‘Pool Decking’ Articles at  Dream Retreats, Arizona’s Premier Landscape Contractor and Design, Page 2

If you have your own swimming pool, you are one of the lucky ones. Here in the East Valley of Phoenix, some people use their swimming pools all year long. Swimming pool maintenance doesn’t have to be difficult, but knowing how to properly maintain your pool will make it last longer and be a safer place for family fun.

12 Common Swimming Pool Maintenance Mistakes

1. Not checking your pool’s chemistry often enough. Check the pool’s chemistry twice per week in the summer and once per week in the winter. By doing this you can make minor adjustments to your water chemistry instead of big adjustments that create a wild up and down graph of activity.
2. Allowing pH to get above 8.0. At 8.5 chlorine is only 10% active. At 7.0 it is about 73% active. By just maintaining pH around 7.5 the chlorine is 50-60% active. Keeping the pH in check will allow you to use to the full potential the chlorine that is already in the pool.
3. Not keeping alkalinity between 80-140 PPM. Low or high alkalinity can affect water balance and ultimately a sanitizer’s ability to perform.
4. Not checking TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) or calcium hardness on a regular basis. Check TDS every 6 months and calcium hardness every month. These also affect water balance which is different from sanitation, although related.
5. Not cleaning the cells in salt water systems (chlorine generators). Corroded or calcified cells will produce little chlorine.
6. Backwashing sand or DE filters too often. If you do this, the filter can never reach its cleaning potential. If you backwash on a regular basis for no reason, you are wasting water. Most filters require backwashing when the pressure gauge rises 8-10 PSI from clean.
7. Not cleaning the skimmer basket and/or hair and lint pot in the pool pump often enough. If these are full of debris you will get little flow resulting in poor circulation, potentially creating a big problem.
8. Adding chemicals, especially liquid chlorine, during the day. Try to add chemicals in the evening after the sun has set. You will get more out of them.
9. Not brushing the walls and tile down often enough. If your circulation system is suspect, and many are, brushing down the walls will help eliminate algae problems. Keeping your tile clean will save you money. Once the tile gets calcified it becomes like plaque and will take a specialist to get it off.
10. Make sure that you keep the space between the bottom of the cantilever on the deck and the top of the tile in check. If this cracks, then put in some silicon. You do not want water migrating from the inside of the pool out under the decking.
11. Not running pumps long enough. You should run your pump about 1 hour for every 10 degrees of temperature. This assumes you have a decent circulation system. It is ALL about the FLOW! Circulation IS the key to a low maintenance swimming pool.
12. Not replacing broken or missing drains or suction sources. This a real and dangerous hazard. The same could be said for defective door/gate closers and fences in disrepair.

At Dream Retreats Landscaping, the East Valley’s Premier Arizona landscape design and contracting company, we specialize in pool decks and can help you with all of your pool needs to make your Arizona landscape perfect. Check out our pool deck landscape gallery.

Article provided by about.com

We just completed a landscape remodel project here in the East Valley of Phoenix. The project involved adding new landscape pavers over an existing pool deck and part of the lawn area. Travertine tile was used for the paving material. The project turned out great.

We have uploaded several other videos to our Arizona Landscaping YouTube Channel for you to check which include the project progression from the start to the end.

Artistic Landscape Pavers

I’m really excited about a new landscape design product that we have started to us and the new possibilities with Artistic Pavers. 

The Artistic Pavers are an elegant collection of landscaping pavers and coping for all your exterior landscaping projects like pool decks, walkways, decorative planters, fountains, raised walls and more.

Even better, the company recently opened a new manufacturing plant in Casa Grande, making their products for pool deck remodeling and paver patios truly available to customers in the southwest, especially those of use that live in the East Valley.

Casa Grande Landscape Paver Location

Prior to the new plant in Casa Grande, the pavers were only made in Florida and the shipping costs made the product unmarketable here in Arizona.

Artistic pavers truly combines all the qualities that I’ve been looking for in a landscape design paver and especially for use as a pool deck. They are a great alternative to all other products out there especially when considering landscape renovation, pool deck installation, or pool deck renovation.

Until now homeowners have been limited to the traditional “kool deck” or the “acrylic deck coatings” applied over concrete decking. These products were ok, but both eventually chip and peel off or the concrete slab eventually cracks leaving the pool owner with the option of having ugly and costly repairs or having to remove the deck entirely. Most of the time then, the homeowner would have to redo the pool tile as well as the pool interior.

Artistic pavers are specially made to be used with both new pool deck or patio construction and as a deck remodel without having to rip off the existing concrete deck. They go down quickly without all the hassle and mess of ripping off the existing deck. The coping remodeler piece is applied right over the existing deck at the waters edge and the rest of the deck is covered with a combination of the 12″, 16″ or 24″ pavers. The pavers are a “floating” type deck which means you never have to worry about them cracking and when used in a remodel they cover up all the existing cracks, chipping and peeling of your existing deck mentioned earlier.

Artistic pavers are also a great option since they’re cool on the feet in the middle of the summer. Something we need to think about here in the East Valley of Arizona. They are specially made to require no maintenace, don’t need to be sealed and aren’t slippery. Since they are so dense they can be used with salt water pools. Ask anyone who has a flagstone deck or another natural stone type deck and a salt water pool and they’ll tell you what a nightmare they have on their hands.

Oh and one final note I should have mentioned earlier but I’m so excited about all the technical aspects of these paver. They create  BEAUTIFUL  pool decks and patios for anyone looking to create a newly designed professional landscape, or someone looking to do a complete landscape makeover and renovation.

You can view the product and image gallery by going to: Artistic Paver
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