My introduction to the swimming pool industry was a simple one. I was looking for summer work in May 1988. I was home from school between my junior and senior year of college. I was hired on as general labor for the swimming pool Opening season. I worked with a crew of two other veterans (both my age or younger) to the pool business. These guys, Kenny and Tommy, gave me my start. Little did they know that 23 years later I would still be doing it and they would just be talking about it.  Every guy that I ever worked with and then visited with later, always talked about the swimming pool business with great memory and longing. Each one has a  list of stories whether it be a pool service job, a swimming pool construction job or some other aspect of the swimming pool experience that is their favorite memory.

Each time I have one of these talks with a former worker, I’m left wondering what it is about the swimming pool business that does that to people. Is it the age they were at? Was it the physical labor and being in physical shape that they long for? Or is it just they fun that the swiming pool  business  affords? What do you think?

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I’ve been involved in the swimming pool industry for 23 years in southeast Michigan. Over the years , I have seen many trends come and go. In those early years for me, we built a lot of very basic swimming pools with little or no design involved. Today, the average consumer want their yard to be something special and different than everyone else. It is truly the age of “custom swimming pools” in Michigan.

What I see for the next few years is a trend towards complete back yard renovation. The swimming pool is just a small part of the entire environment. Fire features, outdoor kitchens, and low voltage lighting packages are the big upgrades. Michigan, even with all of its challenges is a great place to live and build swimming pools. Now all we need to do is think spring!

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Basic Supply List:

If you’re new to the swimming pool world, you might be wondering what you’ll need to get started with your pool. What chemicals should you have on hand? What equipment will you need? Walking into or clicking around in a pool store, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of products you can choose. The list of things you’ll need on a regular basis, though, is pretty manageable. Here’s a basic list of supplies you should keep around:

• Vac head: There are two main types of vac heads; one for vinyl liner pools and one for gunite pools. You’ll use the vac head (attached to a pole and hose) to keep your pool clean and free of debris.
• Vac hose: The vac hose attaches to the vac head and provides the suction needed to actually vacuum your swimming pool.
• Pole: The adjustable-length pole attaches to your vac head, brush, and leaf skimmer interchangeably.  It is extendable to accommodate different pool depths and allow you to reach all areas of your pool without trouble.
• Brush: Attach the brush head to your pole to brush the sides of your pool and keep them clean.
• Leaf skimmer: The leaf skimmer attaches to the pole, as well, and allows you to skim leaves and debris (and bugs…gross!) from the surface of your pool.
• Test strips: Test strips will help you keep your water levels in check–they’ll tell you the levels of chlorine, pH and total alkalinity. This will let you know what chemicals you need to add to keep your pool clean, safe and swimmable.
• Stabilizer: Stabilizer is a chemical that helps prevent chlorine dissipation due to sunlight. Intense sunlight can make it hard to maintain proper chlorine levels, so if your swimming pool is in direct sunlight you may need to use a stabilizer.
• Alkalinity Plus: Alkalinity+ raises the total alkalinity of your pool. Alkalinity that is too low can cause your pH levels to fluctuate excessively.
• Calcium Plus: Calcium+ increases water hardness to prevent foaming, equipment corrosion, and scaling.
• pH Plus: pH+ raises the pH level of your pool water. The proper range will allow your sanitizer to work more effectively, reduce equipment corrosion, reduce eye irritation and reduce skin dryness.
• pH Minus: pH- lowers the pH of your pool water. It’s important to keep your water in the proper pH range (7.2-7.8) to optimize system performance, reduce corrosion and reduce eye and skin irritation.
• Algaecide: This non-foaming algaecide controls and prevents all types of pool algae.

You can find all these supplies and more when you shop with the pool guy: Shop Now

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Many homeowners ask what is the best time to start thinking about and designing your swimming pool for summer installation in Michigan. We are starting the here in Michigan, and it is a great time to have our design team visit your yard to discover what custom elements will fit best in your back yard swimming pool.

