Published September 11, 2012 | 
Vinyl-liner Pool Shares Top Honor
Written By: Rebecca Robledo
For the first time, a vinyl-liner pool received the Northeast Spa & Pool Association’s most prestigious design award, “Best in Competition.”
The complex combination aquascape built by The Deck and Patio Co. in Huntington Station, N.Y., shared the designation with a gunite pool built by high-end firm J. Tortorella Swimming Pools in Southampton, N.Y., a Pool & Spa News Top Builder.
Unlike other categories, builders don’t nominate their work for Best in Competition. The award is given to the project or projects that garner the highest number of overall points while being judged in the other categories.
This project, which has a concrete shell, was originally submitted for two categories: free-form residential vinyl-liner pool and outstanding achievement in design – vinyl-liner and fiberglass. It won medals for both.
With this first-ever designation, vinyl-liner projects have broken through another barrier, said Bill Renter, president of the firm. “This may finally let the world know that vinyl-liner pools are high-end swimming pools.”
“It was very dramatic that a vinyl-liner pool won,” said Joel Caesar, a former executive director of and now-consultant for the association who helped judge the contest. “But the changes that have been taking place over the last few years [in vinyl-liner pools] have been even more dramatic.”
Renter attributes the award to the project’s complexity. A heated waterfall spills into a spa, raised 5-1/2 feet above the main pool. “If you’re sitting in the spa, you actually have the hot water hitting you on your neck,” he said. From the spa, water spills over large moss-rock boulders and into the pool. An additional waterfeature cascades directly into the pool. A stream with waterfalls can run during winter, when the pool and spa are covered. The streams end in a gravel reservoir, rather than a pond.
The pool includes a vinyl liner, while the waterfeatures are covered with rubber liners made specifically for ponds. Where the waterfeatures meet the pool, face plates seamlessy connect the vinyl to the rubber.
The whole project contains 120 tons of moss rock, with some boulders weighing between 2,000- and 4,000- pounds. Five propane fire pits and several embedded umbrellas were placed throughout.
Published September 11, 2012 | Pure Magic
How the Right Chemicals Enhance Paradise
Written By: Debra Wood
In theory, the only necessary steps to keep water clear are to ensure it stays properly balanced, with the ideal ranges for pH and total alkalinity; has adequate sanitizer to kill bacteria, algae and viruses; and has an oxidizer or shock to remove unwanted elements such as oils and organic matter.
But as anyone who has walked into a pool-supply store knows, there’s an array and equipment that allow homeowners to expect, sparkling, clear pool water with little effort. Just how – and when – should you use these products?
- Algicides: Chemicals that kill algae and prevent its proliferation. Use if you have an algae bloom, such as when the water turns green, or yellow algae cling to the walls, or for routine maintenance.
- Balancers: Products specially formulated for pools to keep pH or total alkalinity within the desired range. Every pool owner needs these to keep the water in balance. “They have the right composition, specified for trace materials, and the right dissolution rates, which is how fast or slow they dissolve,” says Scott Newton, brand manager for BioGuard.
- Chelating agents: Chemicals that help keep metals in a solution, so they don’t stain the surface. Use if stains develop or the water turns reddish brown or blue-green.
- Clarifiers: Agents that attract small particles together, so the filter can remove them. Use when the water becomes cloudy or on a regular basis.
- Cover cleaners: Products applied to solar and winter covers to remove dirt prior to storage. Unless specified on the product label, these cleaners are meant to be used while the cover is removed from the pool. You need to use these before storing the cover for the season.
- Defoamers: Products that rid the pool of foam caused by soaps, makeup, algicides or other elements. Use if water foams.
- Filter Cleaners: Agents used to clean filters. “There are alkaline and acid cleaners, and we suggest pool owners to use both – alkaline to remove the body oils, and acidic for the calcium and scale buildup,” Newton says. Use this whenever you clean a cartridge filter.
- Flocculants: Chemicals that gather smaller particles together. Often used with sand filters to help catch smaller particles. Flocculants work like clarifiers, but gather larger particles that are more easily filtered. You can use these products when the water becomes cloudy or green.
- Muriatic acid: Chemical used to decrease the pH. Pool professionals also may employ it when acid-washing pool surfaces. Many pool owners use this instead of a pH decreasing agent.
