Bill Bowen was a lesser known Coloradan architect. He began his private Architectural practice in 1962. Bill was partner in NBBB Architects and owner of BBB Architects. He practiced architecture for almost 50 years, winning many architectural awards.

Even after retirement, Bill Bowen continued to win numerous awards, including best smile and best sense of humor!

One of Bill’s masterpieces was a home that he built for himself in the 70’s. He did most of the construction himself and won a structural design award for the project.

The house had many unusual features including this UFO shaped swimming pool.

The current homeowners are both successful designers. The house influences their work every day and is an inspiration. They are committed to honoring and preserving the original architects’ ideas. The pool was in a bad state of disrepair and the owners had some decisions to make.

Mackland LLC is the well know and respected Golden Colorado pool removal company. Our reputation and our unique Pool Removal Process is what lead the owners of this house to contact us. After some consultation it was decided to remove the pool but preserve the shape that it previously occupied converting it to synthetic turf.

This was a challenging mountain terrain project that needed a specialized solution. We used a combination of rock slinger trucks and a blower truck to place the fill material.

See this galley showing the progression of the job.

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The Marshall Fire was a fire that started on December 30, 2021, shortly before 10:30 a.m. MST, as a grass fire in Boulder County, Colorado.
In terms of structures lost, it is the most destructive fire in Colorado history. By of the evening of January 1, 2022, an estimated 1084 structures, including houses, a hotel and at least one shopping center, had burned. The rapidly spreading Marshall Fire damaged 149 more.

This was a new type of suburban fire never seen before. In the past wildfires only occurred in the foothills. As a result many home owners found themselves underinsured. In addition the skyrocketing cost to rebuild as a result of inflation, high fuel cost and supply chain deficits added to the problem.  After all the insurance companies payed out there was a race to rebuild or sell. This began over extending local architects, engineers and contractors with massive influx of work.  Securing local resources to rebuild was key for these victims to moving on with out further delay waiting for local resources to free up.  

Mackland, Denver’s premium Pool Removal company was approached to remove a swimming pool that sustained major damage during the Marshall Fire. We offered a discounted price to help this client and expedited the project quickly so they could sell the lot while the real estate market was hot.

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As with every job that we undertake we follow all of the safety guidelines. We called Colorado 811 indicating our intention to make sure that we could dig without interfering with any underground utilities.

This job did not require the usual finesse requiring our compact equipment. The big guns were rolled in to deal with this job quickly and efficiently.

Why use Mackland LLC?

The planning and design of any project is an exciting endeavor for us at Mack Land, LLC. We work closely with our clients on a personal basis to provide cost-conscious design solutions in response to their specific needs and lifestyles.

We pride ourselves in providing swimming pool removal and installation solutions that are low impact. Our goal is to give our clients a positive experience from concept design to implementation.

We’re tech savvy. We bring modern solutions and equipment to your project to complete it. We test and implement robotic lawn mowers, irrigation systems controlled by your smart phone, automated outdoor lighting and so much more!

Contact us today to discuss how we can assist you with your next project.

Planting Tight Spaces need not be a challenge. Not all landscape planting spaces are wide open.  Sometimes space is more limited than we would like.  There are plants out there to fit in the narrow space along your walkway or that small strip between the sidewalk and your fence.  Below are some ideas to get you thinking about what may work for you and your tight planting area. So you have now generated some extra space after having had your Denver pool removed. Now what?

Even the savviest home gardener can struggle to see the potential in a Planting Tight Spaces, and when that pocket garden is on the outside of the fence, is it even worth bothering about? The challenges are many: difficult to water, reflected heat from the sidewalk, careless feet and often poor soil.

Yet these perimeter plantings can act as a picture frame for the inner garden and home beyond. When you read how these designers and homeowners treated their pocket gardens, you may be tempted to rethink the location of your own boundary fence just to take advantage of this unique design opportunity.

