Not surprisingly, one of the client's primary requests for this poolscape in Calabasas, Calif., was that it not obstruct the amazing view of the San Fernando Valley. "You almost feel like you own Calabasas from sitting on that patio looking out," says Scott Cohen, supervising designer at The Green Scene in Canoga Park, Calif.
To create a view deck above the water, Cohen raised the bond beam on one end of the pool. "Their spa is also raised so they can sit in it and look out over the entire valley."
The raised bond beam also incorporates six spillways. "In order to get the spillways consistent all the way across," says Cohen, "we have a looped plumbing system behind that, so that we didn't have to put individual valves on each nozzle."
The spa on this project is a bit different. "A typical spa installation would have six jets in the walls and they all hit that one spot on your back and I think it gets irritating rather quickly," says Cohen. "The way I design spas is I'll have four of those jets in the seat walls and at varying heights, so as you move around the spa they'll hit your back in different areas. And then I'll take two of those jets and put them in the .oor, so they're heated foot jets, and I've found that especially the ladies appreciate the foot jets better than anything. Plus, the spa has a 5-foot-deep well where you can stand and there's a separate bank of six jets on the wall of the spa, so you get a full-body massage."
It does take longer to heat a spa with a deep well, adds Cohen, "but the hydrotherapy benefit is 10 times that of a typical spa. Plus, we always get lots of positive feedback about it. Everybody loves the deep well."
