Submitting your company’s project(s) for recognition by your peers requires a bit of work. For example, arranging for a photographer to visit the completed job sites — hopefully on sunny days — must also be coordinated with our Deck and Patio clients.
Then choosing just the right photos and writing up details of the work to support these entries requires precious time — usually during our busiest time of year. Only then, does “fingers crossed” waiting begin.
Winning Awards
When you consider the quality of Deck and Patio’s competitors, over the years we’ve always been humbled not to mention a little bit proud when winning our share of awards.
And right now we are in the process of arranging photography for some of our most recent work.
While this is being done, we couldn’t resist remembering that time, not too long ago, when Deck and Patio actually swept APSP’s entire water feature category.
“To receive an award from The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP) — the voice of the pool and spa industry — is a great achievement,” says our own Dave Stockwell. “To have won Gold, Silver and Bronze for three of our water features, and to have been the only company to win in that category that year, says all the effort and love we put into our work was recognized.”
Here are those awards:
1. Gold Award, Islip NY/Category: Hot Tubs, Spas, and Water Features/Residential Water Features
Deck and Patio’s APSP Gold Award (Islip, NY)
The waterfalls we created to flow over rocks in this water feature are not just for beauty; they aerate the 23 by 16, 2-foot-deep pond, keeping it from becoming stagnant. In addition to aquatic plants in and around the pond, the landscaping included bright plantings. We added colorful koi, plus the pond attracts other desirable wildlife for a blissful backyard escape that is a delight for all the senses.
Deck and Patio’s APSP Gold Award (Islip, NY):
We also added stepping stones across this same pond, which make it possible to go from their new deck out into the yard — in a way that contributes to the overall restful experience of the water feature. The stones’ irregularity and careful placement create an element of what the ancient Japanese called the ‘contemplative world.’
2. Silver Award, Brooklyn/NY/Category: Hot Tubs, Spas, and Water Features/Residential Water Features
Deck and Patio’s APSP Silver Award (Brooklyn, NY):
Even though they live in a bustling, high-traffic part of New York City, this client wanted her children to experience the same interaction with nature that she had as a child. For them we designed/built a complete backyard playground oasis: a swimming pond with a beach-style entry and a water feature with three waterfalls.
Deck and Patio’s APSP Silver Award (Brooklyn, NY):
Instead of using any chemicals, to keep the pond healthy through a natural eco-system, we used all Aquascape Inc. equipment and components.
We also constructed the shallow pond as a deeper koi pond with boulders that are covered with fabric and gravel; when the children are older, this can be removed, leaving only the liner, to create a full-sized koi pond providing an entirely different experience for the children.
3. Bronze Award, Fort Salonga/NY/Category: Hot Tubs, Spas, and Water Features/Exterior/Interior Portable Hot Tubs
Deck and Patio’s APSP Bronze Award (Fort Salonga, NY):
These clients wanted a spillover spa, but so they could enjoy it all year, they wanted it separate from the pool. To provide the look they wanted, along with year-round use, we built a portable hot tub all the way into the ground with boulders and plantings around it.
Deck and Patio’s APSP Bronze Award (Fort Salonga, NY):
We also added a moss rock waterfall just beneath the hot tub that spills into the pool. While it’s actually coming from the pool’s edge, this waterfall appears to be coming from a custom in-ground concrete spillover spa.
Those three jobs won the whole water features category! Gold, Silver, Bronze. Fingers crossed on our new round of submissions!