1. A Romantic Border

A classic white picket fence festooned with fragrant roses — what could be more romantic? The beauty of this one is that passersby can enjoy the flowers, since they’re planted on the outside of the fence.

Key design features:

• Restraint in both color and plants
• Repetition of colors and plants down the entire border
• Gaining height by using the fence to support climbing roses

Color notes:

• A restrained palette of pink and blue is accented with chartreuse.
• The deeper shades of purple provide depth, ensuring that this combination will still turn heads even in late summer.

Plant selection:

• Climbing ‘Mary Rose’ provides height and fragrance.
• Billowing mounds of golden creeping Jenny(Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) and May Night salvia (Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’) form the lower tier.
• These perennials are tolerant of low water, poor soil and hot sun.

2. A Contemporary Home

The strong geometric lines of contemporary architecture call for a foliage-focused planting, and this narrow roadside border delivers.

Key design features:

• Restraint in color and plant variety
• Linear planting that echoes the horizontal lines of the home’s siding and fence
• Emphasis on foliage over flowers

Color note:

• Muted earth tones

Plant selection:

• Grasses and succulents are eminently suitable for contemporary landscape design, as they rely upon their strong form rather than colorful blooms.
• These plants require minimal water and maintenance.
• The grasses add a bright note to the dark stained fence panels.

3. An Entry That Establishes a Theme

A garden entrance should create a sense of anticipation, setting the scene for what is beyond. Plantings on the street side of this lattice fence do just that.

Key design features:

• An interesting combination of heights and textures makes this tiny planting pocket seem much larger than it really is.
• Several of these plants can also be glimpsed within the main garden.

Color note:

• Subdued tones of tan and pink allow the eye to move through the garden entrance.

Plant selection:

• This is a particularly hot, dry border, so these plants have been selected for their tenacity.
• Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima), feather reed grass(Calamgrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’)and sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Sedum ‘Herbstfreude’) provide long-term interest.

4. Planting Strips That Link Multiple Homes

Planned communities such as this one in Kirkland, Washington, have their own challenges, not the least of which is abiding by homeowners association regulations.

These planting strips allow for individuality while maintaining a cohesive design.

Key design features:

• A narrow planting strip adjacent to the sidewalk lies beyond each homeowner’s split-rail fence.
• Several plants are repeated through all the gardens, while there’s still room for some unique choices.

Color note:

• Shades of blue, lavender and green are repeated throughout.

Plant selection:

• All the plants are lower than the height of the split-rail fence; allowing the fence to be glimpsed down the entire sidewalk gives the illusion of one continuous border.
• Each plant typically has a mounding habit, creating a sense of uniformity.
• Lavender(Lavandula spp)and sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Sedum ‘Herbstfreude’) are planted throughout these pocket gardens as well as in the adjacent communal garden areas. Bronze-colored coral bells (Heuchera hyb.) and daylilies (Hemerocallis spp) are also used.

So, as you can see while Planting Tight Spaces needs a different approach. There as many options to consider.

See the original article from Houzz here

Before you rule out a home with an out-of-date pool, read these 6 Genius New Uses for an Old Pool.

Swimming pools have many virtues, especially during scorching summers. But they can easily become eyesores — not to mention money pits — especially if they leak or have other functional issues.

Instead of going through the costly (and sometimes unsuccessful) process of bringing an old swimming pool up to date, why not turn it into an entirely new, seriously cool feature that sets your home apart?

From a detached, lower-level studio space to a fully realized aquaponic farm, here are six smart ideas (some DIY projects and some that require a little professional help) to convert your old swimming pool into something useful, beautiful, or both!

While you might not be ready to go full-scale eco-farm, the project proves that an old pool site might be just the spot to pull off the herb-and-veggie garden of your dreams.

As you can see there are a huge number of ideas of how to use that newly reclaimed space after having had your pool removed. Not interested in these 6 Genius New Uses for an Old Pool? Contact us to find out more possible ideas.

