel products damaged by saline pools. Calcium and other alkali precipitate buildup will occur naturally on the cathode plate, and sometimes in the pool itself as "scaling". Regular maintenance of the cell is necessary; failure to do so will reduce the effectiveness of the cell. Certain designs of saline chlorinators use a "reverse-polarity" method that will regularly switch the roles of the two electrodes between anode and cathode, causing this calcium buildup to dissolve off the accumulating electrode. Such systems reduce but do not eliminate the need to clean the electrolytic cell and the occurrence of calcium scale in the water.
As chlorine is generated, pH will rise causing the chlorine to be less effective. Many systems with chemistry automation can sense the rising pH and automatically introduce either CO2 or hydrochloric acid in order to bring the pH back to the target level.Automation systems will also manage levels of sanitizer by monitoring the ORP or redox levels of the water. This allows only the needed amount of chlorine to be generated based on the demand.
Sodium bromide can be used instead of sodium chloride, which produces a bromine pool. The benefits and downsides are the same as those of a salt system. It is not necessary to use a chloride-based acid to balance the pH. Also, bromine is only effective as a sanitizer, not as an oxidizer, leaving a need for adding a "shock" such as hydrogen peroxide or any chlorine-based shock to burn off inorganic waste and free up combined bromines. This extra step is not needed in a sodium chloride system, as chlorine is effective as both a sanitizer and an oxidizer. A user would only need to "super chlorinate" or increase chlorine production of the cell occasionally. That would normally be less than once a week or after heavy bather loads.
Pool suction-drain injury, also known as suction entrapment, occurs when the drain of a wading pool, swimming pool, hot tub, or fountain sucks in a swimmer's jewelry, torso, limbs, hair or buttocks. In some cases of buttocks entrapment, victims are disemboweled. In the United States, 147 incidents were documented between 1985 and 2002 of which 36 were fatal.[1] In 1982, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that five children were disemboweled by drains in wading pools and urged pools to install covers on drains.[2][3]
A standard 8 inches (20 cm) main drain can develop up to 350 pounds (160 kg) of force, which could hold a person underwater in tight grip until the suction is released. This can drown the entrapped person, despite the rescue efforts of multiple adults.[4]
One way to make drains safer is to install shut-off valves and dome-shape drains that are less likely to create a suction effect with the human body, as required in the United States by the 2007 Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. And as a result of that cases nowadays are extremely rare to nonexistent.[5]
| Name | Date | Incident |
|---|---|---|
| Carol Parker | 1957 | A 13-year-old in Prattville, Alabama was sucked feet-first to her hips into a drain of a municipal pool and remained stuck under nine feet of water despite two lifeguards' efforts. She was able to escape the drain when a pool bystander turned off the pump.[6] |
| Valerie Lakey | 1993 | In Cary, North Carolina, 5-year-old Valerie Lakey was disemboweled by a kiddie pool when her bottom became stuck to the drain. Neither turning off the pump nor the strength of four adults dislodged her. The drain cover manufacturer, Sta-Rite, claimed the cover was improperly installed. Lakey survived without most of her small and large intestine and received a $30.9 million settlement from Sta-Rite ($25 million), Wake County, Medfield Area Recreation Club, and others ($5.9 million combined). It was the largest personal injury verdict in North Carolina history and a landmark case of lawyer John Edwards, later a Senator and vice presidential nominee.[7] |
| Virginia Graeme Baker | June 2002 | The seven-year-old granddaughter of former US Secretary of State James Baker died of suction entrapment due to a faulty drain cover and died in her mother's arms at the bottom of a hot tub.[8] The United States Congress passed a pool safety act under her name in 2007.[5] |
| Abigail Taylor | 2007 | The six-year-old died in 2008 nine months after her injury despite subsequent surgeries. Scott and Katey Taylor, her parents, lobbied for the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, which was passed the year of Abigail's injury.[9] |
| Salma Bashir | 2008 | During a holiday with her family, she was disemboweled while in the kids' swimming pool. As of the time of the report, she was fed by a TPN bag and was waiting for a multiple organ transplant.[10] After getting a small intestine transplant, her body rejected the organ and six months later it was removed, as was her large intestine and gall bladder. She died on January 1, 2024.[11] |
| Evan Pappas | 2018 | Survived an entrapment of 7 minutes 40 seconds in a lazy river in South Carolina in 2018.[12] |
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Winston Farzan has done excellent work for me several times. He's been able to tackle many different jobs at once. I save jobs for him knowing that I can depend on his expertise!
Awesome. I watched a small backyard turn into a backyard oasis. The other options for a smaller pool were either fiberglass or refurbished containers. This is an actual concrete pool with automation. Looks great and I love it!
Fiberglass pools typically last 25�30 years or more with proper maintenance. The durable shell and smooth surface require minimal upkeep compared to other pool types, making fiberglass a long-lasting investment.
Look for a builder with a strong local reputation, verified licensing, and positive customer reviews. Request a detailed estimate, timeline, and references to ensure you�re working with a reputable professional.
A dip pool is a small, shallow pool designed for cooling off and relaxing. In Nashville, they�re popular due to their compact size, lower maintenance requirements, and ability to fit into smaller outdoor spaces.
A deck creates a functional and attractive space for lounging, entertaining, and easier pool access. It also enhances safety by providing a secure, slip-resistant surface around the pool.
A plunging pool is a compact, deep pool designed for quick dips and relaxation. It�s ideal for small backyards or as a cool-down spot near larger pools or spas.
