Have a project that I am in the engineering stage of and I have run into a roadblock.

I need speakers for a pool area. Yeah, I know, sounds simple.
Not so much.

Pool is under a house in a quasi open air "backyard" that takes up half the ground floor. Actually 2 stories below the entry floor level (cliffside house, pretty cool place).

In ceilings: Inspector nixed that (even though ceiling is 12ft above pool). Technically, I am pretty sure it is ok, have put in ceilings above pools before with no issue but the inspector has dug his heels in, no wires at all in pool ceiling.

In walls: this portion of the house is a combination of steel, poured concrete and glass. There is nothing big enough to house an in wall.

Rock speakers: No flowerbeds or any other area that a rock wouldn't look dumb. And no, the frog speakers won't work either... Tried = (

On wall/under eave speakers (regular rectangle box): Don't fly for aesthetic reasons.

So, that leaves me with finding an aesthetically non traditional speaker (something that looks cool) or something offbeat, like a transducer attached to the glass wall on the outside of the pool patio.

Anyone have experience with the on glass transducers? Other then seeing them demoed, I have no real world feedback.

Can any of you guys think of a non traditional, interesting looking speaker that could fit in with a very sleek, modern decor?

Budget isn't a huge concern.

Again, speakers shaped like ducks, frogs and the like won't work. (Although I am tempted to buy a pair and put them out just to get the designer).

Sonance Landscape Series? you could surely find room for them? maybe in pots or planters? Incredible sound and they are really tiny! [Link: sonance.com]

i have no experience in transducers. If you seal the speakers you should be able to run speakers up there. Buy the inspector a stripper,get him laid and then maybe he'll stop being an ass :)

Or somthing custom?
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did he show you a code that does not allow low voltage speakers in ceiling? that is ridiculous. have you ever been to an indoor pool? i have seen dozens of ymca, sport complexes, etc. with not only sound, but lighting as well, lots of lighting!!!!

There is a company (I'll need to look it up) which makes custom translucent acrylic furniture/outdoor stuff that can install speakers inside them. Sold them a few Revel's for a project a few months back. I'll update tomorrow

What if the speakers were completely sealed up in the ceiling, like Stealth Acoustics?

I might be installing transducers in a commercial project if we can't pierce the outside of the building to get speaker wire out there. I'll report back if it goes.

No, he didn't and yes, I have put speakers in ceilings above pools before too.
Not really my place to fight him, builder has decided to placate him on this.

I have not spoken to the inspector personally but the builder has said he is hell bent on this one. They are doing a fiber optic lighting system for the pool area and all the wire runs that were going to use that ceiling as a pathway have been rerouted.

No problem with lights/speakers in the bathroom or shower, just not allowed in the pool. Yeah, makes no sense.

In the UK regs on pools are very tight, we put all speakers on isolation transformers and this has always satisfied building regs.

Dupe...

If you can't come up with a super creative speaker option, I would politely ask for the code reference from the inspector. NEC Article says 5 feet for speakers around a pool, 10 feet for power, and " not less than 10 feet above swimming and wading pools.." (680.8 (b))

I would be nice and look smart for the AHJ

Fixtures, speakers, etc. are often denied above residential pools for reasons beyond what the NEC dictates; there are other codes you know :-)

We don't know the ceiling height as that info hasn't been provided here, but that point is moot as this is likely being denied for reasons in addition to the NEC. We also don't know the ceiling material and substructure. One reason it may be denied is due to the risk of stress corrosion cracking from vaporized chloride in a pool environment. Piercing the lid above the pool allows for vaporized chloride, that has condensated upward, into the substructure; this can cause premature failure of the structural system and components installed within it (i.e. cabling, fixtures, speakers, brackets, etc).

A residential indoor or indoor/outdoor pool creates its own chemical environment in the airspace above due to humidity from the pool. Another concern with piercing the lid above the pool is that vaporized chloride can then enter conditioned airspace within the residence causing corrosion at other areas and contaminants in the conditioned air space.

It's also not convenient or safe to service fixtures and speakers above a pool, that could be another concern.

As for a solution...pictures or renderings would help greatly here. What is on the outside edge of the pool? You say a cliff...surely it's not merely water, then cliff. Can speakers be installed in this area facing inward? Can some type of hardscape be installed to house the speakers at the edge of the property?

Besides the NEC code, a lot of counties / towns / villages have their own codes. A lot of them are horshtt, along with the inspectors...

Pool is a small lap pool with attached spa, it is part of a ~6,000 sqft open "backyard area" that is actually under 2 stories of house, open on 1 side (the pool side).
The pool ends at with a wall on the exterior edge the extends about 6 inches above the waters surface, then is topped with glass panels and there are two columns about 12in wide that carry the roof above (Speakers are a no go there too).

The other side of this wall is about a 10 foot drop off, then down a steep hill to the ocean. There is no flowerbed, landscape or anything else and what little land exists on the other side is not the client's property, it is county property. (already a source of many headaches for the builder).

Roof above the pool is an open air patio for the floor above and is 12ft above the pool deck so call it 12 1/2 feet from water to lid. Finish will be stucco, it is framed with a combination of red iron and silent floor trusses. I had planned on using Triad in ceiling silver sealed rounds.

Current working solution is jockeying the in ceilings for the "backyard" so that a pair is at the bleeding edge of what I can get away with, in line with the first row of allowed can lights. This puts them about 14ft from the center of the pool. I have a total of 4 pairs and a pair of in wall subwoofers

Good enough, I guess, but I want to see if I could find a unique solution to this unique challenge.