The World's Fastest Pool Build
With a name like theirs, it's not surprising that Julie and Michael Fish wanted their backyard pool built quickly. And, after all, it was the dog days of summer…in Phoenix, no less.
Julie asked, "How soon do you think you can get it done?" recalls pool builder Brian Morris, hired to do the job.
The typical answer: Two to four months.
Morris' answer: "How does three days sound?"
It was meant to be a joke, he says. "But then I started thinking, I probably could do it in three days. And with the right people and some extensive coordination, I realized I could do it in a day." Morris even put it in writing.
At around noon on Aug. 1 -- exactly 5 hours, 56 minutes and 7 seconds after construction began -- the Fish family had a swimable pool. And Morris, who joined them for that first plunge, had the world record for Fastest Pool Build, besting the previous known record of just over 7 hours.
How did he do it? Morris corralled 150 workers, including buddies from local excavating and concrete companies, as well as the Phoenix Fire Department (who filled the pool with 9,000 gallons of water from a nearby hydrant in 9 minutes). That massive manpower used "down to the second" coordination to complete the 22 phases of construction -- including excavation of 85 tons of dirt in just 48 minutes (usually, this takes up to 5 hours), rebar, plumbing, shotcrete, tile, decking, filling and even building a playground. Quick-drying additives and strengtheners were added to pool materials.
Guinness currently has no category for Fastest Pool Build, but Morris' feat has been acknowledged as the record-breaker by the USA-based World Records Academy.
The Fish pool features laminar jets, color-changing fiberoptic lighting, a salt chlorination system and surrounding desert-friendly landscaping. It also has an energy-efficient pump and filter, with solar heating and cover, to control operating costs and water loss, and minimize chemical use and maintenance. A similar project costs about $55,000, says Morris, whose company -- We Fix Ugly Pools -- specializes in new construction, renovations and landscaping.