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An Amazing Zero Edge Pool with a Window and Spectacular Lighting!

Lew Akins has spent many years sharing his philosophies and techniques with the swimming pool industry. Until he retired and turned the business over to his son Mike, he WAS Ocean Quest Pools by Lew Akins. Lew has always loved challenges in pool construction,  particularly zero-edge and infinity pools.  He has dozens of clients who have come back to him for pool number two, three and even four. This is the story of one of those pools.

The story begins a few years ago and includes a series of 28 YouTube videos (the link to those videos is below) that showed this particular project from beginning to end. It is best told by Lew,

“This project began in late 2015 when the client purchased a large home with a beautiful vanishing edge swimming pool in the backyard (built by Ocean Quest by Lew Akins). As a triathlete he wanted a second pool that was 75 feet long for training and he consequently purchase the property next door to his existing house. The goal was to build a pool house which included a workout room where Ocean Quest designed a 75′ x 14′ lap pool, a zero edge pool with minimum wave action (with the water at pool patio level). A gutter at the edge of the deck carries the water to the catch pool at the rear. Note, there are fiber optic lights within the gutter.

A Plexiglas window (30’ long) was installed in the wall of the pool and allows people on the outside of the pool to monitor stroke technique of the swimmers in the pool.

The slope of the property was 6 feet from the elevation at the back of the pool house to the ground at the back of the pool that made the entire back wall and most of the sidewalls completely freestanding. The structure for the pool patio on the outside of the channel was part of the pool structure and had to be sloped back into the pool.

Because these pools have so many perimeter feet that require water over all of them relatively evenly it was decided to put stone around the entire perimeter, fill the pool with water and then level the stone by sanding it to ensure that when the tile was put on, the edge of the pool it would be absolutely level. Consequently the entire 160 feet of perimeter is covered with only one variable speed pump at 18% flow.

The patio is travertine pavers and the step edges are all bullnose travertine. There are step lights in the walls beside the steps that illuminate them for safety. There are walls on the outside perimeter of the pool steps as well as the walls blocking the driveway from the pool area. All vertical surfaces on this project are split faced travertine.  For a consistent appearance and visual flow, the brick on the existing house and the pool house are identical”.

Here is video #26 (just before completion):

If you want to view all 28 videos from conception to completion of this pool, here is the link to Lew’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL02SMKC9FQTK4OyAZ2zQfvHXTCxrxqQIW

Respectfully submitted,

Ken Rogner,

Carecraft VP, Networking and Education