JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.
Customer Service: [email protected]
New Pool Owners Guide
Congratulations you now own a pool! Your dream has become a reality and youre the owner of a sparkling oasis of pleasure and relaxation in your own back garden ready for hours of fun, exercise and enjoyment! But what now? How do I keep the pool looking like new? How do I know it is safe for my family to use? Continue reading and understand everything from routine maintenance along with helpful tips.
There is advice out there on the internet and from pool shops but this literature can be miss-leading or confusing so we thought we would put together the following simple guide.
This is not designed to be a technical manual; it is a DIY guide to understanding a pool and maintaining your pool with basic trouble shooting. The information I have given is my personal opinion and may differ from other professionals but if you do follow my advice, it should all be easy to understand and give you excellent results and the prefect pool! So sit back, relax and read on...
There are three main types of in ground pools.
These are 1) gunite/concrete, 2) vinyl liner and 3) one piece vinyl-ester or fibreglass pools. Most spas (hot tubs) are acrylic, above ground pools are mostly made of corrugated steel outer walls with a top and bottom track, and, in the last few years, wooden sided pools with a vinyl liner have also become very popular.
Basic Construction Methods for Each One:
Gunite is the method of constructions widely used in commercial swimming pools. Also, it is an ideal method for free form or special shaped pools. It is relatively quick but involves using specialist equipment.Water, sand, grit and cement is mixed then shot through a high pressure hose with an adjustable nozzle onto a reinforced steel frame set inside the excavated hole. Usually wood shuttering is used to form the outer wall to save excess concrete being used. The thickness of a gunite pool varies from 200mm (8) to 300mm (12). The pool fittings are positioned in a steel cage and the concrete is sprayed around them.
It requires a very skilled operative to spray the product on to the steel; the spray is to wet the mix with slop onto the ground, spray to dry it just crumbles without setting. Once the shell has set, the floor is screeded and the walls are rendered with water proof cement. A tanking solution is then applied, then normally finished with either mosaic tiles or a coloured render can be applied.Concrete Block Pool
A more common construction method, especially for domestic pools, is using the concrete block method. The pool hole is firstly excavated approximately 300mm (12) deeper than required and a steel reinforced mesh cage is made to cover the floor on top of washed stone. Starter bars are then placed to accurately come up inside the cavities. The floor (steel mesh) is completely covered by pre-mixed concrete, and, once dry, concrete blocks would be laid to form an inner and outer wall either side of the steel starter re-enforcing bars. The gap (cavity) will normally be 100mm (4) to 150mm (6).
All the pool fittings are built in as the walls go up. Once set, pre-mixed concrete and more steel is poured into the cavity. Again, coping stones are set on the top of the pool wall, the floor is screeded, the walls rendered, a tanking solution is applied, then the finish coat of coloured render or, more popular, mosaic tiles.
By far the most popular type of pool now is what is known as a Liner Pool. They started in the early 1970s and over the years the vinyl has become thicker, stronger, and more resistant to UV and chemicals. From the mid 1980s came the commercial ALKOR lining system, welded on site, this was a great solution for giving commercial pools a new life.
The least expensive method of building a vinyl liner pool was the Vi-Con (vinyl & concrete) pool. The outer walls build of concrete block laid flat, the wall rendered the floor screeded then a domestic vinyl liner vacuum fitted to the inside. Through the mid 70s to mid 80s, over 10,000 vi-con pools were built each year.
In the mid 70s, fibreglass panels were used to form the outer walls as they were more flexible and easier to install than the concrete, and it is also more suitable to our UK ground conditions. The panels are able to accommodate ground movement and freezing without cracking like the old style concrete blocks. In the 1990s, fibreglass was replaced by structural polymer injected plastic panels. There were stronger, easier to install and, as they are made from oil, their life expectancy in the ground was for longer than the other options available and will outlast a concrete block.
Once the outer frame of panels is set, concrete is poured around the back for strength, the floor is covered with a screed, all the fittings and any steps are bolted to the wall sections and sealed in place. The vinyl liner is then vacuum fitted to ensure a snug fit. Vinyl makes for a long life with ease of cleaning as the smooth vinyl line stops algae getting a hold. This type of pool is used by pool professionals and also popular as a DIY build.
In the 1970s, one piece fibreglass pools started being imported from Australia, South Africa and Europe. Limited only by the road delivery and access into your garden, this was a quick and inexpensive way to achieve your new dream pool. Over the years new technology has improved the structure and now the better one piece pools have a multi layer of vinyl-ester and fibreglass for extra strength.
All you need to do is simply dig the hole, lay a base of sand or screed, lower your one piece pool into the hole, backfill and away you go. Ideal as a DIY solution, just check you have the required access!
Above ground pools started in the UK in the early 1970s, coming in mainly from Australia, Cranleigh Clark, then from the USA. They were steel walls with top and bottom metal channel, a thin vinyl liner hung from the top rail. Water was filled to around 150mm (6) from the top and this water pressure kept the walls up. They were inexpensive and a great introduction to a back garden pool.
Over the years above ground metal wall pools have become more sophisticated with strong top rails, thicker liners and now are even installed below ground, backfilled with lean mixed concrete! They look great with decking and give an inexpensive facility in your garden.
In the 1990s less expensive flexible walled splasher type pools started being imported from China and the Far East. These pools started from under 100.00 and made spontaneous purchases on those hot summer days.
In early 2001, we first started seeing wooden pools made of interlocking wood sections. These pools were not only beautiful to look at but easy to install, with the vinyl internal lining and a wide top rail you can sit on. These pools brought pool ownership with the affordability for most people. Popular now, wooden pools are made here in the UK by Plastic in Hastings and imported through Certikin and SCP, finished with wood decking which can also make a very attractive asset to any garden.
