History of Swimming Pool Inovations
A number of innovations in
the swimming pool industry have
reduced construction costs and improved the quality of pools. As a leader in the industry, the Paddock
organization has introduced many of the technologies now found in
modern pools.
During the middle of the
1930’s, Paddock introduced a method
of using pneumatically applied concrete, gunite, for swimming pool
construction. Guniting is the process of concrete application in which
cement
mixed with sand aggregate is applied under pressure through a hose.
Gunite improved
upon the traditional method of using poured concrete and allowed
builders to
create free form shapes and utilize the dirt excavation for their
framework.
Paddock also introduced
Silicate, a white silica sand
plaster, during the 1930’s. Silicate, the first non-tile
permanent interior
pool finish, was later replaced by Paddock Marcite and today is
typically
called plaster.
Before the 1940’s,
floating debris was a common site among
swimming pools. Surface water was either cleaned through manual
skimming with a
pole and net or simply allowed to flow over a weir to waste in order to
remove
leaves, insects, and other floating debris. These pools were referred
to as
fill and draw pools. In 1942, a Paddock service technician developed a
skimming
device that allowed for a recirculating overflow system, which enabled
surface
water to be cleaned through the existing pool filtration system.
The recirculating overflow
technique was adopted by others
and the concept became a standard throughout the industry. However, the
piping involved
for this type of recirculation was an expensive maintinence item and
would need
to be replaced over time. Paddock solved this drawback with the
invention of
the manufactured pipeless perimeter, as opposed to concrete gutters.
Today, pipeless
perimeter systems use stainless steel channels to carry surface water
for
filtration, eliminating the need for piping around the pool perimeter.
Pipeless perimeter systems
direct water flow to a storage
tank before filtration. These storage tanks hold the amount of water
needed to
maintain a constant water level in the pool. When
a lot of bathers are in the pool, the
storage tanks must hold more to keep the pool water level in line with
the lip
of the pipeless perimeter. Likewise, when fewer bathers are in the
pool, less
water is stored in the surge tank.
A properly sized storage
tank used to assist a pipeless
perimeter system, or any gutter type overflow, are large and expensive
to
build. Paddock later developed a patented technology to allow swimming
pools to
serve the function of a storage or surge tank, eliminating the need for
this
costly item for many pools.
The high flow vacuum sand
filter was one of the biggest
developments in pool filtration and was also developed by Paddock.
During the
2000’s, Paddock once again revolutionized water sanitation by
introducing
ultraviolet light purification systems for use in swimming pools.
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