Pool Magazine - Podcasts for the Pool Industry

A Frank Lloyd Wright Inspired Pool Renovation, Behind The Collaboration Curtain

Pool Magazine Season 3 Episode 27

Renowned landscape and pool designer Randy Angell, tile artisan Ray Corral, and award-winning pool builder Guy Wood, take us on a tour of a custom Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired pool and outdoor living renovation they recently completed in Texas. We discuss some of the subtle nuances of the design, challenges with implementation, and what brought together this unique collaboration.

Listen in on our conversation and read the article in the latest issue of Pool Magazine: A Frank Lloyd Wright Inspired Pool Renovation, Behind The Collaboration Curtain

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[00:00:00.280] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Thanks for joining us on another episode of Pool magazine podcast. I'm your host, Joe Trusty, Editor of Pool magazine. And today I'm chatting with renowned designer Randy Angell, well-known pool builder, Guy Wood, and tile artist, Ray Corral. It's a pleasure to have you with us all today on the show, guys.

 


[00:00:16.740] - Randy Angell

Good morning.

 


[00:00:17.960] - Ray Corral

Hello.

 


[00:00:18.770] - Guy Wood

Glad to be here.

 


[00:00:20.800] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Guys, today we're going to be discussing a unique collaboration between the three of you. I'm excited to learn more about this project, but I thought a great start starting point before we get deep into the weeds of our conversation would be to first just have you guys one by one introduce yourselves to our listeners, give us a little bit of overview about who you are in the pool industry, what your company is all about, and I think that's a great place to start from.

 


[00:00:47.510] - Ray Corral

All right. My name is Ray Corral, the owner of Mosaicist. We're a company based here out of Miami, Florida. We manufacture glass tile, we do design work, we do mosaic artworks, and we also do installations of our own products, and we specialize in the swimming pool industry, outdoor living industry.

 


[00:01:06.420] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Thanks for that, Ray. Randy?

 


[00:01:09.110] - Randy Angell

Good morning. I'm Randy Angell, owner of Randy Angell Designs out of Dallas, Texas. We specialize in really outdoor design, mainly swimming pools, but also the architectural elements that go around those pools, poolhouses and cabanas, the landscaping and all of those. Projects now going across the country, but mainly focused in the North Texas area. Terrific.

 


[00:01:36.260] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Thanks for that, Randy. Guy?

 


[00:01:39.180] - Guy Wood

Yeah, my name is Guy Wood. My company is West Side Pools and Service. Our construction division goes as West Side Water Shapes. I've been in the business since the mid '70s, and really grown into being a boutique pool builder. That's really my day. I manage the construction of the high-end remodels and residential builds. So I'm a student of Genesis and currently with WaterShape Designs. So I have had probably 250 to 300 hours worth of education. So I have some background that helps support the type of projects I build. And primarily, we don't do a high volume. We just do nice projects. So I like working with guys like Randy and Ray. It's unique how Ray and I got together on this particular project. We can talk about that later. But overall, I said I've been in the business for about 45 years and still going strong.

 


[00:02:33.480] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Terrific. Thanks for that bit of bio information, guys. I appreciate that. I take a look at some of the photos of this outdoor living project that you guys worked on together. I mean, the design of this pool and outdoor living area is a striking mix of both classic and modern elements. The overall concept seems almost Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired in the architecture and design of the outdoor living environment. Randy, I guess this question would be for What influenced your approach in coming up with this unique backyard design?

 


[00:03:06.540] - Randy Angell

Well, it was you hit the nail right on the head. It was completely inspired by a Frank Lloyd Wright esthetic. This was mainly led by the client. They have worked for several years on renovating the house inside and out, bringing in elements of rights esthetic into all of their architecture and interior design. And the backyard was tired. The pool had been there for probably 30 plus years, and their whole outdoor environment needed a nice uplift. And in that process, she wanted to certainly create a flow and continue that right esthetic out into the backyard.

 


[00:03:51.680] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Sure. I mean, guy, this question would be for you. One thing that I noticed, the look at some of the photos, is how unique the geometry of this pool shape is. I know it's a renovation and that it's not a new construction, but what were some of the chief considerations you had as the builder on this particular project from a construction standpoint, from what you had to do?

