Tag: pool features

Pool Features to Add for Summer Fun

In case you haven’t noticed simply by stepping outside and feeling the sun scorching your skin, the summer heat has begun and our days of hiking, biking, and enjoying al fresco dinners have come to a temporary end. For the next 5 or 6 months air conditioning and your brand new pool will be your best friend and protector against the evil desert heat! If you’re in the process of building your new pool, or even if you have an existing pool, these new pool features will ensure your summer will be filled with fun, laughter, and most importantly, much needed coolness!

Adding a Slide

Fun for children of ALL ages—and yes, that includes your 44-year-old husband—a slide adds hours of fun to your pool adventures and offers a great chance to get a little extra exercise in as well! After climbing up the steps, then sliding into the water, then climbing up the steps (you get the idea!), you’ll enjoy the tight muscles on your calves at the end of the summer! And because a slide can be added at any time, as long as you have the room, it’s a great addition to an existing pool.

LED Lighting

Night time is the best time to swim during the hottest days of summer. Even if the water is warm, it still manages to cool down your core to allow you to enjoy a deep and peaceful sleep. And while your existing pool light works perfectly fine, the array of colors available in LED lighting makes your night swimming more fun and provides a beautiful glow to your backyard setting.

Chasing Waterfalls Can Be Fun

The sight of water streaming over rocks is a peaceful one, and when that waterfall is in your pool, it serves multiple purposes. Adding a sense of peace, the sounds of serenity, and most importantly, it can cool the waters allowing you to swim comfortably for a much longer period of time. A pool with a waterfall can add value to your home, and while the procedure for installing one on an existing pool isn’t as simple as adding a slide or lighting, it can be done.

New Image Landscape and Pools Has Your Back

You deserve to be as comfortable as you can during our long and difficult Arizona summers, and we at New Image Landscape and Pools are here to help you achieve that comfort with exciting pool features. Give us a call today and let’s get started on making your pool not just functional, but a fun and welcoming spot in your own personal oasis!

Pool Bar Phoenix: What are They and Why Do You Need One?

Memorial Day Weekend is the official start of summer in Arizona, even though the 100+ degree temperatures we had in April make it seem as if we should already be nearing the end of the summer solstice! As the days grow longer, our pool time becomes a very important recreational activity. Practicing cannonballs with the kids, floating atop the crystal blue waters with an icy beverage and a hot summer best seller, sitting at the pool bar drinking the tasty tropical drinks made by your amateur bartender/spouse—these lazy day experiences are what we wait for the entire year. Why not improve the experience with a pool bar Phoenix? You’ve seen them in fancy hotels, but were you aware they can be designed for residential use as well? Your summer celebrations will get exponentially better if you install one for yourself!

The Concept is Simple and Brilliant

Have you ever considered how much time you waste climbing in and out of the pool simply to refresh your favorite summer beverage? A swim-up pool bar Phoenix allows you to save time and stay cool, as you never have to leave the water! It can be as simple as you like, consisting of a single concrete bar and a few pool stools, or as elaborate as you have ever dreamed possible. If you have the space, consider building an outdoor kitchen nearby so you can spend all your summer hours enjoying the oasis that is your backyard! The only limits are the boundaries of your imagination.

There’s just a couple rules to pool bars. First, the pool bar should be in the shallow end of the pool, with the stools allowing you to remain partially submerged and the bar itself standing about six inches above the pool coping. Second, and the most important rule of all, your pool bar should be used as much as humanly possible throughout the summer! You work hard and deserve to be able to play hard as well.

Choosing Your Pool Bar Phoenix

Your choices are virtually limitless, but your options as to what bar to choose may not be. You can’t go grand and impressive with a small play pool, and if your pool is Olympic-sized, a simple counter and a couple of stools may look less than stellar. Sitting down with our experts at New Image Landscape and Pools will ensure that the pool bar you choose fits like a glove AND impresses your neighbors and friends. Give us a call today and lets discuss how we can up the cool quotient of your backyard oasis with a swim-up pool bar Phoenix!

Top Reasons for Installing a Hot Tub

Whenever we vacation, one of our top qualifications for determining if the accommodations are superior to others is the presence of a hot tub. If there is no hot tub, we feel let down and the trip is ruined, but if there IS a hot tub on the premises, nothing can go wrong! Everyone loves a hot tub, and the best news is you don’t have to wait for vacation to go for a soak; we can install one in your yard right now! We see the smile brimming on your face, and we can tell it won’t take much more to convince you, so we’re going to continue prodding you with a list of the top reasons to install a hot tub!

