MEMPHIS MAGIC
By John P. Frantz
Swimming Pool/Spa Age
June 1998 Volume 72, Number 7

Probably the most challenging project in pool builder James Phillips' 22-year career was a recently completed negative edge pool in Memphis, TN.

Phillips created the illusion that the 800-square-foot, free form pool flowed into a large private lake in the background. More magical illusion came from a small 8-foot x 25-foot reflecting pond outside the homes glass doors.

  The pond flows into along creek that meanders down grade and gives the illusion of spilling into the pool.

  Other parts of the $200,000 project were equally challenging. Just the style and color of the pool and water   features, especially since he had to coordinate them to match a Japanese-style house.

  Hnedak Bobo Group (Memphis), the architect/engineering firm that custom built the house, wanted the pool   environment to resemble a Japanese tea garden.

  In fact, HBG was very involved in the entire process. For example, while Phillips typically runs utilities and   plumbing or subcontracts the work himself, HBG handled most of the trades on the project.

  KNOCKING DOWN THE CHALLENGES

  Phillips' main concern was the construction and hydraulic of the outdoor pool, a circulating reflecting pond   and creek system, and an indoor lap pool.

  From the beginning, Phillips, who founded Pools Unlimited (Collierville, Tenn.) with his wife, Cheryl, in 1976,   was key to the design.

  His first modification was moving the outdoor negative edge pool location 5 feet toward the lake. After   studying the empty site with laser transits, he predicted the view out of the proposed house would not   appear like pool water running over into the lake via the negative edge wall.

  Instead, land would be seen between the pool's negative edge and the lake. The homeowner, who was   inspired by magazine photographs of houses on cliffs where the negative edge pools appeared to flow over   down the mountain, surely would have been disappointed.

  Moving the projected pool was an inexpensive alternative to raising the sire (or lowering the house).

  the 7-foot-deep gunite pool features a dark gray plaster finish that is color coordinated with a cantilevered   blue stone decking. The blue stone makes an aesthetic transition between the wood decking near the   house and the pool.

  The gray tones of the pool and deck reiterate the look and   feel of the gray stained redwood house and its wood shake   roof.

  The reflecting pond features a wooden bridge, but its most   striking feature is the transition of a smooth surface to the   rock lined surface of the creek. The pond, pool and creek   were gunited as one piece structures to prevent future   leaks.

  Another precaution, waterproofing the pond and creek with   a "scratch" or plaster coating, also was used. After the   waterproofing. Indigenous stones were plastered into the   surface by hand to give a natural appearance.

  While the current negative edge is long, it was shortened and reconfigured from the architect's original   drawings.

  Originally designed at approximately 46 feet, which would have required huge equipment and operating   expenses, the final dimension is 23 feet long and features a polished granite weir.

  The gunite basin that the negative edge flows into is 36 feet x 5 feet with a 5-foot depth. While most basins   and the exposed pool wall of negative edge pools are never seen by the public, this area on the Memphis   pool was stoned-lined and in prominent view of boaters and people using the shore of the private lake.

  One custom touch on the project is a perimeter and in-pool fiber optic lighting system as well as a   Caretaker (Scottsdale, Ariz.) in floor cleaning system.

  As if the entire project wasn't massive enough, Phillips also built an 8-foot x 40-foot lap pool with a   constant depth of 4 feet.

  The outside foundation of the house actually doubles as one side of the pool in an effort to save space and   materials.

  WORKING THE HYDRAULICS

  While the physical construction was challenging, the project's intricate hydraulics took careful preplanning   and calculations, Phillips relied on a hydraulic design supplied by Danny Daniels, president of Tom Hunt   Sales Co., a Memphis pool distributorship.

  Daniel's negative edge design features a 7.5hp, 465gpm Berkeley end suction centrifugal pump and 6-inch   diameter piping. Also included are six independent Jacuzzi (Little Rock, Ark.) Magnum pumps for filtration,   ozone generation, return lines, etc.

  "The elaborate equipment application allows independent operation of the negative edge, filtration,   ozonation, in floor cleaning and water makeup systems," Daniels says.

  "The automatic water makeup system, adequate catch pool, pipe sizing, and proper effluent fitting   selection prevent pump cavitation while maintaining the proper water levels in the upper and lower pools,"   he adds.

  Using an automatic leveling control by Crystal Fountains (Scarborough, Ont., Canada ) helps to safeguard   against a dry negative edge basin, which would in turn damage the pump. Conventional wall return lines   were substituted with floor returns to minimize surface rippling and accentuate the negative edge effect.

  Adding to the complexity of the hydraulic design is the fact the equipment room, a 10 foot x 14 foot   concrete vault with a heater and exhaust system, was hidden underground with a floor depth that is 1 foot   below the pool depth.

  Hydraulics for all the vessels and waterways were so complex, Phillips had great relief on the startup day   when everything worked, according to Daniel's calculations.

  "One of the most exciting days in my career was the day we turned it all on and it worked," Phillips recalls.

  The project might very well be Memphis' first negative edge pool. Regardless of the complexity and length   of time the project took, Phillips plans to encourage homeowners to try similar construction feats in their   backyards.

  Says Phillips, "We like to keep up with the industry in terms of building what the latest trends are, such as   negative edge pools."