Legendary Escapes builds high quality and well designed swimming pools and spas that our clients enjoy here in Michigan. Even though our season starts in Late April or Early May and wraps up in September/October, the homeowners still enjoy their pools! Back yards become a place for the family to entertain, the kids will swim, and the environment, if done correctly, becomes an extension of the home.

If you are looking for custom swimming pool designs, and are considering a vinyl liner pool, a gunite pool, or our new signature product, a hybrid swimming pool that is built both out of gunite (concrete) and vinyl, then you are in the right place.

Appointments are available to begin planning for your pool installation to take place in the spring…who knows, we may even have room to squeeze the start of your project in this fall. Give us a call, our award winning swimming pool designer would love to plan your swimming pool project! To set your appointment call: 248-478-4978 or use the form below.

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That’s a great question, and much is up to personal choice. Our service team has been closing swimming pools since mid September, though we aren’t anywhere close to being finished just yet. The majority of pools are closed between September and October, though some people enjoy their pool right through November, and as long as the system is running if the weather gets to freezing, this is quite all right.

It is common for most pools to be winterized or closed for the season by the end of October. We do still have room in our calendar in September, and are waiting for a few more busy days on the phones which usually happens right after a couple of chilly fall days.

It’s not too late to order a safety cover, or have one quoted, if you are interested. We do have financing options available.

We are also happy to offer guidance and suggestions for when to open the pool in the spring (usually late April and into May), as well as offer any over the winter maintenance questions you may have. We are sharing a new product with our customers who give us feedback via our website this year, the Winter Pill. Let us know if you are interested and we’ll share with you how you can get one for free! (Service scheduling # 248-478-4978.)

Thanks!

Winter Pill, Free with Feedback from Pietila Pools Services

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In Michigan we have a freeze thaw cycle that much of the midwest also experiences. Without getting into a weather lesson (though we could, just ask!), we will tell you that because of the freeze/thaw cycle, and the Michigan winter, there is some discussion to be had about the best type of pool installation.

We here at Legendary Escapes recommend either a vinyl liner pool or a gunite pool for installation here in Michigan.

The vinyl liner pool is constructed by digging the hole with a 3′ overdig. The steel walls are then put into place, bolted together, deck braces attached, and a footing poured at the base of the steel walls to hold the pool in place. The walls are then backfilled, and the rest of the installation components such as hardbottom and patio are installed. Once the liner goes in, you have a liner with the water inside that is able to move independent of the pool and patio itself. Any shifting in the ground during the freeze/thaw cycle will not compromise (if installed correctly) the water holding capability of your pool.

A gunite pool is also a good choice here in Michigan. It is constructed in such a way that the freeze/thaw cycle will have minimal impact on the gunite structure itself, as long as proper winterization is followed. Many homeowners do experience issues with tile falling off the pool, which is common, and even with the best installation, not always avoidable. When water is drained from the pool for the winterization process, the tile is left exposed – and it is at ground level, so any shifting in the ground movement from expansion would potentially put pressure on the beam around the top of the pool where the tile is installed, and occasional tile pop off’s happen. This is something that is easily fixed with an adhesive for the tile – as long as you are proactive about the maintenance to your tile, it should work out just fine.

We do not recommend Fiberglass pools for construction in Michigan, though we happily support their installation in other parts of the country. If you would like to find out any more about why this is the case, we’d be happy to have a discussion with you, so please ask.

If you have any other questions about the best type of pool to install in Michigan, or even better, the best installation for your conditions and in your yard, please set up an appointment with our award winning pool designer, Al Curtis,  and he can take you through all of your options.

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as our crews have been out on the road opening swimming pools, we’ve noticed some trends. This past winter was very hard on pools in Michigan. A lot of tile has popped off, which is a relatively common occurrence here in Michigan, with the freeze/thaw cycle and even with the best of preparation.

A recommendation would be that as soon as you notice something irregular about your tile, you should do something about it, ie hire someone to come out and work on a remedy. The longer you wait, the more substantial your issue can become.

