A New Swim Spa Deck in L.A. County

This Spa Professional Chose Endless Pools®

When it comes to the home spa industry, Jeff Claypool has seen it all. "I got started back in the late 70s," he recalls. Back then, he serviced "the good old-fashioned redwood hot tubs." In 1981, he opened in first retail store and never looked back. Always in partnership with family members, he's seen the industry's ups and downs, its trends come and go.

Today, Lifestyle Outdoor, his chain of six Los Angeles showrooms, offers multiple brands. When it came time to purchase a spa for his home, he chose the Endless Pools Fitness System E2000 swim spa. "It's the greatest thing in the world," he enthuses. "This is something that I'll have for the rest of my life."

The All-in-the-Family Spa

On a day to day basis, the E2000 swim spa gets used by "just the two of us," Jeff says, meaning he and his wife. "We start off most morning with coffee in the hot tub" section of the two-chamber swim spa.

After coffee, he'll move to the larger Fitness and Swim section. Our signature adjustable current is quiet enough that, Jeff says, "I can still have a conversation with my wife while I'm doing a backstroke. When she's ready to go, I'll hop out, and I'll either take off for a walk or a run, and she'll get on the [Underwater] Treadmill and do her thing."

As part of their home renovations, Jeff planned "an extension of the master bedroom" that's visible from the swim spa. "She can put the earbuds in and catch a [television] show to speed up the time" spent running on the Underwater Treadmill.

The swim spa also gets love from their three grandkids, ages one, three, and eight. "When the kids come over, they all get in there. We turn the current on, and the little ones have a blast! I continue to marvel every day at how much fun you can have in such a small space!"

The Big Renovation Project

Jeff lives in a pretty relaxed community. "We're actually on a private lake," he says, "and everyone has private electric boats; we call them booze cruisers." His boat is named Pau Hana, which literally translates from Hawaiian as 'work is finished.' As Jeff notes, it's commonly understood to also mean, "'time for a beer.' That's the whole feel on this lake."

There are exceptions to the laid-back vibe. "Homeowner associations [and] architectural committees" created just some of the "very stringent requirements" that Jeff's extensive home renovations had to satisfy. Being in California, "it had to be built within seismic code" too. When we spoke with Jeff this summer, the complete project was "about 60 days away" from completion, in total taking "well over 2 years."

"We are on a slope. The house elevation is six feet higher than the water," he notes. "The pool is at an elevation above the lake, and the deck and house foundation are at the same level. We added this room with the sky deck above that. The whole thing was planned way in advance for integrating a pool and spa." Of course, they only had to install one unit for their pool and spa combined.

Choosing the dual-chamber E2000 as their 'pool' was space-efficient and cost-effective. "We talked about doing a separate spa, but the E2000 lent itself to giving us the largest capacity while consolidating that space as much as possible," Jeff found.

In choosing Endless Pools' 20-foot swim spa, Jeff notes, "We took advantage of putting in the largest unit we could and still allow us functional space. We have just enough room for a seating area with a fire pit."

The freestanding swim spa "had to be locked in all around by pressure-treated lumber. The whole thing was finished off with Ipe decking," a popular type of Brazilian hardwood.

Planning for the Future

"I'm pushing 64 now," Jeff reflects as he considers their swim spa renovation. "I see this as a tremendous asset to live with for the rest of my life."

A longtime runner, Jeff feels fortunate to still be active on the road. "I'm not having any orthopedic issues right now, so I feel free to get out and pound the pavement." Running on the Underwater Treadmill of his Endless Pools spa will take the pressure off, and he sees that in his future. "I haven't used it nearly as much as I know I'm going to use it."

He anticipates running in the E2000, but for now, it's for relaxation and aquatic workouts. "I've used it more for resistance exercises with [aquatic fitness] gloves and the current" turned on for added core resistance.

While he's enjoying it already, he looks forward to "the anticipated amount of experiences that we're going to have with this pool and our family. Bottom line is, I can't imagine living without it."