Anyone put in a swimming pool recently?

[flyingjase]

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

[jeff m]

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%.
(This was indoor though)

With regard to an outdoor pool, which I have, make sure your patio area is big enough, it seldom is
If your building regs allow it plumb in the waste to your sewer line.
Extra return line for auto cleaner.
Consider solar heating.
(I didn't put mine in, it came with the house)

Edited by jeff m on Wednesday 11th November 04:47

[HappyGoLucky]

flyingjase said:

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

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.

[flyingjase]

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 way

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 pool

HappyGoLucky 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

[HappyGoLucky]

flyingjase said:

Why didn’t you get them to dig the hole?

What? Pass up the only legitimate excuse I've had to play with diggers in ages?

flyingjase said:

Did it save you money?

Yes, my friend has a plant hire firm, I only paid for fuel.

[ColinM50]

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

[John MacK]

flyingjase said:

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

If you want a heat-pump for heating it, give me a shout!

[flyingjase]

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

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?

[ColinM50]

Ah OK it gets a little clearer Flyingjase. So 13 x 6.5m? Nice size pool.

I ordered the whole pool from a specialist pool company having done quite a bit of research and I’d visited three companies before I decided. Must admit my first choice was a monoblock pool as they call them i.e. a fibreglass liner that's just dropped in a pre dug hole. But since my garden's on quite a slope and I wanted the pool sort of half out of the existing sloping ground and then built up level around it, the fibreglass pool was a no-no. Monobloc pools can only be put in a proper hole not made ground. Tried to get someone to put me in a sloping pool but no takers,. tee hee

The concrete filled foam structure's the next easiest and quickest and that was my prime reason for choosing it. I ordered it in February and part of the order was that I put in a clause saying I had to be swimming in June. I jumped in for the first time 28 June. It’s amazing how long it all takes - even for a professional company.

IMHO by far and away the best method of construction is gunnited steel. You can have any shape you want with that. I REALLY wanted an infinity edge pool but phew the cost!!! Basically they build a steel cage in whatever shape you want and then spray it with concrete building up the thickness and then it's tiled. Gives a fabulous and long lasting finish but it's damn expensive.

As regards the other stuff you’ll need, have a look at a few websites esp in the States or Europe where pools are more common. Nothing to stop you ordering from overseas just be careful of voltages of electrical stuff. Any half way decent pool equipment supplier will size pumps, filters, control systems, automatic PH adjusters etc for you and sell it to you as a kit. None of it is difficult to install, just a question of running pipes to your pool house. Think you might need an electrician to wire it all up though. You'll need a RCD to protect yourself.

You can get a liner made to virtually any size you want - you basically build your concreted hole then measure it EXACTLY and the liner people will make it to that size, delivery will take 4-6 weeks or so. Sort of a carpet stuff goes on fuirst then the liner. You’ll need a couple of mates to help on that bit. Like a lot of things the cheaper liners are thinner and of lesser quality but you pays your money..... Liner should last 10 years but can get holed if someone drops something in the pool. Mine got holed this year but it's “easily” fixed but surprising how much the liner had faded in colour in a year. Skimmers, lights, piping etc is all pretty logical stuff. Go and have a look at a few suppliers and see what's on the market.

Oh and I also bought a robot pool cleaner. Not cheap, cost about £1,200 but it's brilliant. Pop it in the pool once a week and it wanders round the pool scrubbing the bottom and cleaning all the muck up. Saves a good hour's work each week.

And whatever you do, make sure you get some form of cover. Even in the height of summer it'll keep your pool warmer over night.

[jeff m]

I'll just add a bit to Colin's post.
You need to decide on what method of sanitation you will use.
If it is purely chemical though it can be left 'til later.

With regard to buying stuff in the States, my Brother looked at that but found that it wasn't worth it. (And he is somewhat careful with his money)

Colin
I noticed your comment regarding the liner fading in just one year.
The newer liners are not as good as the old ones due to type of vinyl they use. But it's possibly you have your sanitising chems a bit on the high side and you are getting a bit of bleaching. Chlorine? Bromine? other? 3ppm max?

Back to original post;
I'm not sure installing a vinyl liner is a DIY job unless you have seen it done. Also, if it is installed by a company you will have no warranty problems later. Cost of liner installation here was $600, that of course included, measuring, pumping out the pool and removing old liner.

[Le TVR]

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.

[flyingjase]

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 / children

[jeff m]

I would guess the UK has regs like the US regarding depth of pools (where diving is allowed)
Here it varies State to State, currently 8'6", previously 8'3" and before that 8'.(New builds, old pools grandfathered in)
Actual diving boards are disapearing, combination of liability mentality, and the ease of use solar of covers and winter covers.