Customer Reviews

Swimming Pool

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My review will be short and to the point. This book does not deliver what the title implies. If you just enjoy looking at pictures of pools in different settings -- then this book is for you. If you need what the title implies -- look elsewhere.

The title implies that there are sections that show HOW to build and Landscpe a pool..There are not. There a ton of beautiful pictures of other people's pools. The book tells you what to tell the person that is building your pool. It is the only book I have ever returned to Amazon.

The subject matter lends itself to an extraordinary pictoral essay. Griffith's publisher does it justice. The content is a bit generalized but well organized. More detailing based on geographic locations and specific plant matter would round this out quite well. The comment that "a (residential) pool 20' x 40' would be considered average" is indicative of the Grifith's ambitious nature; this book is for people looking to build and spend big. Here in Massachusetts, that's a "larger" pool.

Anyway, it's a pretty good value for those needing a little incentive to get excited about a substantial investment in time and money. One thing I didn't see mentioned, though I may have missed it, was the fact that good pool contractors in NE need to be contacted nearly a year in advance; if they're reputable they bound to be exceedingly busy. Another thing missed in emphasis anyway: contact your landscape designer and/or architect with the pool contractor to produce a 'master plan" of your yard. This will create the correct sequence of productions - pool construction makes a mess of any yard but is more painful when extensive landscaping was done recently.

Finally, from a formatting perspective, the body copy/editorial content of the book is set in a somewhat elaborate typestyle making it a little slower read. It would seem approriate for chapters & titles but maybe not the body copy.

I saw this one in the bookstore and didn't buy it. Pretty pictures but way above the average person's spending budget. It lists styles of pools in the middle section and gives stars for levels of expense - 1 star was $10,000 or less, etc...I couldn't find any at all that were one star. Maybe there was one but I didn't see it. If you want waterfalls and fancy shapes and pools inthe $40,000 range this is the book for you. If you're not rich, get the Sunset book...at least it's practical.

This is a good book and well worth reading; however, I feel it falls short of its ambitious title. I got the impression the author feels you should hire a pool contractor. I was specifically looking for information to prepare me to contract it myself, since I successfully did so with my house. Nevertheless, there are useful nuggets of information sprinkled throughout.

this book is the least technical,yet, most informative book I have read concerning swimming pools. The quality of pictures and settings is second to none. As a matter of fact I used the idea of a post and beam cabana with a built in bar to incorporate into my own pool area. Pick up this book and enjoy.

We are installing an inground pool this year and have used this book extensively for ideas in design of pools, the different kinds of inground pools, and pool decks and patios. We knew nothing about pools before reading this book, but now feel quite knowledgable.

This book does not contain the information necessary for building your own pool as it implies. This book contains only general inforomation on building and designing a pool. If you want someone else to design and build your pool and would like to have an understanding of what professionals are talking about, this book is good. This is by no means a "how to" book.