Monthly Archives: January 2012

Landscape Profile: Creating Warmth and Privacy

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A stone fireplace serves as a the focal point for this backyard project. Photo courtesy Clayton Ditzler

By Clayton Ditzler

The Landscape Artist Inc., has been providing the Calgary area with residential landscape design and construction services since 1977. When the company was called out to revamp a modest backyard in the city, the result was a functional, easy-to-maintain outdoor space with a striking fireplace as its visual centrepiece.

Starting the project
The Landscape Artist finds clients in a variety of ways, progressing from the tried and true methods of referrals, Yellow Pages listings and home and garden trade shows, to the more modern channels of social media, such as Facebook. Thanks to numerous referrals, the company has a solid base of repeat customers.

The clients on this particular project are the owners of Diamond Fireplace & Stone, a business that has been awarded a local Consumers Choice Award, an accomplishment it shares in common with The Landscape Artist. This project was the catalyst for what has become a great working relationship; the two companies now collaborate regularly on projects that involve outdoor fireplaces, kitchens and other cultured stone features.

The project site was a modest-sized backyard measuring 15 m (49 ft) deep by 13.3 m (43 ft) wide, with little to it beyond a raised deck off the back of the home. The only original elements that remain in the finished project are the fences; the pre-existing deck was in need of repair and did not fit in with the desired renovation concept. With a south exposure and some good borrowed landscape from neighbouring trees, the backyard served as a great blank canvas from which to design.

The client’s main focus for the new backyard was to create spaces to entertain and relax. This included creating space for an outdoor kitchen, outdoor dining area and separate garden room effect for intimate seating around the fireplace. Low maintenance and privacy were also important priorities for these busy homeowners.

Read the full article: Creating Warmth and Privacy

Industry Profile: Looking Back on the Illustrious Career of Terry Sloan

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Terry Sloan reflects on 40-plus years of dedicated service in the swimming pool and spa industry. Photo by Jason Cramp

By Jason Cramp

For many years, Terry Sloan’s drive for business success and strong customer relationships in the pool industry enveloped his life. He was determined to succeed in his career and strove to continually lead his team to reach corporate goals, while also focusing on his own professional growth.

In September, after dedicating nearly 50 years of his life to driving business and helping colleagues achieve professional goals, Sloan, a longtime business executive with Zodiac Pool Systems Canada Inc., retired.

While the soft-spoken Sloan says his commitment to work sometimes superseded his family obligations, he has few regrets.

“I’m very fortunate today to have a close relationship with my daughters, despite all the time I spent travelling and my attention to business over the years,” he said. “However, as a result, I am very close with my granddaughters and I am trying to spend as much time with them as possible. Perhaps not spending more time with my daughters would be the one regret I have.”

Read the full article: Looking Back on an Illustrious Career

Case Study: Building a Cold Climate Indoor Pool Structure

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By Jason Smith

Building this structure required a well-thought out design from architectural, heating, ventilating and cooling equipment (HVAC) and building science perspectives. Photos courtesy MZO Group

MZO Group, an architecture firm based in Boston, Mass., was tasked with a challenging problem—design and build a residential indoor, heated pool in the often cold, snowy Massachusetts climate, a scenario that could lead to significant moisture problems.

It was challenging request, made more complicated by the fact the pool house had to be isolated from the rest of the client’s newly constructed home along a shared 10.6-m (35-ft) common wall. The design goal was to isolate the pool house from both the outdoors and the interior of the home as much as possible.

“I aimed to build a structure that you could turn upside down and it still wouldn’t leak,” says architect Eric Gjerde, MZO Group. To achieve this, a ‘belt and suspenders’ approach, with redundant safeguards against moisture problems, was used.

Building this unique structure required a well-planned design from architectural, heating, ventilating and cooling equipment (HVAC) and building science perspectives. Throughout the project, Jensen Development Corp., the homebuilder, and J&J Mechanical, the HVAC contractor, worked closely with the architects to ensure all systems would work well together.

Design considerations
Designing a heated indoor pool in a wood frame structure for a cold climate presents a unique set of challenges, as the potential for high humidity air to condense on a cold surface and cause mould or rot is high.

Read the full article: Building a Cold Climate Indoor Pool Structure

How to Get the Appointment: Improved Phone Responsiveness Can Make All the Difference

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By Todd Bairstow

When a homeowner makes their first call to a pool/spa builder or service company, they are looking for the expert help only a trained professional can provide. Unfortunately, many of these potential customers, who are often eager to spend money on whatever they need to make their backyard getaways perfect, are met with silence. Calls are not answered. Voicemails are not returned. E-mails never get sent back to online inquiries. No one wins.

This phenomenon is regrettably common among home service companies, including pool and spa service providers. In fact, lack of phone expertise and responsiveness may be the single biggest performance issue currently facing the industry; addressing it could make a huge difference for any pool or spa company.

The value of picking up the phone
The lifeblood of any growing pool and spa company comes from homeowner inquiries, whether they are in the form of phone calls, web forms, e-mails or in-store visits. As such, it makes sense to always pick up the phone, return e-mails or voice mails immediately and focus on driving revenue and value through every single inquiry. So why doesn’t this happen?

The short answer is good phone work is often taken for granted. Someone always assumes the phone is being picked up or that the truly determined customer can always call back.

There is also a cost issue. Paying one employee to man the phones costs money; money that many pool and spa professionals would rather save for other things. One less employee will provide more dollars in the budget. Unfortunately, those short-term savings can hurt growth if pool and spa company operators fail to seize valuable sales opportunities.

Read the full article: How to Get the Appointment

Using Fitness Spas to Improve Health: Features to Consider

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Buyers will want to make sure the model they are considering has a relatively flat surface in the main exercise area or swim zone, to provide necessary space for treadmill swimming. Photo courtesy Cals Spas

By Rob Santos

Although many manufacturers feature similar products, there are important features that buyers should consider before selecting a fitness spa for their home.

For instance, buyers will want to make sure the model they are considering has a relatively flat surface in the main exercise area or swim zone, not only to provide the user with a sturdy footing to perform exercise routines, but also to provide necessary space for treadmill swimming and water-based exercise equipment.

Buyers will also want to make sure there are enough exercise fittings located within the spa shell to accommodate multiple pieces of equipment. This will ensure the buyer purchases a fitness spa that will not only provide the best aquatic workout, but also deliver the results they want to achieve.

The most common exercise equipment available for today’s fitness spas includes a variety of resistance bands or bungee cord-style accessories. Resistance-band exercises are widely used among health-and-fitness practitioners for general-strength training, conditioning, rehabilitation or injury prevention. This type of training is also proven to be an ideal method for conditioning cardiovascular systems, as well as strengthening specific muscle groups.

The bands are compact, lightweight and water resistant, making them a natural fit for fitness spa exercises. They are designed to be attached, using available clips, to the exercise fittings located inside the spa shell. Aquatic exercise equipment is not always a standard feature in fitness spas, so it is important consumers understand what features and equipment is standard versus optional before selecting a model to purchase.

Read the full article: Aquatic Therapy and Rehabilitation