 


[00:04:12.590] - Guy Wood

Well, first off, I was really excited to be involved in the project because I built two previous designs that Randy had designed, and I just really admire him and his design skills. I was excited to be involved. And as it was at the time, I was already engaged with Ray on another project that we worked on together. So it just went hand in hand and it just all came together. So that's where we formed the team that we have that completed this project. So once I got in there, looked at it. So the pool, as Randy said, the pool was pretty tired and it had pavers, pave stone around it. So they wanted to get rid of that and they wanted to go with a more modern look to go with the Frank Lloyd Wright theme. So when I drained the pool, I realized there was a lot of cracks in the pool, and I was really concerned about that with Ray tiling the pool. So So we did some investigative work on that. And then that in conjunction with Randy's design, this particular client had some issues that required her to have special steps getting in and out of the pool.

 


[00:05:11.390] - Guy Wood

So we had to build the steps into the pool because they weren't there previously. So that was the hardest part of the construction was getting all these steps just right for her with the exact rises, because that doesn't go hand in hand with typical pool construction. And then with that, we incorporated a floor system to help clean that step area because it's fairly large. We wanted to make it accommodating to the client since it was her dream to have this whole backyard thing tied to the house. Those were the challenges with addressing the cracks and adding the steps and trying to do the best we could to make the swimming pool, since we didn't build it, put it in a condition that it would sustain with the tile and not have any problems down the road. So we've got our fingers crossed on that, but we I feel like we made strong efforts.

 


[00:06:03.380] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Here's a question for the team. Projects of this nature where an iconic designer, pool builder, and well-known tile artist, and all guys at the top of your game, where you guys come together for a project like this aren't especially common? I mean, how did this unique collaboration come to be? Where did each of you contribute to creating a cohesive design while maintaining your own distinct creative visions for this project?

 


[00:06:28.580] - Randy Angell

I think I'll take the lead on this. As the lead designer on the project, I had actually worked for about four years, maybe a little longer than that, through the design process with the client. And it was one of those cases where we would work on it for a while and then it would sit. They were busy working on the house and doing other things. But then we'd pick it back up, make some changes. And it went through this transformation over the course of about three and a half to four years before we really arrived at that final design. And then once we had tweaked the design elements to the point where the client was ready to start meeting builders and putting some actual numbers to their dream, that's when I reached out to Guy to have him come in and bid the project and meet the client. I wanted to pull together a team that I had tremendous faith in. As Guy mentioned, he's built several of my projects. He has a fantastic reputation in the industry. And with his location, I knew that he could be a really great fit for this. I was very happy when the client decided to go with him and his expertise, given some of the challenges that we faced on this.

 


[00:07:48.610] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Why did the homeowners tap you, Randy, for this particular project? Was it something that they saw in your past body of work that stood out to them that you were the company of choice for this project?

 


[00:08:00.740] - Randy Angell

I believe so. I don't recall exactly where they came across me. I believe it was through house or social media. But it was the fact that the client did see in my body of work, she recognized the influence that Frank Lloyd Wright really has had on my entire career and recognized the design elements, the scale and balance, and all of those things that she was really looking for. I believe they had worked with another designer previously and just did not quite mesh when it came to creating that feel, honoring that Frank Lloyd Wright esthetic. And so they reached out to me and we met, and that's my jam. This is my dream project to be able to work with someone that really wants to do something like this to honor Wright.

 


[00:09:00.390] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Well, thanks for that, Randy. One thing that really stands out in this pool is the tile. Mosaic tile often brings a sense of art and storytelling into a space. Now, you're clearly telling a story here with the pattern selections in this design. Can you explain that story a bit for our audience?