Getting Older Isn’t for the Weak

Has it become a game trying to remember how you got that pain each morning? Arthritis in the hands, tendonitis in the elbows, or old faithful: the achy breaky back that simply likes to make an appearance periodically to show you that the aging process is winning! These aches and pains can be reduced or eliminated by an evening soak in the hot tub which would be conveniently located in your backyard!

Alleviate Stress

From traffic jams to sick kids to angry bosses to broken appliances, the list of worries and irritants in our lives grows longer every day, and while a hot tub may not remove the stresses from our lives, it sure does help make it easier to deal with them! Quiet moments spent “simmering” in a heated mass of bubbles with your headphones playing your favorite songs can be all you need to forget about the day.

Sports Injuries

You don’t have to be growing older to be in pain; sports injuries are the most popular reasons for purchasing a hot tub! Work out too hard? Soak in the tub. Sprain an ankle? Ice, then heat (the hot tub provides the heat, of course), then ice again! Whatever the injury, the soothing massage of heated bubbles can help reduce your recovery time by quite a large percentage!

You Deserve It!

You’ve worked hard to get to where you are and it’s silly to wait for another vacation to reward yourself! Your sanctuary will not be complete until you are able to sit outside on a cool winter’s night enjoying a glass of wine as you soak away the troubles of a hard day’s work! Give us a call today and let’s discover together how New Image Landscape and Pools can improve your quality of life with the installation of a brand-new hot tub!

3D Pool Modeling

Have you ever had difficulty coming up with the right words and details on what you are looking for in your professionally designed pool? If so, you are not alone! Many landscape designers understand that specifying the perfect details can be difficult for many consumers. When paying for a custom-built pool, most consumers expect that the design in their head is perfectly created for complete satisfaction.

Technological advances in landscape designing have made this process easier for those looking to bring these ideas to fruition. One such process is the implementation of 3D pool modeling: using computer software to design the pool of your dreams. No longer do you have to look at a hand-drawn, two-dimensional draft when you can see your dream pool in all its three-dimensional glory!

How Does 3D Pool Modeling Work?

Professional landscape designers will use the ideas from their clients and create a computer-generated model that is life-like. Seeing this creation can make it much easier for clients to determine which features are best for them. 3D pool modeling can give you the life-like quality of a design that simple sketches just simply cannot match.

3D pool modeling software can also help you determine what size and shape will fit your needs and available space. The width, length, and depth of the pool can be shown to accurately mimic how the design will appear in your backyard. You can see how the pool can accent the rest of your backyard decorations. How your dream pool aesthetically looks with your backyard landscape is just as important as the technical dimensions!

How Can You Take Advantage of 3D Pool Modeling?

By going through a professional landscape company who utilizes 3D pool modeling, you can have the benefit of seeing your thoughts and designs come to life. Not only can you see your dream pool in 3D, but you can also make the construction more cost efficient by planning around any modifications you may want to make later on.

For those living in the Greater Phoenix area in Arizona, contact the professionals at New Image Landscape and Pools LLC. The team at New Image use state-of-the-art 3D pool modeling to make sure your dream pool is realized and thoughtfully planned out before construction is started. You can contact them today for a consultation and see how they draft your specially designed pool with their software. Build your dream home with New Image Landscape and Pools today!

Unique Features for Your Pool

The pool world has come a long way from the days when your only add-ons included a love seat carved out of the plaster, a rickety slide on the side of the pool, and a plain diving board secured to the pool deck. Today’s pools can be a luxurious oasis of fun and excitement guaranteed to turn your back yard into THE spot to be on those long hot days of summer. We at New Image Landscape and Pools keep up to date on the latest and greatest updates in the pool world, allowing you to create an entertainment area you never dreamed possible.

Splash Pads

Sometimes a pool is just not in your budget, but if you have young kids and you’re looking for ways to keep cool in the summer, a splash pad can be your best solution. Splash pads aren’t just for public areas anymore; there are a wide variety of ones designed for residential use as well, and they can be as simple or elaborate as your budget allows.

Swim-Up Bars

Water fun isn’t just for kids, and when you add a swim-up bar to your pool, your home will become the social site of the entire neighborhood! Concrete bar stools allow you to sit at the bar and partake in your favorite beverage; create a grotto bar and summer kitchen and you may not spend much time INSIDE your house until the cooler temperatures of winter arrive!

Fire Bowls

Fire and water mix in these luxurious bowls created from copper or stone, and visitors will be charmed at the beauty. Give your backyard the look of a Greek god’s play zone with a few (or just one) strategically placed fire bowls and enjoy the dramatic beauty of fire reflecting on the water every night.

LED Lights

Boring white lights and turquoise waters are a thing of the past when you add an LED light to your existing pool. Choose between vibrant violets, fiery reds, grassy greens, and many other colors, or let the light cycle through all the colors, turning your night time pool into a kaleidoscope of wonder!

