Monthly Archives: October 2026

Most pools came with one light in the deep end. Here is what adding more pool lighting takes: niche versus nicheless lights, the cord path behind them, transformers, and the code rules for lights around the pool.

A spillover spa or waterfall that runs uneven, weak or split usually has a level, calcium, flow or debris problem. Here is how to tell which one, and which fixes are cleaning versus real repair.

Weak spa jets on a pool and spa combo usually come from pump speed, half-turned valves, closed air controls, clogs or air in the suction line. Here is what to check, in order.

An attached spa that heats slowly in cold weather is usually losing heat into the pool. Here is how valve actuators, spillover, filter flow and heat pumps cause it, and what to check before blaming the heater.

Most pool pump repair is a $28 seal, a $15 lid o-ring or an $8 capacitor. When the motor is done, California only lets you replace it with a variable speed one, and that changes the math.

Weekly pool service runs about $86 to $202 a month depending on whose 2026 numbers you trust. The real difference between two quotes is usually chemicals, filter cleans and trees.

Local and franchise aren't opposites. A franchise location pays 3 to 13% in royalties for a system, a small company answers to its owner, and either way you check the CSLB license, the insurance certificate and who your tech will be.

Week one is data plates, valves and a full water test. Week two is drain covers, gates and a call to your insurer. By week four you know your pump schedule, whether it's salt or chlorine, and what weekly service would cost.

The home inspector isn't required to inspect the pool, and a standard pool inspection can skip leaks and equipment life. A pool inspection runs $150 to $325 in California, and here's what to ask for and what red flags cost.

A pool emergency is anything that can hurt someone tonight: shocks in the water, a missing drain cover, gas at the heater, mixed chemicals. A green pool is urgent, and leaves after a Santa Ana can wait until Monday.