 


[00:09:16.190] - Randy Angell

I'd like to discuss how I was able to get Ray to join this team because it was obviously absolutely crucial to the success of this project. I think it's a funny story because As we went through all of those design iterations, one of the things that the client had asked me for was to create some mosaic tile design. Her idea was to have something that's spilling down the steps and a more limited focus with this mosaic design. And so I worked out several different iterations, and we went back and forth for several months, and I kept trying to tell her that this isn't my wheelhouse. I know somebody that we need to get involved, that this is what he does. And I started sharing with her some photos of Ray's work. And we had even gone to the point of getting bids on doing an all-tile pool with just this limited mosaic. And seeing what that was going to cost, I said, We need to bring Ray in here. If we're going to do this, let's do it right. And that deserves more than just this simple design on the steps. We need that full wow factor.

 


[00:10:37.810] - Randy Angell

And so I contacted Ray, and he was immediately just super excited about taking on a challenge like this. And I knew that Ray would show the respect to Frank Lloyd Wright that both the client and I wanted to see. And so at that point, we were able to let Ray just go and do his thing. And And obviously, it was a good decision. So from there, Ray, you can share the story of how this design came together. Yeah.

 


[00:11:11.660] - Ray Corral

And it's funny because I'm learning a lot of things that I didn't know before as I'm hearing you talk. So once we get involved in the storytelling behind this project is immediately once you have a designer contact us, let's say, Randy, you have to be very careful. He already came to the table with a design. So we have to tiptoe and be careful to see if that design got approved and so on. And Randy already came with a design coming down the steps like a waterfall effect, coming down the steps. And I immediately wanted to start working on something else. But so at the beginning, it was like we're working with... We want to make sure that we don't step on anybody's toes and we don't insult anybody. And so on. We sometimes work with designers and we ask them, we tell them that this could be done better. And it's just, no, this is what they What do you want to do? And so we just do it. So in this case, the client, Randy, also gave us an open canvas to do something and start working on something else. And the story behind it was the client started to give me inspirations, designs that they liked from Frank Lloyd Wright that they currently had in the house.

 


[00:12:16.100] - Ray Corral

And this design here is not exactly, but a lot of the elements came from a stained glass that Frank Lloyd Wright, I guess, once did in a home. And we had to then try to put it together and make it fit. Not only make it fit, but also how are we going to install it without having a template of the floor and so on? So a lot of elements came together. But if the design also had to breathe and we had to make enough designs to be able to make it a mostly green pool and have the design pop as well. So the listeners are not looking at the design right now, and I am as I'm talking about it. So I'm going to try not to even refer to it because I'm looking at the design right here. But it was very challenging a lot of times, and I'll close off with this, a lot of times it's very easy to do the squirrels and the Versaceas designs and all that. It's extremely difficult to do a mathematical straight line design in a pool with a concave and make it look right. Extremely difficult.

 


[00:13:18.030] - Ray Corral

And this was very heavily installation-driven. The design was made in a flat plane, but it was actually designed to when we installed it, we knew we were going to cheat and push to it look right and snip and cut and so on. So there's, again, it's hard for the listeners to see, but there's a lot of areas that we designed specifically to install it inside the swimming pool.

 


[00:13:43.480] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Yeah, I mean, I find the design process of what you do, particularly impressive. And I've seen some of the video footage that you take when you do these things. And going from that 2D plane to 3D, where you got that Baisier curve that you're doing once you get it actually in the pool, it has a a whole new dimension of difficulty. So I definitely understand what you're talking about there. To me, honestly, what's most striking is the vibrant colors selections of the tile that you choose. Wonderful hues of greens, iridescent Azure colors. I did have one question, though, I mean, about that. There is a small area where your eye is drawn immediately to a strip of red tile. Can you perhaps explain the significance behind the color choices and what these design elements represent?

 


[00:14:29.530] - Ray Corral

Yeah. Well, like Randy and also guy knows that this was heavily driven by the client. And we definitely want to go with nature, Frank Lloyd Wright, nature connection. So therefore we immediately went to a green. And the green had to be dark enough to make sure that the design was going to go with a lighter tone color that would pop. Now, the actual light beige colors that we use are irredescent because the client just wanted some shimmer to it. But I tried to... She wanted some gold and stuff, and I talked a little bit out of I think it was going to cheese it up too much. And then she just kept saying, Can we put some red in it? And I'm thinking, and it's like, I just told her, It's not going to go. Why would you want to put red? They wouldn't tell me. And this was actually... She told me actually in person when I went to go see to present to her to present to her the digitals and all that, I actually went to Texas, and we met over there with guy as well. And she kept talking about the red and a specific red.

