If you are looking for ways to take your swimming pool to the next level and create a visually stunning and exciting water feature, look no further than pencil jets. They’ve become a popular choice among pool owners who want to add a touch of elegance, a dramatic visual effect, and the soothing sound of flowing water.
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Creating a Unique Experience With Pencil Jets
To learn more about the benefits of pencil jets and how they can transform your pool, we sat down with pool contractor Blake Swanson, of Premier Pools & Spas in South Bay, CA.
With years of experience in the pool industry, Swanson is a seasoned pool builder and instructor known for his innovative designs and creative use of water features. According to Swanson, pencil jets are an excellent option for pool owners who want to elevate the aesthetics and functionality of their pools. He shared his insights on how this particular water feature can enhance your pool and create a unique experience for swimmers.
“It’s a cool design feature we offer our customers that just want a simple zero-level pool with no raised walls and water features. Usually, you’re kind of limited on water features when it’s a zero-level pool. So we try to get creative with deck jets and arch descents that go under the coping,” said Swanson.
“Typically coping overhangs about an inch and a half or an inch. Pencil jets are basically just small little cylinders with a hole that kind of comes up 45 degrees out of it to create a stylish water feature. Essentially it’s a deck jet that fits underneath the coping, so it’s a little more incognito. They’re great because you’re not walking across a deck jet or seeing a hole in your deck to create that water feature,” explained Swanson.
Subtle & Sophisticated
Swanson posted a demonstration of a completed project in the “Ask The Masters” group on Facebook, where pool contractors often share new techniques, showcase their work, and ask questions from seasoned veteran pool experts.
“I’m always a big fan of adding subtle things where it’s not in your face when you have a zero-level pool with maybe a spa inside of it. On this style of pool, you’re looking for a nice clean sheet of water. Pencil jets are optimal here because you see them when they’re on and you don’t when they’re off,” said Swanson.
“Whenever I do a zero-level pool, I try and offer that to homeowners, especially when they have kids. This type of water feature gives the pool a little bit of character,” explained Swanson, “but it’s more of an aesthetic choice of trying to create ways where you can add water features without making them noticeable when not in use.”
An Easy Water Feature For Pool Contractors To Install
One reason they’re becoming a more popular water feature is the ease of installation. Consequently, Swanson says that it’s incredibly simple to retrofit a pencil jet water feature into an existing pool if you have the right know-how.
“If you’re going to do a pool renovation in your backyard this is a good feature to consider adding, especially if you’re redoing coping or any plumbing,” said Swanson.
“Obviously you want to get the plumbing back to where the pump is and use three-quarter inch pipe or one inch depending on how you want to do it and reduce it down. You want that pipe to come just underneath the coping and it’s just like plumbing any new return lines, you’re not even really coring any holes so it’s actually a much simpler process,” said Swanson.
Because of the ease of installation, pencil jets are becoming increasingly popular with builders like Swanson, who claims that installation of this type of water feature is pretty straightforward.
“Installation is easy and it should really only take a day or two. Plumbers run the pipe, stub it out, and then whenever the tile and coping guys are doing their work, you need to make sure they cut the pipe and put the fitting on. Pencil jets really only reveal past the coping. You want to try to do it maybe like a quarter inch or a half an inch so that it’s not really enough for someone to step on and break off. Once it’s embedded underneath the coping just make sure that when you install it you can still unthread it,” explained Swanson.
“Think if you took a soda can and turned it on its side and you just drilled a hole at a 45-degree angle on top and then fed water through it so that it’s only coming out at that one point. You just adjust the flow to how far it’s going to spray. How much water you send to that pencil jet is going to be how far it goes,” said Swanson.
Pebble Technology Leading The Way
While there are a variety of different products available on the market, Swanson says he recommends Pebble Technology Arched Pencil Jets. “Our rep came in with this product very early on to us and we’ve just stuck with that brand ever since,” explained Swanson, “I think it’s like three to five gallons per minute needed. So you can do tons on a pool, depending on the size of the pump and other water features that you do on it. Pencil jets can certainly be done in conjunction with other water features as well.”
“I will tell you one thing though, always look at the manual and documentation. I would never tell anybody to install anything without looking at the install manual and what rating they are. If you’re installing in conjunction with other water features, you want to make sure you know the gallons per minute each water feature requires and that the size of your piping and your pump are adequate enough to accommodate that,” said Swanson.
Eager to learn more about pencil jets? Take a deeper dive and listen in on our entire conversation with Blake Swanson of Premier Pools & Spas on the Pool Magazine podcast.
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