- Non-chlorine alternatives: Sanitizing chemicals that do not contain chlorine, such as PristineBlue. These products are ideal for swimmers whose skin becomes irritated by chlorine, or for pool owners who worry about the effect of pool chemicals on the environment. “PristineBlue is a safe alternative; it won’t burn your eyes or sting, and your skin and hair will feel soft with out the contaminants in the water,” says Deborah Adkins of Earth Science Laboratories, Inc., which manufactures PristineBlue. “It is also an environmentally friendly product, without any byproducts for future generations to worry about.”
- Phosphate eliminators: Agents that remove phosphates, a nutrient that algae thrive on, which enter the water through pollen, leaves and decomposing vegetation. “If you take phosphates out, it’s difficult for algae to grow,” says Rick Coffey, vice president of research and development at Zodiac Pool Care in Pompano Beach, Florida.
- Potassium monopersulfate: An oxidizer used as a non-chlorine shock and to re-energize bromine. You can use this product to oxidize the pool without adding chlorine.
- Sanitizers: Chlorine, bromine, minerals systems and biguanide products kill pathogens, Biguanide systems require special accompanying products. You cannot add chlorine to a biguanide pool. You must use a sanitizer to keep the water safe.
- Scale inhibitors: Products that prevent scale from forming. Scale develops when the pool water falls out of balance, such as when calcium levels are high. You can use this product to help prevent scale from forming on surfaces, pips and heating elements.
- Sequestering Agents: Chemicals that bind metals, allowing the filter to eliminate the metals, which can stain the surface. You need this if stains develop or the water turns reddish brown or blue-green.
- Shock: Chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, and potassium monopersulfate solutions used to oxidize the pool, removing impurities from the water. You mush shock the pool regularly with one of these products to remove unwanted elements.
- Sodium bicarbonate: Agent used to increase total alkalinity. Many pool owners use this instead of a pH increasing agent.
- Stabilizers: Products that prevent sun breakdown of free chlorine. You need to use these agents with unstabilized chlorine, such as liquid chlorine or chorine produced by a salt-water chlorine generator.
- Stain removers: Chemicals applied to help remove a stain. Select a product specific to the type of stain on the surface. Some stains may not come out or may require professional cleaning. You can try to remove a surface stain with one of these products.
- Tile and vinyl cleaners: Agents that help remove dirt and scum lines from above the water line. “These products have been tested, so they are safe for pool products and do not affect the water chemistry,” Newton says. You need to use this product if dirt and scum form at or above the water line.
Published September 11, 2012 | POOLING THE
Resources
Expert Advice on Deciding the
Best Pool Type for you
By: Paul Plummer
Most homeowners can tell you exactly when they decided to stop dreaming and start swimming. They also can tell you that making the decision to build was the easy part – choosing their type of pool and the specific builder required more time and consideration.
Many might agree that if they could have invited some top pool-building professionals to their homes for an information session, the process would have been smoother. With that in mind, Pool & Spa Living went to some of the country’s foremost pool experts for insight into their specialties: concrete, fiberglass and vinyl-lined pools.
Each type has distinct advantages, but all can incorporate sought-after features such as waterfalls, in-pool barstools, beach entries and accompanying spas.
Concrete pools, the most popular type, cab be formed into virtually any shape and size – even when homeowners have an atypical backyard or ask for a seemingly impossible design. “With concrete, you can build any style pool anywhere, including on the side of a hill. Concrete provides freedom of choice,” notes Thomas Brown, vice president of Aquatech, Society of Pool-Building Professionals, in Costa Mesa, Calif. “With concrete, if it can be conceived, it can be built. From all-tile to pebble finishes to built-in mosaics and spas, anything can be achieved within a customer’s budget.”
Fiberglass pools, made from fiberglass-reinforced plastic and molded into a specific shape at the factory, and now available in a wider array of shapes, sizes and colors than in the past. Because the ultra-smooth surface of fiberglass is nonporous, algae and dirt cannot penetrate it, making it very easy to clean and maintain. Fiberglass is also extremely flexible, easily adapting to freeze/thaw cycles, making it an increasingly popular choice in colder climates. “True, homeowners in the warmer climates have always chosen fiberglass pools,” says Kirk Sullivan, president of San Juan Products of Lakeland, Fla., a manufacturer of fiberglass pools. “But customers in colder climates, such as Canada, are discovering the benefits of fiberglass. In fact, the University of Winnipeg did a detailed study showing that fiberglass’s flexibility is the best product to handle the freeze/thaw cycles,” Todd Stahl, president of Composite Pools in Jane Lew, W.Va., agrees: “Fiberglass pools can be installed virtually anywhere, and they hold up well in climates with drastic freeze/thaw conditions.