 


[00:15:24.300] - Ray Corral

It had to be almost like a dark crimson wine red. And I just started to try to tell her, Well, I don't I already had the design, but I don't know where to put it. And then she finally said, Well, we have a son, and that passed at a very young age, I believe at four, guy. Is that correct? Four years old? Yeah. And then she said, And this is the connection of the... It's just as a memory to him. I guess I had asked no more questions. And then we actually redesigned it so we could fit the red in there. And we never spoke about it again, but we were very excited then show her where the red was and so on and how the arrows led to the red towards the deep end and everything. So it was tucked away in the corner, wasn't right in your face. The job became a little bit... It took a little bit of a twist because of that. But I appreciate you asking because it's a really important part with the client and for us as well.

 


[00:16:21.340] - Randy Angell

It ended up being an absolutely integral part of the design itself. I think the way that you worked it in there, it was It just inspired. It really just made the design.

 


[00:16:36.790] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

I mean, that deep and personal connection that the homeowner has with this backyard is definitely very telling on why they made some of the selections that they did. In terms of the construction guy, I mean, what were some of the unique challenges that you faced in bringing this particular design to life? And what was it like collaborating with Randy and Ray?

 


[00:16:56.610] - Guy Wood

Well, first off, I put my heart and soul to all my projects because I want to satisfy the client and I want to be a good team player. This one was going relatively well. I mean, I thought we were tracking pretty good on it. And I'd also like to compliment the client. They've been great to work with. And so we finished. We were trying to wrap the job up. And so we'd already discussed the issues with the cracks in the pool. And so then we went in there and brought in an engineer. We stabilized the soil to help that. And And that seems to have fixed that concern. But then we got to the deck, and we didn't really know there was a problem because there was a paved stone deck there before. And so we went in, proceeded to do a fairly typical concrete sub deck so we could install these large portion tiles over the deck. Everything was great. And then all of a sudden, we started to notice this deck lifting, and it was concerning. And we monitored it for a period of about, I'm going to guess because we had other things going on in the backyard for about three months.

 


[00:18:04.620] - Guy Wood

And the deck literally was lifting up like a cake that had too much yeast in it. And so then, of course, in its hindsight, at that point, well, we have a problem. So we brought in a soils testing guy, and sure enough, the soil was really expansive, and we were behind on that because the pool was already built. We didn't think there was an issue, right? Anyway, long story short, so we ended up having to completely remove the deck around this job that was about, at that point, was about 85, 90 % complete. So my heart just about sank on that. But client was very accommodating as far as understanding and things like that. And we just worked together and we literally dissected that job and took the deck out and then went in with a new engineer suspended deck and put it all back together. I think we delayed the job probably about another, I don't know. It had to be at least two months, maybe it was three months. But at the end of the day, it came back. It's holding up beautifully. The only piece we have left that's not done yet is Randy designed a beautiful screen fence that separates the pool area from where the equipment is.

 


[00:19:13.090] - Guy Wood

We're in the process of that's at the powder coder now. It's in three different colors. I know it doesn't show up in the pictures, but that is another piece coming to the project. Then in addition to that, they're going to redo their raised wood deck, and they're actually going to put Swedish red boards on that to further bring in the red color.

 


[00:19:33.650] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

You mentioned the pictures are beautiful. Shout out to Danny Reilly, photography, did a tremendous job photographing this particular project. I guess the previous question would be a fair enough question for the two of you guys as well, Randy and Ray, what were some of the unique challenges that you guys experienced in bringing this project to life?