Tile serves cosmetic purposes on a pool. It also allows for easier scrubbing of the scum line (without it, it would be hard to keep the ring around your pool clean). Without tile, a pool doesn’t look as good. Once a pool has tile and it begins to crumble and fall off, it’s even worse.

If you need any help with tile or coping repair on your swimming pool in the Metro Detroit area, Pietila Pools Services is here to help. Based out of Livingston County, Michigan, our service area extends about 60 miles in each direction.

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It is believed that the first tulips were grown in the United States in the 1850’s near Spring Pond in Salem, MA. The annual return of spring flowers after Old Man Winter’s extended stay, gives us evidence of the power of rest.

Cheers to spring!

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New Pool Service Concept Has 50,000 Michigan Pool Owners Swimming Pretty

(April 14, 2011) – In any industry, when demand for service outpaces the supply, customers are left with few options and sub-par experiences. Until recently, this basic business tenet has been painfully obvious to the 50,000+ residential pool owners in Southeast Michigan. Too few quality service techs, and too many pools to service, left owners facing long waits, artificially high prices, and potentially substandard work.

Pietila Pools Services, and  ”Ask the Pool Guy” Allan Curtis, is setting the industry on its ear with a collaborative service concept. The company, based in Brighton, MI, is contracting with the best pool service technicians in the area to service more pools, with faster turn-around, at fair prices and outstanding quality.

“The pool season is five months at best,” Curtis explains. “Any really good tech is not going to be interested in sitting idle for more than half the year, so they generally leave for warmer climates where they can run their business year round. I don’t blame them, but this definitely leaves a gap in the local service market.”

Curtis aims to make it not only attractive, but financially rewarding, for high quality pool service techs to stay in Michigan. “We are contracting with these good service techs, handling all the marketing, appointment setting, and back end business support so they can do more of what they love, which is servicing residential pools. By letting them focus on their jobs, while we focus on helping grow their businesses, we can serve more pool owners, more quickly, with a higher overall standard of quality.”

The upside for the pool technicians is a higher volume of business, in which they can potentially make enough in five months to last the whole year.

Curtis’ involvement in the pool industry goes back 20+ years. An experienced pool technician himself, Curtis originally purchased Pietila Pools of Farmington Hills from it’s previous owner in 1994 and indulged his passion for creating unique, one-of-a-kind backyard poolscapes. While the design and build side of the business grew, he became less involved in ongoing service and maintenance.

Recently, Curtis began to look at the pool service industry in a new light. “Thanks to people like Gary Vaynerchuk (author of The Thank You Economy), I recognized we had a huge opportunity to provide better customer service, and leverage the outstanding lifetime value of a pool owner. While we used to look season to season, I saw the bigger picture over a pool’s lifetime, as the homeowner remodels, repairs and renovates,” Curtis explains. “If we could treat them better, and stay engaged with them, the customer relationship could be improved dramatically. With our new shared service model, we are able to provide more personalized service, over the lifetime of a pool, with consistently high quality and reliable service.”

The company is leveraging Curtis’ expertise in social media to connect to new customers and new suppliers, while allowing their customer base to stay engaged with them on Facebook and Twitter. It’s a natural way to use the new media to connect with customers where they spend their time, online. In addition to his pool work, Curtis is also a founder of The InSights Group in Brighton, a social media consulting firm and small business incubator. This experience brings a new dimension to his pool service business model that has reach and real impact.

For the 50,000 potential customers in this area, Curtis is delivering quality pool service without the traditional long waits for call backs, and disappointing work, that has plagued so many pool owners. The company is just launching their new collaborative service model, and is confident that they will see more happy customers, and more beautifully-serviced pools, for the 2011 swimming pool season.

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Pietila Pools Services gives the 50,000 residential pool owners in Southeast Michigan a new option in pool services. With a scalable team of trained pool technicians, they provide excellent service with fast turnaround and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Visit the website: www.pietilapoolsservices.com or call them at 248-478-4978. You can also find Al as @askthepoolguy on Facebook/Twitter.

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