Grottos with Waterfalls

Enjoy the romance of sitting behind your own personal waterfall on a summer’s night when you include a grotto and waterfall to your pool construction. Add copper fire bowls and LED lights and your Arizona pool party will become the event of the season!

Schedule an appointment with us today and discover how much cooler you can be while staying cool in the summer!

All About Aerators

Summer time in the state of Arizona can be brutal. That’s why so many Arizona residents love having a pool to relax in. However, it’s no secret that rising temperatures in the air can impact the temperature in your pool. So how do you keep your pool cool? Well, we have a solution for you: a pool aerator! Investing in a pool aerator will help to keep your pool comfortable and cool.

What Exactly is It?

The aerator is a tool that cools pool water through a ventilation system; It’s an attachment installed onto the side of a pool that pumps its water through a sprayer, oxygenates it, and returns it into the pool. The sprayed water droplets absorb oxygen, creating a cooling effect on the droplets and subsequently on the pool as a whole.

How Do You Control It?

Pool aerators can be turned on and off by a valve. Depending on the kind you purchase, you may have a label on your valve making it easy to locate. If no label is given, contact us to help you locate and use the valve.

What are the Results?

During summer months, pools can reach temperatures in the 90s or higher. This process can bring temperatures down by as much as four degrees so that you, your children, or friends can take a dip in the pool without it feeling like a jacuzzi.

Contact Us About Pool Aerators

An aerator is truly a great investment. It will keep your pool feeling fresh so you that can get the most use out of it. That means hosting pool parties, keeping your kiddos busy and having fun, or taking a relaxing dip when the heat is just too much to bear. Contact us today to make sure you have what you need in order to have a great summer in the pool!

Top Pool Products That You Should Have on Hand at All Times

Having your own pool can be a wonderful thing and a horrible thing at the same time. Spending hot summer days frolicking in the cool blue waters is a definite plus, but trying to achieve and maintain that crystal-clear water can be a big minus. We’ve compiled a list of a few of the top pool products that you should have stored in your pool supply area to help keep that pool of yours sparkling clean and ready for a pool party at any time.

Phosphate Remover

It has recently been discovered that phosphates are a food source for algae. For years, we have been treating algae with metal based algaecides, such as silver, copper, and zinc, all of which can cause serious staining to your pool surface. In addition, algae learns to adapt to it. Using a phosphate remover starves the algae, making the pool environment hostile to its needs. Many pools can go chlorine-free by simply using a phosphate remover. The initial investment is worthwhile, and weekly doses costs very little.

Top Pool Products: Clarifiers

This helpful chemical does wonders to keep your water clear. It’s a bonding agent, hitching a ride to the particulates floating in your pool and bonding to them. This bonding system gives the clarifiers weight and mass, with the weight making the particulate sink and the mass helping to get the particulate caught up in your filtration system.

Quality Chlorine Is Important

One thing you might not be aware of is the importance of checking chlorine percentages when buying tabs or granules; that great deal you received on chlorine might be a poor investment in a weak product. Bargain chlorine products may only contain 60 to 40 percent active and inactive ingredients, while the more expensive product would be 90 to 99 percent pure, leaving you paying the same amount of money for the identical amount of chlorine or costing you even more in the long run. It’s true what they say: you get what you pay for!

Soda Bicarbonate

One essential component in pool chemistry is alkalinity; it’s the foundation for your water chemistry. Maintaining a proper alkalinity level helps your pool maintain its own pH level, which in turn can lessen the need for chlorine, and soda bicarbonate is the tool that helps you maintain the balance.

New Image Landscape and Pools

It’s the little things that make us your best friend in pool ownership. Schedule an appointment with us today, or whenever you are having pool issues. We’re here to help!

Which Kind of Pool Should You Choose for Your Home – Saltwater or Chlorine?

Whether you work in the pool industry or you’re simply a “do-it-yourself pool enthusiast,” you may have found that there continues to be a long-lasting, heated debate over what type of pool is best. General arguments tend to boil down to the opinion that chlorine pools are easier to maintain because of the ability to use pH balancing chemicals, or the opinion that saltwater pools are gentler on skin, pets, and on pool systems overall. Read on to see which side of the debate you fall on, and to help you decide what type of Arizona pool will suit your lifestyle the best.

The Pros and Cons of Chlorine and Saltwater Pools

There are several differences between saltwater and chlorine pools, but one major misconception is that saltwater pools have strictly the same type of water that you would find in the ocean. In reality, saltwater pools also have chlorine in them, though at a greatly reduced level in comparison to traditional chlorine pools. The chlorine present in saltwater pools isn’t added externally like it would be in a chlorine pool, but is instead generated as a result of the chemical electrolysis that happens within a saltwater chlorinator or generator—a vital component of any saltwater pool system.