Vinyl pools, long known for being the lowest-cost option, are now gaining popularity for being as customizable as their concrete counterparts: Replacing the outer liner costs about $600 – $800 plus installation, so they can get a wallet-friendly facelift for a totally new look. Vinyl pools are also very smooth, eliminating the risk of skin scrapes, and they flex with temperature drops. “We find that here in the Northeast section of the country, vinyl-liner pools perform better because of the freeze/thaw climate,” says Bill Renter, owner of Deck & Patio Company in Huntington Station, N.Y., which constructs vinyl-lined pools.
The Facts about FAQs
Once you settle on a pool type – with advice of your builder, no doubt – what can you expect?
Some answers:
How long will my pool take?
The answer to that is tricky. “Timing is dependent on the intricacy of the design, the season, sub-contractor scheduling and the difficulty of the terrain,” explains Brown. “Some projects can take as long as six months to complete, but generally speaking, most concrete pools can be finished in about six to twelve weeks.”
For vinyl-lined pools, expect construction to take, on average, about three to five weeks, says Renter. Meanwhile, because a fiberglass pool is delivered on-site in its “finished” shape, installation additional two weeks or so for the decking, landscaping and general cosmetic detailing.
Are repairs easy to make?
If there’s a nick, crack or tear on your pool later on, they usually can be repaired. Concrete can be fixed, but that degree of difficulty is based on the cause, says Brown. Vinyl can be easily patched or changed, says Renter, while fiberglass, because it’ white, can be seamlessly repaired. “We offer non-prorated structural 25-year warranty, but the great thing is that you should never have to use it,” says Sullivan.
What if I want a new look?
Styles are ever-evolving, and most types of pools can accommodate a homeowner’s need to update. No matter your preferred pool type, laying a new deck or freshening the surroundings landscape can magically transform a poolscape for a bold, new look, while new finishes or plastering can change the look of a concrete pool. With vinyl, a re-do is very easy: “There are numerous color choices in vinyl,” says Renter. “In fact, earth tones are becoming popular. And, we are working with a supplier to create returns, skimmers and main drains to match the pool’s vinyl. That way, they are not a distraction.
Stahl explains that one of the easiest facelifts a homeowner can do to a fiberglass pool is to replace the perimeter tile. He says, “This cab be done easily by a trained professional.”
Both Brown and Sullivan agree that sometimes just changing the peripherals can have the same effect as digging up the old pool and putting in a new one. “New pavers, replastering, new coatings, new deck, new slides, all combine to change the look of a pool,” explains Brown.
Adds Sullivan: “Even though you can’t change the shell, you can change everything around it to make it look different.”
Bottom line: Pools are deeply personal, and all homeowners, along with the pool builder, have to determine what is best for their backyards. Be it vinyl, concrete or fiberglass, the final product has a lot to live up to. But, if the homeowner makes all the correct decisions up front, then the pool will have no trouble living up to the hype. And, in the end, that is what a pool owner really wants: a no-hassle good time right outside the back door.
The Future is now
Once upon a time, when you anted a pool, you got a nice, plain rectangle in the backyard. But, as the years went by, homeowners demanded more – and pool builders stepped up to the challenge. Today, the only limits are set by the human imagination. Want an interior spa in a fiberglass pool? No problem. Like the look of barstools for you vinyl-lined pool? It can be done. Interested in solar panels to heat your concrete pool? The technology is available. “We have to be forward-thinking,” says Bill Renter, owner of Deck & Patio Company in Huntington Station, N.Y. “We have to be willing to work with a client to get a desired effect, no matter what.”
Sullivan states, “In the past, homeowners were limited to what shape they could craft from fiberglass, but today, more styles are possible, including built-in spas, vanishing edges and perimeter overflows.” Stahl adds, “With more and more people concerned about our environment, our eco-friendly pools are already the pools of tomorrow. Fiberglass pools are natural insulators. Your filter and heater will potentially run dramatically less.”
