Build a Beautiful, Easy-to-Maintain Pool Area with Green Industry Pros 2026 Editor’s Choice Award Winners
Every pool is designed to provide years of enjoyment, but long-term performance depends on more than appearance. The products and systems used during construction play an important role in creating a pool area that’s beautiful, durable and easier to maintain.
The Green Industry Pros 2026 Editor’s Choice Awards recognize products that help landscape professionals work more efficiently while delivering lasting results for homeowners. This year’s awards honored products that help landscape professionals save time, improve installation quality and deliver better long-term results for homeowners.
Among the winners were two innovations from Oldcastle APG brands: Belgard’s Tandem Omni Connector and PebbleTec’s Slurry Saver. While they serve different purposes, both help create pool environments that remain beautiful while requiring less maintenance over time.
Easy Pool Maintenance Starts with Better Design
Before water chemistry or robotic cleaners come into play, pool maintenance begins during the design and construction process. Choosing products that improve drainage, reduce installation issues and enhance long-term durability can help minimize future maintenance while preserving the appearance of your outdoor living space.
Whether you’re building a new pool or remodeling an existing backyard, investing in quality materials and innovative installation systems helps create an outdoor environment that’s designed to perform for years.
Create Durable Vertical Features Around the Pool
Retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, seating walls and decorative columns can transform a pool deck into a complete outdoor living space. However, these features also need to withstand moisture, changing weather conditions and years of use.
Belgard’s Tandem Omni Connector, recognized with a 2026 Green Industry Pros Editor’s Choice Award, expands what’s possible when designing premium vertical features around pools and patios.
Designed for the Belgard Tandem Wall System, the connector securely fastens Tandem veneer units to multiple structural substrates, including:
- Wood framing
- Masonry
- Other structural surfaces
This flexibility gives contractors more installation options while maintaining the upscale appearance homeowners expect.
Even more importantly for long-term performance, the connector creates a drained and ventilated cavity behind the veneer. This helps manage moisture while supporting durability across a variety of climates. The result is outdoor structures that continue looking beautiful while standing up to the demands of poolside environments.
Applications include:
- Outdoor kitchens
- Seating walls
- Columns
- Poolside skirting
- Freestanding walls
- Stairs
Rather than acting as a simple fastening component, the Tandem Omni Connector helps create complete outdoor living features that combine lasting beauty with dependable performance.
Better Pool Finishes Mean Less Cleanup
The pool finish itself also plays a major role in creating an easy-to-maintain pool area. PebbleTec’s Slurry Saver, another 2026 Green Industry Pros Editor’s Choice Award winner, helps contractors improve the installation process while reducing waste and creating more consistent pool finishes.
During traditional pool finish applications, excess cement-and-water slurry often accumulates on pool walls and floors. That extra material requires additional cleanup and can contribute to inconsistencies during installation.
Slurry Saver addresses these challenges by optimizing mix ratios to produce a more compact, consolidated pebble matrix. It also improves the workability and flow of the mix, helping material move more smoothly through hoses and equipment while reducing the risk of clogging or separation during application. In this way, Slurry Saver delivers many of the performance benefits applicators expect from a traditional pump aid, with the added advantage of reducing excess cement and slurry waste.
The benefits include:
- Improved workability and flow for easier pumping and application
- Reduced clogging and material separation
- Reduced slurry during installation
- Less jobsite cleanup
- Larger, more efficient mix batches
- Reduced cement and material waste
- More consistent compaction throughout the pool
- Smoother, richer finished surfaces
Applicators typically use 20% to 30% less cement per batch while achieving improved material consolidation and more uniform results. That means contractors spend less time mixing and cleaning while homeowners benefit from a cleaner, more consistent finish that enhances the appearance of the completed pool.
Build Smarter for Long-Term Performance
Beautiful pool areas are created through thoughtful design, quality installation and products engineered to solve real-world challenges. The Green Industry Pros Editor’s Choice Awards recognize innovations that help professionals work more efficiently while delivering better results for homeowners.
Belgard’s Tandem Omni Connector and PebbleTec’s Slurry Saver demonstrate how advancements in installation systems can improve both the construction process and the finished outdoor space.
By combining durable hardscape solutions with high-performance pool installation products, homeowners can enjoy outdoor living spaces that are designed to look great, perform reliably and require less maintenance for years to come.