Presenting the design
After the initial meeting with the client, the design presentation involved explaining the benefits of the features in relation to the existing property and future usage. It was important the client did not feel as though there was a disconnect between their home and NSP. Therefore, bridging the hardscape and softscape in a way which brings harmony to the entire property—without any detachment—was the ideal goal. With a few minor adjustments, the client approved the design, and a working plan was established and put in place.
Preparing the land for construction was the first step in the working plan. This included, but was not limited to, the following:
- permits and regulations;
- contact of utilities for information regarding gas, water, and electrical lines, etc.;
- safety and Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) rules;
- property access;
- material supply and storage plans;
- equipment evaluation and supply;
- internal and external resources (sub-trades);
- material and supply lists;
- timeline and budgeting;
- special requirements; and
- troubleshooting preparation.
Of course, unforeseen problems can occur and must be expected. This is the foundation for a rolling working plan. For this project, the client had to approve various stages of the working plan so the official groundbreaking could begin once the permit was received. Each city, municipality, township, or county has its own set of regulations and governing bodies. Therefore, it was necessary to have meetings with the planning department to educate them on NSPs so they could determine whether a regular swimming pool permit would be applicable for this project.
After receiving the permit, the property was prepared to proceed with the build. At this stage, another site inspection was performed to select which vegetation would be kept and reused or worked around to become part of the overall design. The goal was to include as much virgin plant life as possible to present a natural habitat for a healthy balanced ecosystem with respect to the zone and hardiness of the land. This not only saves the client money, but also gives the face of the project a starting point on the softscape plan.
As the site clean-up commenced, the high water table challenge became apparent almost immediately; the soil was wet without much disturbance and meant it would only become more difficult once the excavation plan began. That said, keeping an eye on the weather forecast would also be imperative to the successful excavation process without the added challenge of water hindering the work.
With the proper start of the excavation, the proposed timeline for completion gave the team four months to create the Okanagan gold rush NSP project.
Editor’s note: In the April issue, Winkler and Williams will discuss various aspects of constructing the Okanagan gold rush natural swimming pool (NSP) project.
Markus Winkler is the master designer and lead strategist for PoolsByNature, a designer/builder of natural swimming pools (NSPs) in Kelowna, B.C. He has more than 12 years of experience in the field of NSPs. Winkler has an engineering background in electronics and has received extensive education with respect to environmental and aquatic applications. He can be reached via e-mail at poolbynature@gmail.com.
Karen J. Williams is the design analyst for PoolsByNature. She has more than 20 years of experience in environmentally sustainable product strategies and is a member of the design team responsible for the connection between licensee partnerships and end-users while working with the company’s master designer.