Meet the Experts
Thomas C. Brown
Vice President- Aquatech, Society of Pool-Building Professionals
Thomas Brown has been with Aquatech since 1997. Before joining the society, he was general manager of Crawford Products, a premier paints and coatings company. Prior to that, he was a project engineer for an architectural firm. Mr. Brown holds a B.S. in business management.
Bill Renter
Owner- Deck & Patio Company
Bill Renter founded The Deck & Patio Company in 1992. In addition to his degree from CW Post, Mr. Renter has received many industry certifications. He holds memberships in a variety of professional societies, including the Association of Pool and Spa professionals. Mr. Renter and his company have won many awards over the years, including the 2007 Gold Award from NESPA for Outstanding Achievement in Design & Building Vinyl Liner/Fiberglass.
Kirk Sullivan
President- San Juan Products
Kirk Sullivan has 24 years of experience in fiberglass manufacturing, installation, sales and marketing. He is one the Manufactures Council of APSP and has been a judge for the organization’s numerous design awards. Mr. Sullivan obtained his master’s degree in business finance from Northeastern University.
Todd Stahl
President- Composite Pools
Todd Stahl stepped into the family pool business in 1989 as vice president to assist his father and president, Alan Stahl. In addition to managing several retail stores, Todd was directly responsible for the operation of each of the company’s manufacturing facilities. In 2005, Latham International acquired the business, and Todd was appointed president. The company has experienced incredible growth over the past few years and now includes Viking Pools, Composite Pools, Crystal Palace Pools, Liberty Composite Pools and Hydro Zone.
Posted in Ask the Experts, Awards, Magazine article about Deck and Patio Company projects, News and Awards, Ponds and Water Features, Pools and Spas | 
Award winning pools, deck and patio company, Deck and Patio Company blog, in Nassau and Suffolk, patio. paver patio, Pool&Spa Living Magazine, swimming pools, waterfalls, waterfeatures | 
Leave a commentPublished September 11, 2012 | Dramatic 56-Ft. Water Slide
Graces Inground Vinyl Liner Pool
By: Ron Derven
LOCATION
This magnificent inground vinyl liner pool is located on the North Shore of Long Island in the town of Centerport. The pool captured a Gold Medal in NESPA’s 2009 Design Awards competition, a Gold Medal in the Association of Pool & Spa Professional’s competition and Gold in the Long Island Pool & Spa Association’s Design Awards contest.
THE BUILDER
The builder is True Blue Swimming Pools, Dix Hills, New York. Owner Michael Truehart got into the pool business in high school. The father of the girl he was dating got Truehart a job installing pools for him. Truehart installed pools during the summer while he was in high school and in college. After college, he worked for a firm for about ten years and then, in 1991, he opened his own business.
“The business started with me, a van and a helper,” he said. “We eventually took on another helper then another. We grew to the point where we were established pool and spa company,” said Truehart, who is now in his 20th year in the business. His wife, Patty, who he met while building a pool for her parents, works in the business part time.
True Blue builds, renovates and services mostly inground pools. “We are primarily builders, although lately we have been gearing more toward the service and renovation end of the business,” he explained. “We do not have a retail store. I have looked at it a few times, but have never gotten into it. The company has 10 trucks on the road today to handle the service and building end of the business. Its marketing area is all of Long Island, except for the East End.
“We build mostly vinyl liner pools with concrete walls and some gunite pools. Vinyl liner pools are the market in out area for the most part,” he noted. “We typically build between 80-100 pools a year, which makes us a medium-sized company. I work mostly on referrals rather than advertising. I get a lot of my leads from landscape companies, architects and, of course, my own clients send a lot of work to us.”
PROJECT PARAMETERS
The Centerport customer lived in a large home located on one-half acre of land. When Truehart first visited the customer about the pool project, the main element that the client seemed to focus on was a large water slide. As Truehart wrote down the information, he envisioned a large 15-16 foot slide gracing the pool. When he created drawings for the project including this slide, the client looked at the drawings and said the slide wasn’t big enough. In the next version, Truehart incorporated an even larger slide-20-30 feet. The client looked at the drawing and said: “Not big enough!”
“Finally, the client seemed to be satisfied with a 35-foot slide, but as we were about to order materials, he said it was still not big enough,” recalled Truehart. True Blue then designed the largest slide it could into the space – a 56-foot water slide! The customer was thrilled.
