Anyone put in a swimming pool recently?
Discussion
Anyone got any advice on putting in an outdoor pool?
Quotes seem to vary massively and I am sure these companies take the piss becuase they think you've got some cash. I was a thinking of buying a DIY kit and getting a contractor / builder to fit it for me.
Any input / experience of this would be appreciated.
Thanks
Quotes seem to vary massively and I am sure these companies take the piss becuase they think you've got some cash. I was a thinking of buying a DIY kit and getting a contractor / builder to fit it for me.
Any input / experience of this would be appreciated.
Thanks
jeff m said:
My Brother acted as his own general contractor and subbed out the bits he either couldn't do or didn't want to do.
He reckons he saved 50%.
Very positive information – thanks - gives me some inspiration to think about doing it a different wayHe reckons he saved 50%.
jeff m said:
With regard to an outdoor pool, which I have, make sure your patio area is big enough, it seldom is
Agree completely – I want an outdoor living area not just a poolHappyGoLucky said:
It's going to vary depending a bit on the type & size of the pool, the type of ground etc, site access, whether the spoil can be redistributed on site or if it needs carting off. All of these will have an effect on the final price. I used a specialist to do everything but dig the hole, and I'm very happy with the results.
Why didn’t you get them to dig the hole? Did it save you money? If it’s not too rude, how much did the project cost? (PM if you prefer)Thanks
ColinM50 said:
Had a 10m x 5m pool installed last year so got a bit of knowledge that I hope helps. I contracted the whole job to a specialist company but watched them do it and it's not overly difficult but there is some hard physical work involved. How fit are you?
First off make sure you get planning permission if you need it. It'd be a right b*gger to build the pool then have to fill it in if the planners have a pop at you. Secondly decide what construction technique you're going to go with. A hard fibreglass drop in shell? A foam structure filled with concrete and then a plastic liner (that's what I have)? Or concrete then tiled or a gunnite one or steel with a liner, oh there's all sorts of options. A lot depends on your ground conditions. Easiest and quickest of course is the fibreglass one but there's pluses and minuses with all of them. Go to a pool specialist and get some advice beofe you finally decide.
Oh and the type I settled on is like this
http://www.zyke.fr/1079-kit-z-bloc-pour-piscine-av...
It's hollow foam lego type blocks that are built onto a concrete base, then once the blocks are in and locked together steel rebar is pushed down holes and then filled with concrete. Easy and quick to do. Actually to be honest it's easy to watch someone else doing it while you're drinking a beer.
If you're going to DIY, then you'll need to hire a digger ot better still a man with a digger since the sort of digger you'd hire will probably be too small to reach the bottom of the pool. Think about it, if your pool is 2 metres deep you need to dig down 2.5 metres and so the reach of your digger needs to be, what, say 4-5 metres to give you a reasonable working area? And that's one big digger and a recipe for disaster if you're not an experienced digger driver. Or are you going to get a load of mates round with shovels? Good luck on that one. Then as someone else said what are you going to do with the spoil? It's expensive to have trucked from site (currently £120 for a 5m3 skip?) so do you have sufficient space to spread it around. It's amazing how much soil bulks up when it's dug up. A 10x5 pool will be around 80 m3 of soil to shift so what's that around 100tonnes? and are you going to shift it by shovel? Yeah that's a good day's work isn't it?
Got some urgent work on right now so I'll post a bit more later. Hope this gives you something to be going on with
Thanks First off make sure you get planning permission if you need it. It'd be a right b*gger to build the pool then have to fill it in if the planners have a pop at you. Secondly decide what construction technique you're going to go with. A hard fibreglass drop in shell? A foam structure filled with concrete and then a plastic liner (that's what I have)? Or concrete then tiled or a gunnite one or steel with a liner, oh there's all sorts of options. A lot depends on your ground conditions. Easiest and quickest of course is the fibreglass one but there's pluses and minuses with all of them. Go to a pool specialist and get some advice beofe you finally decide.
Oh and the type I settled on is like this
http://www.zyke.fr/1079-kit-z-bloc-pour-piscine-av...
It's hollow foam lego type blocks that are built onto a concrete base, then once the blocks are in and locked together steel rebar is pushed down holes and then filled with concrete. Easy and quick to do. Actually to be honest it's easy to watch someone else doing it while you're drinking a beer.
If you're going to DIY, then you'll need to hire a digger ot better still a man with a digger since the sort of digger you'd hire will probably be too small to reach the bottom of the pool. Think about it, if your pool is 2 metres deep you need to dig down 2.5 metres and so the reach of your digger needs to be, what, say 4-5 metres to give you a reasonable working area? And that's one big digger and a recipe for disaster if you're not an experienced digger driver. Or are you going to get a load of mates round with shovels? Good luck on that one. Then as someone else said what are you going to do with the spoil? It's expensive to have trucked from site (currently £120 for a 5m3 skip?) so do you have sufficient space to spread it around. It's amazing how much soil bulks up when it's dug up. A 10x5 pool will be around 80 m3 of soil to shift so what's that around 100tonnes? and are you going to shift it by shovel? Yeah that's a good day's work isn't it?
Got some urgent work on right now so I'll post a bit more later. Hope this gives you something to be going on with
I am in the process of getting planning now
Looking at 20' x 40' (sorry dont' work in metres) liner pool, not sure yet of which construction behind the liner but blocks then concrete seems to ring a bell with the quotes.
Have a man who can dig the hole & know where to buy the equipment, it's just a question of who you trust to fit it all together.
Soil is a problem, know someone with a farm so may try them.
Why did you use that style of build? Did you get a normal builder to do it for you?
Le TVR said:
Couple of things not covered yet.
What depth pool and do you plan a deep end for diving?
A friend does a lot of contract work for pool ecavations and says that 50% of his work is for people who get him to fill in the deep end to give a constant depth that kids can play in.
Is a geological survey a good idea in your area. Our contractors unfortunately (for them) wrote and said it was not needed in our area... cost them big time when they hit rocks.
Interesting bit of information. I'm going for 8 foot deep and will not let kids play in there without supervision. I plan to complement this with an electronic safety cover that is operated by key and can be walked on by pets / childrenWhat depth pool and do you plan a deep end for diving?
A friend does a lot of contract work for pool ecavations and says that 50% of his work is for people who get him to fill in the deep end to give a constant depth that kids can play in.
Is a geological survey a good idea in your area. Our contractors unfortunately (for them) wrote and said it was not needed in our area... cost them big time when they hit rocks.
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