 


[00:19:54.300] - Randy Angell

One of the initial challenges for me, although ultimately, I think it's something that helps sell this as a Frank Lloyd Wright project, is the shape of the pool. This is the most bizarrely shaped, I don't even know what to call the shape, geometric pool I think I've ever worked with. I've done a lot of renovations over the years, and this is one of those that was just a really interesting shape to begin with. Where that comes into play is when you're laying out the decking going around this pool and trying to figure out, Okay, how do we run the pattern for these porcelain pavers when you have no two sides of the pool are parallel or perpendicular to one another? There were some interesting challenges in working with all of those angles. And then also at the back of the pool, we have this amazing fireplace wall that was an existing structure. Everything else, it was really tired, had some decay happening, and I was really concerned about how are we going to update this and make sure that it is structurally stable and become an integral part of this whole shade structure area. So all of those elements coming together was a fun challenge.

 


[00:21:23.430] - Ray Corral

Challenges? Oh, man. Well, I know we had a situation with the staff. We had all the design. The biggest The challenge was the client wanted to... They say you really enjoy your pool for the most part, looking at it rather than swooming in it. I wanted to bring in the design. The home is a little bit further away. It's on the shallow entry side, which is the step side. So what I wanted to do was to bring a design that even from the home, you can actually see that something is there, and definitely from the second story. So when I went to the job site, I took pictures of their bathroom and all the windows that you see the pool. And I designed around all those eye levels and taking into consideration the magnification of the water as well, plus the actual floor. It goes from a shallow to a deeper side. We took that in consideration as well. And then the biggest challenge was, how do we do a design that they can see throughout the whole home and that it is the whole entire floor, but it is subtle? And then so that's how we ended up with this design.

 


[00:22:26.220] - Ray Corral

We had to make sure we let it breathe. We You had to let it breathe. And that's where the balance is. You put something in there that looks very in your face and the wrong colors, and then it just becomes just utter cheese. It just doesn't work, and it's not elegant and timeless. And then so a lot of the design aspect came from, we have to do the whole floor. We can't just do a little bit of steps here and there. But that's our canvas. So how do we make something that is timeless and the client is going to be tired of seeing it and so on. And working on the shape as well. And then how do we install it? This thing does not come... We manufactured this, and I'll finish off with this. We manufactured this floor piece just so we can butt it up against the pool on two sides. The other sides were all built by my installers on site. So we had to put it together and come up with how do we finish it on site. And so it was very interesting how this came about. And one very difficult project to design.

 


[00:23:29.210] - Ray Corral

And people don't know how difficult it is, the mathematical work that we had to do this in the scaling. And also the design has a movement and a flow that goes from the shallow to the deeper end. I know it has something of an arrow that is very, frankly, right? Yes, it is. But it does have a movement that boxes get bigger as it gets deeper. So there is some a movement that leaves your eye from the shallow and to the deeper end. So I can talk forever. So I'll just shut it off with that. But I think that the team that put this together. Everybody had a really, really important contribution to the project, and I'm super excited. I don't think that there's anything in the world like this. There's no Frank Lloyd Wright designed anything on any pool. I don't think so. I searched to death and I became members of all these groups and tried asking there, and nobody said anything about no Frank Lloyd Wright inside the pool. So I'm pretty excited about this particular job. I think it's one of a kind in the world.

 


[00:24:23.740] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

We're excited about it, too. I mean, quite often we see these beautiful luxury backyards, but we don't get the opportunity to talk to the designer and installers at the same time. I was wondering if you guys could perhaps provide us with some details about your material selections and maybe some of the equipment choices that are in this particular project.

 


[00:24:42.410] - Guy Wood

I can talk about the mechanics of it as As far as the design for the finished materials, I'm going to give that all to Randy because he selected the designs and the pattern of the deck was pretty intricate with the pattern for it all to work out. So he gets that credit. I think adding the floor cleaning heads to the steps helped a bunch. And as far as the equipment goes, it's got filtration equipment on it. Nothing crazy. It does have some LED micro bright lighting in it that looks pretty sharp at night. Beyond that, I think the design is all about what Randy came up with and what together we all executed.

 


[00:25:20.130] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

Thanks for that guy. Randy?

