We were fortunate enough to be referred to the homeowner as the recommended contractor. As is true of many of the designers whose work we've had the pleasure of executing, Singer has a wonderful way of maintaining control over the work while simultaneously hearing what we have to say and allowing us the freedom to build watershapes based on our experience. He's extremely energetic about discussing details and weighing alternative approaches - truly a nice guy and always accessible, responsive and someone who makes collaboration a real pleasure.
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Of all the projects we've done with Singer, this one is certainly among our favorites - absolutely spectacular and more than worthy of its stunning setting. The rectilinear pool has a large notch at one end that was included to expand the deck by a few critical square feet and has a square, raised spa at one end as well as a fantastic stone wall funning the length of one entire side.
The wall rises 30 inches above the surface of the water and is topped by a 24-inch-wide planter. The entire span is finished in a stacked Irish Linen stone with a beautiful, ultra-white coloring and a chunky, meaty texture. the stone extends down past the waterline, reaching all the way to the floor of the pool. The idea was to create a sense that one side of the pool was an artifact of a quarry, setting up an intriguing juxtaposition of its rugged look with the stark, crisp modernity that defines the rest of the environment.
The other three sides of the pool's perimeter are edged with a razor-sharp perimeter overflow system that drops over a low, raised bond beam capped in limestone and flows into a narrow gap at the base. the raised part of the wall starts where the spa leaves off on one side and is integrated into a wall that extends from the front of the house. There's also a floating pad that enables bathers to step up into the spa.
The raised wall and the perimeter overflow are all integrated into a complex bond beam detail engineered for the project by Ron Lacer of Pool Engineering (Anaheim, Calif.) He also handled the overall structural design.
A New Start
We began our work by demolishing the old pool and hauling it away like a bad memory. We over-excavated the site by a fair measure to enable us to form the pool with freestanding-panel construction.
The installation itself was all very straightforward in most respects, including the slot-overflow system that pours into a small gutter concealed by cantilevered concrete decking. The two-inch drop gives the impression that the water mysteriously disappears right into the deck. The main challenge we had here was with the hydraulics, as there was no room at all for surge capacity in the overflow system - an issue resolved by installing a big surge tank just below the equipment area. |
