Pool Maintenance Manual News

The third edition of “The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual” (ISBN 0071470174) will be available by the end of March 2007. I expect to receive my copy as soon as it is available and will put my preliminary review up shortly there after.

Also, I am planning to interview the author, Mr. Terry Tamminen, as part of my more in-depth review, so add a comment here if you have any pressing questions.

My short review of the second edition may be of interest at this time.

FYI: Amazon is taking pre-orders for shipping as soon as it is available.

Reflections on the Pool

California Designs for Swimming is another coffee table book; however, the accompanying text is very readable. There is a chapter on Historic Pools that I wish was longer and more informative. Melba Levick’s photographs are excellent and well worth the time spent viewing.

If you are considering a new pool or major pool renovation, this book is worth a trip to your local library or picking up used.

Published in 1997 (ISBN 0847820149) I was surprised that the information did not yet seem to be stale.

The Swimming Pool

Here is another coffee table book with excellent photographs of not only the swimming pool and spa, but the entire “outdoor room” including the furniture. The first chapter provides a basic overview of many of the decisions that are needed during new construction or a major pool renovation.

All of the pools are not your typical backyard swimming pools; therefore, I found even the “Classic” pools are very lavish. The author Martha Baker is an accomplished landscape architect; however, I did not find many ideas here that I think would be beneficial to the average pool owner.

If you are considering a new pool or major pool renovation, this book is worth a trip to your local public library. I would hesitate to purchase this book unless you are creating a high-end pool section in your personal library.

Published in 2005 (ISBN 0609610767) I expect this will book will not have a significant following.

The New American Swimming Pool:

Innovations in Design and Construction, 40 Case Studies, is basically a collection of “award winning” residential swimming pools and spas from the late 1990’s. This is truly a coffee table book with lots of nice photographs. All of the pools shown are not your typical backyard swimming pools; however, these are all projects with landscape architects involved, so there are many nice hardscape and landscape ideas to go along with the pool designs.

If you are considering a new pool or major pool renovation, this book is worth a trip to your local library or picking up used.

Published in 2001 (ISBN 0823031756) it will take many years for the provided information to become dated, so I would not expect updated editions or follow-up versions frequently.

Heat Pump Applications

Swimming Pool & Spa Heat Pump Application (ISBN 0912524529) is as the name implies, is a book about the details of marketing, designing and installing heat pumps for swimming pools. In this 1989 book Mr. King does a good job of presenting the benefits of the electric swimming pool heat pump when compared to other types of pool heaters.

Heating System Sizing (Chapter 7) information is applicable to any pool/spa heating system. The conclusion that electric heat pumps are very cost effective is not surprising; however, I believe solar heating is equally or more cost effective in the Sunbelt when using the same criteria. Fuel (primarily natural gas) provide the quickest heat gain and can be more efficient when heating is provided only a few days a week or month. Heat pumps shine the most in areas where the pool is to be heated for an extended period of time during moderate temperatures without ample solar heat potential (e.g., out of the Sunbelt).

While I do not have a heat pump, there seems to be significant gains in both efficiency and popularity over the last decade. Here is a link to Pool Heat Pumps, which appears to be an informative and helpful on-line retailer.

The Swimming Pool

"Everything You Need to know to Design, Build and Landscape the Perfect Pool" looks to be a very high priced coffee table book with lots of pretty pictures and not likely to have any substance. However, it turns out that Tom Griffiths has put some substance along with photos into the book.

Many of the customer reviews on Amazon give this book poor marks because it is not a DIY book on how to construct a professional looking pool without any experienced contractors, which it is not. It does provide some good guidance for the homeowner looking to understand their pool/landscaping project and be able to talk intelligently to designers/contractors.

The copy I reviewed came from the Orange County Public Library, but it is not very expensive to pickup a "used" copy.

The only edition (ISBN 0671882929) was published in 1994, so some of the information is aged. I believe it is out of print.

What Color Is Your Swimming Pool?

"A Homeowner's Guide to Trouble-Free Pool, Spa, and Hot Tub Maintenance" What a mouth full. I do not believe this book lives up to its title. It deals with many of the primary issues with owning a pool but not in depth.

I recommend checking it out at your local library before buying this book. If you are building a pool book library, it is worth owning for $15 to $20. If not, I would spend a few extra bucks for "The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual."

The third edition (ISBN 1580173098) was published in 2003, so it is just beginning to show its age.




The second edition (ISBN 1580170366) was published in 1998.

The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual

As the title says, this is a very complete book. This is the best reference book I have found. While it can be very technical, it is easy to skip to the problem/task at hand by using the Contents, Index, and/or Glossary. Using the book just once can easily recoup your $20 to $30 investment, but it is also available at many public libraries.

The second edition (ISBN 0071362398) was published in 2001, so some of the information is beginning to show its age. This edition maybe more relevant if your pool was constructed in the late 1980's or 1990's.


It is my understanding the third edition (ISBN 0071470174) is expected to be published during early 2007. This edition should be of more value for owners of pools built in the early 2000's.


The first edition (ISBN ???) was published in 1996.

The original book was called "The Professional Pool Maintenance Manual " (ISBN 0070614075) and was published in 1995.