PHOTOS COURTESY: LAND & SEASCAPES opportunity In-ground S this Pennsylvania-basedcompany. presented anexcitingopportunityfor into livingpondenvironmentshas Transforming unusedswimmingpools Pools aretoodeeptoallow for a thriving apondfrom scratch,starting Katzsays. pool intoapondismorecomplex than tion easier, buttransforming aswimming pool dugoutwould make installa- round features. transform underutilized poolsintoyear- Land &Seascapessaw anopportunity to ers tireofthat,Katzsays, addingthat cover for eightmonths.” Many homeown- them. Then they’re atanunsightly staring get, atmost,threemonthsofuseout in butthey soonrealize thatthey only Katz says. “A lotofpeoplehave them put swimming poolsdon’t exist here,” ful, naturally occurring pond,complete with avideoofwhatlookslike abeauti- Seascapes in Aston, Pa., thepageopens amazing results. Katzhasfoundproject isamassiveitcanhave undertaking, unused swimmingpoolturned intoapond. While such a example, theprojectwherehomeowners wanted their pond environment. in toallowforaproper Pools needtobefilled It may seemthatalreadyhaving a When customersbrowse thewebsite for Land& TEVEN KATZ HAS have stoodoutasespeciallyunique. Take, for three decades.Duringthattime,someprojects bishing and-managementbusinessfor morethan worked -refur- inthepond-building, ming pool. life asaswim- had aformer that thepond prised tolearn They’re sur- life andfish. with plant we’re based, ronment where Northeast envi- “In the » hand toolsandmore. pers, over-sized mechanical jack andpressureplatetam- sheep’s footrollers,jumping hydraulic equipment,vibratory with thumbs,severaltypesof steers, trackhoes,buckets Katz. Thelistincluded:skid- additional equipment,says required aninvestmentin conversion projectsdefinitely says. Katz my crewatmanyjobsites,” while workinghands-onwith andpondenvironments course ofbuildinghundreds experience isgainedoverthe LEARNING CURVE: CONVERSION: YEAR OFFIRSTPOOL-TO-POND YEAR FOUNDED: OWNER: COMPANY: SNAPSHOT SERVICE EQUIPMENT INVESTMENT: Steven Katz Land &Seascapes 1991 1980 “The best “The best “The ofthewater clarity isbeautifulandnaturally maintained. surrounded by afew fishandsomelovely plants,” Katzsays. ponds andthey like theideaofswimminginclarified water into. “Many ofourclientsgrew upwithlakes, streamsand scratch isablankcanvas, andthat’s easiertowork with. the work fromtheundergroundup,” Katzsays. from “Starting withaswimmingpool,becausewe’restarting doingalotof process caneven start. pond environment, sothey needtobefilledinbefore the fulfilling. conversions are pool-to-pond Steven Katz says The profitopportunity fromaswimmingpoolconver- The resultisapondthathomeowners canactually wade “We’re basicallybuildingthepondbackwards whenwe’re Pool Pool JULY 2013 BY CASEYPAYTON experience writing aboutthelandscapeindustry. Payton isafreelance writerwitheightyearsof with apoolthey don’t want,” hesays. owners toknow thatthey don’t have tolive efits asswimmingpools. “We want home- word thatswimpondshave asmany ben- swimmingpoolinstallation. to standard vironment” fromscratch asanalternative a “swim ponden- other service—installing also wants potentialclientstoconsiderits in display adsandonGoogle AdWords. It Land &Seascapesmarkets theconcept transport ourmaterials.” cess justtobringinthemachinery and We needagood8feet to10 feet ofac- Katz says. “This requiresbigmachinery. are fundespitetheirchallenges. done five—but Katzsays theconversions do many poolconversions—to dateit’s and scopeinvolved, thecompany doesn’t complicated process.Because ofthecost shooting involved makes itamuch more of time,manpower andoverall trouble- feature Buttheamount andlandscaping. $150,000 for theconversion, awater pond.Projectsatabout start sion ismuch biggerthanthatofatypical Katz is doing his best to spread the Katz isdoinghisbesttospread the To make homeowners aware ofthat, “One ofthechallenges isaccess,” | LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT.NET ADD-ONBIZ

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