Find the original article from Trulia here

There are a number of types of pool removal. Here we discuss what they are and what’s involved.

Full In-Ground Pool Removal

In this type of pool removal the pool is completely demolished and removed offsite and the area is restored to lawn. For home owners that may have plans for a home addition or garage in the same area as the pool. No concrete will remain onsite.

Low Impact Pool Removal

All plastics and metals associated with the pool get hauled away and recycled. All concrete associated with the pool is completely demolished and processed into 8 – 10” fracture concrete gravel similar to PGE and used as fill. Pool area is restored to lawn. This method is lower impact and more cost effective because less has to be hauled in and out to fill in the pool.

Basic Pool Removal

Bottom of pool is perforated with holes for water to drain and sides of the pool are removed 24” below final grade. Pool area is restored to lawn.

Above Ground Pool Removal

Pool will be completely disassembled, hauled away and area will be restored to lawn.

TYPICAL SCOPE OF SERVICE FOR POOL REMOVALS

• Obtain all permits, provide drawings as needed, and pay all permit fees

• Call in a Utility Locate

• Pump out pool water

• Protect trees as needed

• Remove and reinstall fence for access

• Saw cut pool deck away from any concrete to remain

• Disconnect electric associated with the pool at main circuit breaker in house

• Disconnect gas line – typically capped at gas meter

• Demolish/remove swimming pool

• Import and compact clay fill material

• Import and distribute 6” of top soil over the entire disturbed area

• Seed and install erosion control blanket

• Repair irrigation as needed

See our post about Reasons to Remove Your Pool for more information.

If you live in the greater Chicago or Denver areas please do not hesitate to give us a call about swimming pool removal or any of the other services that we offer. There are many types of pool removal and we have experience with all of them. Also make sure to visit our experience page to see some of our previous pool removal work.

No one removes more pools than Mack Land.

This West Dundee removal was a typical instance where with a view to selling, the client wanted to increase the value of their real estate by removing their pool.

Removing this above ground pool was the first phase in a multi phase backyard makeover project. The pool had not been used in some time and like with many pools, low levels of use lead to low levels of maintenance and eventually the pool becomes no longer economical to maintain.

Phase two of the project was to remove and redo the patio.

As with all of our pool removal jobs with this West Dundee Pool Removal we stuck to our time proven specification that ensured a hassle free outcome.

1. Call in a Utility Locate “Julie” 1 week prior to start
2. Pump out existing pool water and discharge to curb or on property
3. Safely disconnect and remove all pool utilities, gas and electric
4. Remove pool liner and dispose offsite
5. Disassemble pool and recycle all materials
6. Import topsoil
7. Seed and blanked disturbed area (In this instance the client opted for sod to ensure that instant green backyard).

As you can see from the before and after photos the desired results were achieved.

You will also notice the while doing the job we made use of our low impact machinery to minimize collateral damage.

Take a look at our experience page to see before and after photos of other pool removal exercises we have completed in both the greater Chicago and Denver areas.

Contact us for an estimate.

No one removes more swimming pools than
Mack Land.

There are many options on how to fill your indoor swimming pool. The most common is compactable fill dirt, however, there are other options. In this Denver Indoor Pool Removal we used flowable fill as an option. It has been designed to compacted soil as backfill. Below are a few facts about flowable fill.

Denver Indoor Pool Removal Flowable Fill

Pros

• Ultimate low impact solution
• Great for limited or difficult access
• Minimal dust, a plus for interior work
• No compaction equipment needed, this makes the filling process quieter and better for the stability of surrounding structures

Cons

• Can be more expensive than other options

Flowable fill can be a granular material – washed fractured stone or a softer form of concrete. The softer concrete is not as dense or hard as traditional concrete. Both can be easily excavated at a future point in time if needed.

Current Denver weather report

If you are interested in finding out more about how we completed this Denver Pool Removal and how we can look at removing your swimming pool Contact Us to discuss all your options.

See our blog where we have many useful articles relating to pool removal in general.