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River Pools & Spas Blog
The most educational swimming pool blog in the country, providing fiberglass pool articles and videos, as well as information on inground concrete and liner pools.
Options and Accessories | Pool Maintenance | Swimming Pool Accessories
Story time! Once upon a time, in Warsaw, VA, I was researching the different types of pool pumps and filters. I started with cartridge filters, and they made sense. When the spec sheet said, "Effective filtration area," it meant it. The filter took care of however many square feet of surface area the pool had. It filtered that area. Got it. The D.E. and sand filter spec sheets ruined my day. When the "effective filtration area" was 6 square feet, the filter processed 57,000 gallons of water in 8 hours. Obviously it's not for the world's cleanest bathtub, so what gives? What is the filtration area supposed to mean? Not to worry, my friends. I enjoy research, and I'm here to help.
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Options and Accessories | Swimming Pool Accessories
The following is a guest post from Diane Pierce at Authentic Plaster & Tile.
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Don't blindly wonder if a fiberglass, concrete, or vinyl liner pool is right for you. Our educational ebook does a deep-dive comparison of the 3 types, all while noting the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Options and Accessories | Patio and Coping
“A patio around the pool.” Sure. No problem. Sounds simple, right? Until you start thinking size, and shape, and materials, and money… Yuck. Details. The devil’s in ’em. But we at River Pools are here to help! We want to clear out the mess and the stress so that you can make the best pool decision for you and your family. We specialize in fiberglass pools, sure, but no matter what pool type you choose in the end, we provide all the information on all the aspects, good and bad.
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Options and Accessories | Vinyl Liner Pool Information
Looking for the perfect vinyl liner pool? You’ll eventually have to choose the vinyl liner part of that. Color and design, of course—but how thick are the different pool liner options? How do the manufacturers measure it? What does the measurement mean in normal people terms?
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Options and Accessories | Swimming Pool Design
Ever notice how some people insist on using a $5 word when a 10¢ word would suffice? (I know I just used the word “suffice,” but hear me out.) The first time I heard the phrase “exposed aggregate” for a pool finish, I thought it was a pretentious way to say “Pebble Tec.” But it’s actually the correct term. Not all exposed aggregate pool finishes are products of the Pebble Tec company. Exposed aggregate finishes are sometimes called Pebble Tec in the same way that we often call tissues Kleenex—one brand has become representative of the product. So we’re going to talk about exposed aggregate finishes as a whole.
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Options and Accessories | Swimming Pool Design | Vinyl Liner Pool Information
Ever watched “What Not to Wear”? I wish Stacy London would hand me $5,000 for new clothes. The catch: those clothes didn’t come off the hanger magically the right shape. All those outfits were tailored to the shopper. They looked amazing afterward, yes, but that tailoring also used up a big chunk of their shopping money. Now prepare yourself...that’s basically what you have to do to a vinyl liner pool.
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Concrete Pool Information | Installation & Construction | Options and Accessories
Concrete pools are often called “gunite” pools... but you may have heard of "shotcrete" pools, too. Researching your options when you want to buy an inground pool can feel overwhelming if you're unfamiliar with all the terms, technologies, methods, and processes professional pool builders toss around on a daily basis. But it's not as complicated as it can seem from the outside. This guide will help you understand the differences and similarities between plain old concrete, gunite, and shotcrete -- particularly when you want to use this material to build a sleek inground pool in your backyard. When you can speak a pool builder's language, you'll be on firm footing to negotiate your pool project's dimensions, costs, timelines, and options. Let's get started... Concrete fundamentals Concrete is a mix of water, cement, sand, and a coarse aggregate, which is a material made up of small particles, usually small crushed stones or gravel. The difference between sand and aggregate mainly comes down to the size of the particles and (sometimes) what they're made of. The sand you'll find at the beach or in the desert is usually made of quartz or limestone, but sand particles are always smaller than gravel, even if sand and gravel are made up of the same basic chemicals. Dry concrete is considered an "initial mixture" of cement, sand, and aggregate. The process of mixing water into an initial mixture of concrete gives the end product its name.
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Options and Accessories | Pool Closing/Winterization | Swimming Pool Accessories
If you’re new to the world of pool ownership, get ready to use your Surprised Face… You don’t have to have a pool cover. I always got the impression that you did, but it’s actually not required. The obligatory fence around the pool area is your first line of defense in the safety arena.
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Options and Accessories | Pool Design Guides | Swimming Pool Design | Swimming Pool FAQs
For my family, a diving board is a runway. It's all very dramatic. We waddle like penguins, strut like models, wave like royalty, and stroll like oblivious pedestrians...and then drop into the deep end of the pool, still “walking.”
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Installation & Construction | Options and Accessories | Vinyl Liner Pool Information
As tempting as it may be sometimes, you’re not allowed to leave people stranded in your pool. There are laws against that. Swimmers need a way to get out of the water, so you need a ladder at least, if not actual steps, and you have to include them in your design from the beginning.
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