The pool itself is only about 30-feet long by 30-foot wide. Eight feet deep, it was specified in accordance with the slide manufacturer specs. The pool was kept at the 30-ft x 30-ft. size because the customer did not want it to cover his entire backyard.
Incorporating into the pool is a sun tanning ledge, or sun shelf; an added feature that True Blue is building more and more of on its jobs on Long Island. The sun shelf has about four to six inches of water on it when the pool is filled. It is even with the top step of the pool. Sun bathers can place a foam rubber float on the sun shelf and lie on it, summing themselves while partially submerged in the water to stay cool. The sun shelf is 8-feet by 12-feet. True Blue custom built the sun shelf out of concrete, then wrapped it in foam padding. The pool’s vinyl liner then went over the top of the shelf.
CHALLENGES
It’s one thing to draw a 56-foot slide on paper and quite another to build it. True Blue began with a relatively flat half-acre site on which to incorporate the pool and large water slide. The decision was made to create a hill so that the slide fit into its surroundings. Hundreds of yards of fill were trucked into the job site to create the hill.
Angry neighbors were another challenge. Prior to installation of the pool, the lot was heavily wooded. In order to install this particular pool and slide, almost all of the land had to be cleared. Although the client always intended to re-screen the property, the neighbors were extremely unhappy about what was taking place.
“When we began constructing the slide – it was 10-12-feet high at its highest point and is supported by three-foot wide concrete columns – neighbors really began to express their concern,” said Truehart. “One of the neighbors made it difficult for the township that had approved the permit for the job – mostly regarding the retaining walls. At the end of the day, the job was completed, all the requirements of the township were met and the property was re-screened.”
Behind the slide there are two retaining walls that face the property line. Rather than install massive, high retaining walls, True Blue created two-foot retaining walls and then sloped up the earth to the top of the slide. From the four-foot elevation to the 10-foot elevation was a simple grading. Boulders were brought in for aesthetics and to stabilize the earth.
There were not ground conditions to be dealt with, but the builder did run into problems storing soil. The job had to be coordinated whereby the soil was delivered to the job after the slide was constructed. The job of placing the soil around the newly constructed slide had to be done carefully.
Dolphin Water Slides of Adamsville, Tennessee, manufactured the slide. Dolphin was supplied with schematics and then broke out the slide into three- or four-foot increments. The sections were delivered to the job site and bolted and gasketed in place while being supported by the concrete columns.
“That was one of the more difficult parts of the job because concrete footings were placed beforehand based on just the schematic,” said Truehart. “It would have been far too difficult to try to install the slide by putting it together, holding it up in place and then adding the columns. We took careful measurements, starting at the pool and working our way back. The footings were almost dead on with only one needing slight adjustment.”
A critical part of the job was placing the fill around the columns and slide without hitting anything with a 7,000-pound piece of equipment. Truehart was on the job through this whole process to make sure it was done right.
The customer wanted lots of water cascading down the slide, so True Blue added two three-horse pumps to supply 300-plus gallons a minute to the slide (which is what the slide manufacture specified.) About two thirds of the way down the slide is a water fall that spills more water off the rocks and into the slide.
The deck around the pool is Techo-Block pavers. The Deck and Patio Company, a Long Island firm, worked with True Blue on the deck, landscaping and placement of the rocks. There is a natural timber railing and stairs that lead from the pool to the slide entrance.
The job took between three and four months to complete.
PRODUCTS & EQUPIMENT
Besides Dolphin Waterslides equipment, True Blue used Jandy pumps, Jandy filtration and Jandy colored lights on the job. There is a dual heating system on the pool, a conventional, natural gas heater and heat pumps. Truehart uses the same system on his own pool. True Blue used Loop Loc liners and a Loop Loc safety cover. Because of the location of the rocks around the pool, True Blue service people use an inflatable boat to place the safety cover at the end of the season.
Posted in Ask the Experts, Magazine article aout Deck and Patio Company project, News and Awards, Pools and Spas | deck and patio company, Deck and Patio Company blog, in Nassau and Suffolk, landscape design landscaping, Slides, swimming pools, The Edge Magazine, Vinyl Pool, waterfalls, waterfeatures | Leave a commentPublished September 10, 2012 | Picture Perfect
When it comes to creating award-winning backyard landscapes, all homeowners can learn from this Renter.