 


[00:25:22.180] - Randy Angell

I think in the material selections, the all-tile pool, obviously, that's our money shot. I'm just so grateful to Ray for coming up with this design. I mean, honestly, I get a little bit emotional looking at the pictures because it was such a long process of design, and I wanted it to be right. And that's why I was never happy with my design inside the pool. And so I think it was really interesting that at the time that we were going through this process, Ray had started to post a few projects that were more geometric and really subtle tones. And that's what sparked it in me that, okay, that's the direction we need to go. I need to get Ray in here. And so that was something that I was very thankful for Ray's contribution solutions in all of this. I think one of the other key elements in materials, there is refaced the existing fireplace. Ultimately ended up, I think they completely rebuilt the fire box and everything because of decay. The that had been occurring. But I designed a custom concrete tile for the façade on the fireplace and a small wing wall off to the side and worked with Todd Hart over at Atelier Valls Stone.

 


[00:26:45.130] - Randy Angell

And he created a mold based off of my design and cast these 12 by 12 Frank Lloyd Wright inspired tiles for the veneer on the fireplace. The stone veneer, lead stone veneer on the fireplace was existing, and they just did some touch-ups on that. But then we also worked with Valstone to create a new mantle and some other trim pieces to finish out this renovation of the existing fireplace and added a nice copper chimney cap to the top. We actually raised the height of the chimney by about 4 feet to give it a larger presence in the yard. But then bringing in the staple, frankly, Frank Lloyd Wright material elements with the copper flashing around the roof structure and then bringing in the elements of the bronze finish on the custom-manufactured railing going into the pool. Everything really trying to evoke that emotion that you get in that organic, modern Frank Lloyd Wright feel. And then the other material that's really important and was super important to the client was the decking material and coping. They wanted as close to no maintenance as possible on this. So we went with all porcelain pavers surrounding this pool so that they would not have to worry about dealing with a limestone or travertine or what other natural material we would use for these areas.

 


[00:28:23.540] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

A wonderful mix of classic and contemporary. I do think that that porcelain paver does add that unique modern flair that today's homeowners are looking for. Ray, do you want to chime in?

 


[00:28:34.490] - Ray Corral

I will say this, the materials, we do glass tiles. So the materials is from the glass tiles that we manufacture. But I do want to say this, later on, I started to see how the project came together. And there was a couple of things that were not present when I was there doing the glass tile. Number one, the railing. I think Randy put together such an amazing design of a railing, which, again, guy would I figured it out how to get it manufactured, if I'm correct. Again, it's something that you look at it and you're like, the amount of design work and effort it took to put this together and how well that design, because that design also compliments my floor design. And that came later. I know when we were installing, guy was telling me, oh, we were trying to wrap around the floor where the railing went, and we had a couple of questions about that and the heights of that. And guy mentioned, there's a railing that's custom made that's supposed to fit here like a And then later on, I saw it, which I was flabbergasted. You look at all that, and it's just an enormous amount.

 


[00:29:35.460] - Ray Corral

I love to focus on the actual pool itself. And I know it's a centerpiece because that's where the body of water is. But in reality, when you're looking at the whole thing altogether and how well it was put together and the color contrast also, I think it's just a home run. This is just a masterpiece of a job, I think.

 


[00:29:52.990] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

I agree. I saw the before photos of the backyard with just the fireplace there. And what Randy did there to really bring that space to life and add a really unique and sophisticated seating area, firepit area for the homeowner. I think he had a home run there. I mean, it's a beautiful design, Randy.

 


[00:30:13.850] - Randy Angell

Thank you. One other element that I would like to point out, and without seeing the pictures, you can't appreciate this, but this client, they were absolutely amazing to work with. I love working with creative clients, and these two people are super creative. And if you look at the new screen that is in the fire box of the fireplace, that is a metal screen, a steel screen that the client designed and had fabricated to fit into this massive fire box opening. And it's so subtle back there, but it is a tremendous detail that brought to the table herself and said, here, I came up with this idea. We've had it fabricated. This is what's happening here. And it's just another one of those pieces to the design that adds on to every other detail. It can go underappreciated if you don't really stop and look at it.

 


[00:31:21.140] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

It's wonderful and incredibly challenging when you work with a client who has a unique vision for their space.

