The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual: Spas, Pools, Hot Tubs, Rockscapes and Other Water Features, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

~ (Author) "This is a book about water before it is a book about pools, spas, fountains, or other water containers..." (more)
Key Phrases: acid spotter, spa vacuum, drain flush bag, Teledyne Laars, Westlake Village, Government Printing Office (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

An expanded and revised edition of the original...including cutting-edge technologies...detailed information and repair tips...and helpful resources. -- Service Industry News, November 30, 2000

[for an] above-ground or on-ground pool...you'll find far more value from the book than its price. -- San Jose Mercury News, 4/30/04

Review

You need a copy of "The Ultimate Guide to Above-Ground Pools," by Terry Tamminen. Regardless if you just acquired an above-ground or on-ground pool or have had one for years, you'll find far more value from the book than its price. (San Jose Mercury News )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 2 edition (September 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071362398
• ISBN-13: 978-0071362399
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #249,242 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #21 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Civil > Environmental > Water Quality & Treatment
  #27 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Civil > Construction > Plumbing
  #47 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Environment > Water Supply

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars NOT the best book to buy., May 14, 2005

By	A. Foxter "Adam" (Long Island) - See all my reviews

This is my first Amazon review, but I feel compelled to share this experience with others.

This book as said to be for the professional and the novice. It was said to contain all the information one could possibly need. It was suggested that you could take what you want from the weighty tome, and leave the rest. In reality the book is clearly NOT written for a new pool owner. In fact, its not written for an experience pool owner. The book was written for a pool repairman. Moreover, it does not contain the practicle information a pool professoinal would require to steer clients toward pool products.

Which cleaner should you get- Vacume or pressure driven? No answer here. What about a heating- Solar, oil, gas? No advice, no direction....

In fact, the book reads more like the diary of a pool man. About how one manufacurer was driven out of business by refusing to compromise quality, or how he cared for the pool of come Malibu celebrity.

Having recently purchased a home with an in-ground pool, I have read three books so far, and gotten quite and education. This book however failed in almost every regard. Finnally, the book deliniates ways of making money of customers as a pool professional. Information I simply have no use for.

Lastly, it bears mentioning that there is a quote on the book jacket from another Amazon reviewer "If you want to buy one book on swimming pools this is it!" Why not a quote from a noted pool authority or publication? Why quote some anonymous amzazon.com user like you or me? Most likely because there were no favorable reviews from newspapers or magazines.

This book was more then a waste of 30 dollars. It was also a waste of time. Unless you need to know how to change things like light fixtures in to pool. The book is not awful, so I gave it 2 stars, but I urge you to look elsewhere.

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you want to know about pool maintenance, July 2, 2001

By	Kurt D. Fenstermacher (Westport, CT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Pool Maintenance Manual (Paperback)

In Arizona, pool care is a common teenage chore, just like snow shoveling in more northerly areas, so I'd had some pool experience when I moved into a house of my own. (Thanks, Dad.) This book will tell you everything there is to know about pool care. Other homeowners have complained that there's too much information, but I think the information is presented in such a way that you can skip the gory details. The author mentions that the chapter on water chemistry is optional, for example, but if you want details, they're there.

After we moved in, we had some out-of-town friends stay with us, and being from Chicago, they were curious about owning a pool. They were even more surprised when I could answer every question, from the workings of pool filters to pool chemistry -- I told them it was all in the book.

This book is about maintenance as well, and not just the theory of it. With this book on top of the pool heater (don't worry, the heater was off), I stripped my DE filter all the way down to the piping and cleaned it from top to bottom. If you want to know about pools, this is the book. You also get a different perspective on movie and sports stars -- you see them form their pools, as with the description of John McEnroe's pool filter. While not exactly cocktail party chatter, it does liven up the presentation.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent for the do-it-yourself and save pool owner, August 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Pool Maintenance Manual (Paperback)

I have purchased 4 books in search of practical reference for pool maintenance. This book is outstanding. In this genuine book the author offers a comprensive introduction and reference based on experience and intuition. It is well written and easy to understand.

WM Lucking PhD (Engineering)