Even as a young boy, Bill Renter was interested in transforming landscapes. He built quite a few treehouses in his youth, an enterprise that has served him well in the ensuing years.
Today, Bill runs his own landscape contracting firm – The Deck and Patio Company of Long Island, New York – and still enjoys the challenge of helping a client turn his backyard into an oasis. From breathtaking waterfalls to beautiful maintenance-free decks, he has the kind of ideas that can help you create the backyard of your dream. And he has the awards to prove it.
For two years in a row, Bill and his staff have won first place in the prestigious North American Decorative and Durable Pavement Awards, which are organized by Concrete Products magazine and co-sponsored by the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) and the Decorative Concrete Council of the American Society of Concrete Contractors. Selected in 2004 and 2005 from dozen of leading landscapers nationwide, The Deck and patio Company’s winning entries, both in the Residential category, make extensive use of water and multi-level structures to create an idyllic outdoor environment.
If you’re like many homeowners, you many already have a landscaped backyard, possibly with a pool that’s been through a number of summers. You’ve probably considered doing something with it, but what? Take a look at the pool renovation project that helped Bill capture the #1 ranking in 2004.
“As the mason contractor on the job, we were dealing with a 20-year old pool with similarly-aged coping that was surrounded by grass, and had never had a patio,” he recounts. “There was also a concrete spa that was never used because it was uncomfortable. We began by demolishing the old spa and replacing it with a new acrylic one. Then, using Techo-Bloc Creta wall stone, we created the face between the raised acrylic spillover spa and the swimming pool. Techo-Bloc stones were also used to create the steps and retaining walls, as well as a patio around the swimming pool.”
The fact that the clients really loved the existing pool coping make Bill’s job even more interesting. After visiting several mason suppliers and finding it impossible to obtain the original coping, he turned again to Techo-Bloc to make a match. “The coping had tan and grey tones, and Techo-Bloc’s sandalwood paving stones were an extremely good complement,” Bill states. “The results were tremendous, winning our firm a national award and, more importantly, making our client very happy.”
Those contemplating a rear deck for their home should check out the design that brought Bill first-place honors again in the 2005 contest, in addition to awards from two national pool and spa associations. Like his client, you would probably shudder at the thought of maintaining a backyard deck. “This couple came to me and said ‘we don’t want to deal with any kind of maintenance. We don’t want to clean it, waterproof it, or anything.’ The answer was a raised patio.”
The challenge for Bill and his crew was the relatively steep slope in the backyard that ran away from the house. In the original design, there was a significant elevation change from where the pool was going to be to the proposed location for the sliding rear glass door. The deck was to come out of the house, with steps leading down to the pool patio.
With the change to a raised patio, it was necessary to put solid compactable materials underneath to avoid settling issues later on. Then they constructed a retaining wall and masonry steps down to the pool patio. The finished design featured a five-level patio all around the swimming pool. “It was a bit more than what a deck would have cost, but the savings in maintenance will pay for it over time,” Bill asserts. “And the end result is really beautiful.”
Bill’s early interests led him to the landscaping industry, where he learned the simple way: by doing and asking questions. Even after studying landscape design at the State University of New York at Farmingdale on Long Island, he’s never ceased his quest for knowledge. In 1980, he started his own landscape contractor business, and later opened The Deck and Patio Company in 1992. Today, he still loves going to work and coming up with new ideas.
“That’s the fun part of my job…the creativity,” he admits. “We’re always looking for exciting new and better ways to do things. For example, we’ve started using natural gas ‘firepits’ around our pools to create warm areas on the patios especially on cool evenings, as well as wireless outdoor speakers. Instead of placing a single speaker in one spot, we place as many as ten throughout the project area so our clients enjoy a subtle, consistent sound all around them. With recent advances in landscaping, swimming pools, and technology, virtually anything you can conceive of should be discussed with an experienced landscape and mason contractor. With a little imagination, the sky’s the limit.
“That’s why I use Tech-Bloc in so many projects,” Bill continues. “It’s not only cost-effective, but so flexible and adaptable. Techo-Bloc was the first paging stone that doesn’t look like one…it looks like natural stone. Just as important, they have so many different sizes and shapes, and a broad range of colors, which makes my job a lot easier. You can put them down and they look both natural and eye-catching. Instead of simply one brick that repeats throughout the entire patio or retaining wall, you get an attractive random-looking design, so you don’t just see straight lines and flat images. Then the block I use for the patio can be matched for the retaining walls, the steps, risers, coping…whatever.”