 


[00:31:27.670] - Guy Wood

I'd like to add a little something to that, Rael, if I can. So the rail is a very unique design. It's definitely a one-of-a-kind rail, and it had to be such to accommodate the short riser. So there's eight steps going into that pool because this lady has MS, and so she uses the pool. So she doesn't just look at the pool. She uses the pool. I bet I'll end up putting a heater on there, but I know she used it this summer. Anyway, but the rail, I got to give credit to our fabricator, a guy named Burris Natsky out of Mansfield. I've never given him a challenge that he couldn't come up with something. I mean, it's as simple as custom skimmer lids that disappear in a deck. But this was this rail, put it all together. It's all out of stainless steel. But then we had to figure out a way to anchor the rail, but then have it serviceable if it ever does have to be worked on, and also have it within code to be electrically bonded, because anything metal object that's within 5 feet of a pool has to be bonded.

 


[00:32:28.180] - Guy Wood

So we ended up taking a traditional swimming pool ladder brass anchors, and setting those with... We took a rail, a ladder, and cut a piece of it off, and we made that. So that rail slides over the top of the existing ladder post, if you will, And then it has a fastener assembly in there that's virtually invisible. You can see two little hex head screws that are hidden, but they're powder-coated. So the rail take out those two screws, the rail comes off if it has to be worked on. So from From an installation perspective, it was quite a challenge, but we did not have any flexibility on this thing. It had to set in place exactly. So it wasn't easy, but it turned out great. And it's like a showpiece on there now.

 


[00:33:13.530] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

I love the details, guy. I mean, it's great when you have a custom fabricator in your back pocket that can be your go-to guy on projects like this. Five years in the making, I mean, a long time from concept to fruition, Randy, Guy, Ray. I mean, so thrilled to have had the to speak with you about this wonderful collaboration and beautiful luxury outdoor living project. Definitely enjoyed learning more about your thought process and some of the challenges that you faced in bringing this project to life.

 


[00:33:42.540] - Randy Angell

Yeah, thank you for having us on today. Thank you for the opportunity to begin sharing this project. It's such a special project to my heart, mainly because of the amazing clients, but also because it gave me a great opportunity to work with with Ray and Guy and several other entrusted partners. I really appreciate you highlighting this with us today, Joe.

 


[00:34:08.680] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

It's my pleasure.

 


[00:34:09.930] - Ray Corral

Thanks again, Joe and Pool magazine for having us. We're big fans of you guys, and we're always looking out for all the latest stuff that you guys are pulling out. So thanks again for reaching out to us and covering this particular pool. And as I'm listening to Guy and I'm listening to Randy, I'm looking at what he's talking about right now, and I'm still learning about this project. Just so many details bills to it. And I hope that through this podcast, we're able to capture a lot of it because it's even a learning process for me. So thanks for having us. And thank you guys for sharing us with all you guys.

 


[00:34:41.060] - Guy Wood

So, Joe, I appreciate the opportunity to be able to be part of this podcast. Like I said, I've been in the industry since I was a teenager, and over the years, I stayed involved with the industry and built some great relationships. And I feel like this collaboration with Randy and Ray has got to be the best one I've had. And also, and I worked on another project together that's pretty solid that hopefully we'll get some recognition down the road. But anyway, the client was great. It was just like a dream project, even with the challenges. And we did have some challenges on this project. There were some other great talent on the job. The design that Randy did with the overhangs, those had to be executed. And so the pool is the main piece with the tile. I think that's the focal point. That's the money shot right there. But the overall project is just spectacular. And if you ever get a chance to be in Texas, we'll take you over and show it to you.

 


[00:35:35.130] - Joe Trusty - Pool Magazine

As a matter of fact, I'll be in Dallas for the International Pool, Spa, Patio Expo coming up in November. So maybe I'll have an opportunity to take you up on that invitation, guys. Again, this is Joe Trusty, and you've been listening to the Pool magazine podcast with our guests, Ray Corral, Randy Angell, and Guy Wood. Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to like, share, subscribe, and follow, and we'll catch you next time on another episode of Pool magazine podcast.