Not including the cost of construction, saltwater pools tend to be costlier in the beginning—about one- to five thousand dollars—because of the saltwater generator, which produces a steady flow of chlorine to stop algae buildup. Unfortunately, this steady output of chlorine also means that your generator will be in constant operation, leading to an increased electricity bill. However, seasonal variations may allow you to reduce the number of hours during which your generator is running, with generators normally requiring an average run-time of four to six hours per day during the winter and ten to twelve hours during the summer. The methods that will work best for your pool will depend on how often you use your pool, what your weather conditions are like, what your area’s climate is like, and other factors.

Once your pool’s base levels of salt and saltwater system have been established, adding salt during the summer should only cost twenty to thirty dollars for an entire season. Yearly deep-cleaning sessions of saltwater pools, beyond surface skimming for leaves and bugs, involve inspecting the generator, scrubbing surfaces, changing filters, and draining the pool. Both draining and refilling the pool can cost you time, money, and labor. Additionally, if you have dark surfaces near the saltwater pool, salt ring stains may appear; salt is often corrosive, and can result in damage to the pool liner or lights.

Chlorine pools have their own set of benefits and pitfalls. They are definitely less expensive in the short-term than saltwater pools, but often require more maintenance in the long-run. They tend to kill more bacteria than saltwater pools. Unlike saltwater pools, chlorine pools also do not have a consistent pH balance; the pH balance must be maintained externally by the pool owner. The best way to accomplish this is to take the maintenance list that comes with your pool installation and a sample of your pool water to the pool supply store for analysis.

After your water has been analyzed, pool specialists can tell you which chemicals you will need in order to maintain a clean and safe pool. The pH balance of a chlorine pool should fall between 7.2 and 7.6, while the calcium should be between two hundred to three hundred parts per million and the alkalinity should be between 100 and 150 parts per million. Matching these levels is essential in order for chlorine to be effective, requiring the ongoing and careful addition of chemicals over time. Like saltwater pools, the amount of chlorine your pool will require will be dependent on weather, climate, and usage. Chlorine pools average fifty to sixty dollars per month in cost, based on the size of the pool and frequency of use, as well as rain water, backwashing, and water loss.

Have More Questions about Chlorine and Saltwater Pools?

Ask the experts at New Image Landscape and Pools! Contact our office today to speak with one of our knowledgeable specialists and find out which option would best suit your home.

5 Tips for Building the Best Pool at Your Home with the Help of Arizona’s Best Pool Builders

In the Phoenix area, pools are a fantastic investment, useable at least six months out of the year. The benefits are many: exercise that puts little stress on the joints, a refreshing way to get some vitamin D in summer, a playground for kids, and an excuse for social events. Not all pools are created equal, though—how can you make the best pool possible?

While there are some obvious issues to avoid—don’t build a pool beneath a powerline, for instance—here are some tips about placement and features that you might not have thought of to make the best pool.

Avoid Evaporation by Protecting the Pool from Wind

If you’ve got some planters or a row of tall cacti, try keeping them between the pool and wherever the most wind comes from. Wind increases the rate of evaporation, meaning the water will need to be refilled more frequently.

Let the Pool Get Plenty of Sun

While trees make excellent wind-blockers, they’re not the best options for features adjacent to a pool. A pool should get as much sunlight as possible—while this may increase evaporation, it makes up for it by heating the pool, and also helping to keep leaves out.

Leave Room for Accessories!

There are quite a few accessories that people like to add to pools, whether at the time of their construction or after they are built. This means that pools take up quite a bit more space than the pool itself. A shed for the pool skimmers and cleaning chemicals, space for a slide or diving board, a volleyball net—the list goes on, but the point is you may need extra room to set these up. If you’re trying to “squeeze” the pool in, you may want to reconsider its size.

Adjacent Pools Can Be the Best Pools!

If you’re going to put in all this plumbing and clean it every week, then why not add an extra aquatic feature to it? Most commonly this is a spa or hot tub made not for swimming, but relaxing. Tanning decks, however, are also popular—these elevated shallow pools are cooler places to relax, and can double as kiddie pools.

Visual Ornaments

If you’re installing a pool, you might try to make it adapt to your current landscape—or you can make it improve it! There are a few visual additions you can make to pools to make the entire yard more impressive and appealing. Sheer descents are waterfalls that flow straight into the pool, and serve as eye-catching focal points for the yard. Deck jets gracefully shoot water into the pool, letting it double as a fountain. If the rest of your yard is all about class and beauty, then these additions might be for you.