As any good businessman, what’s good for his customers is good for his home, as well. In fact, for 2006, he’s entering his backyard in the ICIP-sponsored contest in the hopes of a ‘three-peat.’ There are five different patio levels around the pool, all comprised of Techo-Bloc. The design features cascading water, a hot water fall into a new spa, then a spillover from the spa five feet above the main pool. In total, there are five waterfalls, plus a swim-up bar in the pain pool that features stunning granite countertops. From the highest waterfall to the lawn below in an elevation change of twelve feet, all with a different grades. Bill was able to integrate natural moss rock stone in with Techo-Bloc colors that blended beautifully.
Obviously, Bill’s come a long way from his days in the trees. If you’re interested in creating your own backyard paradise, whatever the size of your space, remember that a little creativity goes a long way.
Posted in Ask the Experts, Awards, Decks and Patios, Magazine article about Deck and Patio Company projects, News and Awards, Ponds and Water Features, Pools and Spas | Award winning pools, Casa Bella Magazine, deck and patio company, Deck and Patio Company blog, in Nassau and Suffolk, landscape design landscaping, patio. paver patio, swimming pools, Techo Bloc, waterfalls, waterfeatures | Leave a commentPublished September 10, 2012 | APSP Quarterly Gold Awards
Deck and Patio Company
Huntington Station, NY
Residential Water Features
Decking: Techo-Bloc
Lighting: Nexxus
Water feature: Aquascape
Pool interior finish: Wet Edge
Sanitizer: Mother Nature
Cleaner: Aquascape
Circulation: Pentair
Automation: Pentair
Posted in Ask the Experts, Awards, Magazine article about Deck and Patio Company projects, News and Awards, Pools and Spas, Vanishing Edge Ponds | APSP Quarterly, Aquascape, deck and patio company, Deck and Patio Company blog, landscape design landscaping, Nexxus, Pentair, swimming pools, Techo Bloc, Vanishing Edge Pool, Wet Edge | Leave a commentPublished September 10, 2012 | APSP Quarterly Gold Awards
Deck and Patio Company
Huntington Station, NY
This large vinyl pool and spa worked well with the existing contours of the rear yard. The pool and spa feature four waterfalls: one large waterfall into the pool, two waterfalls on the spa and a large pondless waterfall near the raised patio. There are four different patio levels and lush landscaping.
Deck and Patio Company
Huntington Station, NY
This pondless stream and waterfall is a sustainable water feature. The patios are pitched toward the gravel-covered matrix so that rain runs off into this reservoir and is used to refill it. This system is a form of rainwater harvesting.
Deck and Patio Company
Huntington Station, NY
This 1800s estate was purchased with a stone bridge and tunnel that originally served as an entrance to the property. The homeowner wanted to accentuate the beautiful structure with a reflecting pond. To allow the entire stone gazebo to reflect in the water, the pond would have to be more than 250 feet long and 45 feet wide. To aid natural filtration and circulation, a bog filter was installed with the waterfall. At the other end is the weir for the pondless reservoir that holds about 5,000 gallons of water and serves as a rainwater harvester and a skimmer. This system allows the flow of water (slowly) and keeps the water crystal clear.
Silver Awards
Bronze Awards
Posted in Ask the Experts, Awards, Decks and Patios, Magazine article about Deck and Patio Company projects, News and Awards, Ponds and Water Features, Pools and Spas | APSP Quarterly, Award winning pools, deck and patio company, Deck and Patio Company blog, in Nassau and Suffolk, landscape design landscaping, patio. paver patio, swimming pools, waterfalls, waterfeatures | Leave a commentPublished September 7, 2012 | Cutting-Edge Vinyl Marvels
The Deck & Patio Company draws on the latest in design concepts to create luxurious pools and spas. Although the company designs and builds gunite in addition to vinyl-lined pools, many of its clients prefer the padded, smooth, soft feel of vinyl.
“Vinyl-liner pool styles have become almost limitless due to new robotic technologies that cute a liner to conform with any in-pool features,” explains Bill Renter, owner of The Deck & Patio Company. “Vanishing edges, swimouts and beach entries have entered the realm of reality.”
Company designers begin by asking customers about their plans for a pool, their lifestyles and their children’s needs, then come up with a unique concept to fulfill every desire. The Deck & Patio Company uses CAD drawings, digital imaging and a 3D animation video on a flat screen television to
show clients how the pool will look with the existing home and environment.
Pools by The Deck & Patio Company combine structural stamina with standout style. Under the glamorous surface, 10-in. thick steel-reinforced poured-concrete walls support the pool. Once built, the company’s fitting crew spends an entire day obtaining precise measurements of every aspect of the pool, including loveseats, tanning shelves, barstools or benches, before ordering a perfectly fitted vinyl liner. The company installs a quarter-inch padding between the vinyl liner and the concrete, giving the steps and walls a cushiony feel. The latest equipment and technologies, including variable speed pumps and automated computers, are recommended to ensure ease of maintenance, energy efficiency and years of enjoyment.
A recipient of more than 70 regional and international design and pool construction competitions, The Deck & Patio Company constantly innovates, bringing every homeowner a poolscape with everything from pergolas to colorful plantings and moss-covered boulders to the relaxing sound of a babbling brook or other water feature.
Posted in Ask the Experts, Awards, Decks and Patios, Magazine article about Deck and Patio Company projects, News and Awards, Pools and Spas | 3D Landscape design, Award winning pools, deck and patio company, Deck and Patio Company blog, in Nassau and Suffolk, landscape design landscaping, Luxury Pools, patio. paver patio, swimming pools, Vinyl Pool, waterfalls | Leave a commentPublished September 7, 2012 | Deck & Patio
This elegant multi-level deck was designed to enhance the traditional look of this sloping East Northport Residence. Bill Renter of the Deck and Patio Co., has uniformity in mind when he designed the architecturally correct area out of trex, a splinter-free and slip resistant composite deck material. Stairs, rails, benches and plants, made from trex, also match the gray siding on the house. As an added benefit, the deck does not require preservation treatments.
The spacious wide wraparound stairs were placed to maximize the view of the pool area. An accessible cedar barbecue cabinet with a built in stainless steel weber grill was installed close to, but out of the view from the kitchen doors.
Landscaping enhances the property’s scenic views. A bluestone stepping stone path meanders to the pool area. The geometric vinyl pool includes interior steps, loveseats, an acrylic spill over spa, tile walls, and a nicoloc multi-level patio. An aluminum estate fence winds around the property, blending with colorful evergreen and perennial plantings.
Future plans for this property include a pavilion at the pool with a wet bar and refrigerator.
Posted in Ask the Experts, Awards, Decks and Patios, House Magazine, Magazine article about Deck and Patio Company projects, Pools and Spas | deck and patio company, Deck and Patio Company blog, Decking, HOUSE Magazine, in Nassau and Suffolk, landscape design landscaping, outdoor kitchens, patio. paver patio, swimming pools, Trex | Leave a commentPublished September 7, 2012 | Deck & Patio
The owners of this Hauppauge property wanted their pool area to have a “resort feel” to it. They brought this request to Bill Renter of the Deck and Patio Company and hew as able to give them exactly what they wanted.
In order to fill this request, the vinyl pool was designed with sweeping curves, interior stairs and a love seat. An eight foot high moss rock waterfall with two-horsepower pumps moves 250 gallons of water per minute to help perpetuate the resort feeling. A large brim complete with lush landscaping provides the color.
The patio has the look of natural stone. This was created by using a product called tumbled pavers. These look like stone but stay cool like a concrete paver.
A white pergola with 10” round columns adds a room-like feel to the patio while adding height to the once a flat backyard.
The project was finished off with landscape lighting which adds a sculpture during the day and provides indirect lighting at night.
The Deck and Patio Company has successfully created another beautiful environ. These clients in Hauppauge now have the private resort of their dreams.
Posted in Ask the Experts, Awards, Decks and Patios, House Magazine, Magazine article about Deck and Patio Company projects, News and Awards, Ponds and Water Features, Pools and Spas | deck and patio company, Deck and Patio Company blog, HOUSE Magazine, landscape design landscaping, patio. paver patio, pergolas, Suffolk, swimming pools, Vinyl Pool, waterfalls, waterfeatures | Leave a comment
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