DIY Swimming Pool Construction

Not as hard or as expensive as most of the pool industry wants you believe. Lets get straight into the cost of what would be quite a reasonable sized inground garden pool of 8x4m.

A good specification pool of 25″ filter, 0.75hp pump, all pipework and fittings with 2 skimmers, 4 return jets, vac point and 2 bottom drains, cost £1990. Don’t think this is a low quality installation all the pipework is BS/EN1452 standard and the pumping equipment UKCA, TUV and CE certification.

The above is of course in addition to the cost of the pool tank but depending on the type of construction you choose and the finish of the pool walls, liner, tiled etc, toppings for the pool edge and landscaping is entirely down to your pocket. The normal structural engineering rules need to be applied.

Many pool construction companies don’t have JCB diggers, brick & concrete layers, tilers and electricians, they bring these trades in so why don’t you organise it yourself. 

Some tips:- For the ground works (digging of the pool) a local groundworks company is often the best option. The concrete slab needs to be a C35 structural mix, steel reinforced with protective membrane and insulation. The current cost of concrete direct from local suppliers should be no more than £1250 for the 8.5×4.5m X 200mm deep slab.

Any further costs would be for a descent grade of Visqueen sheet, any insulation board you wish to place under the concrete (recommended) and the steel grid itself with 40cm X 40cm right angles placed along the block line to reinforce the joint of the base and pool walls.

Don’t forget if you are having bottom drains these must be in place with its pipework prior to the base pour.       

There are 3 main types of pool tank construction, all 3 must have steel re-bar reinforcement. Shotcrete, Shutter and Pour and the most common type and easiest for DIY construction is Laid Block.

For DIY we will deal with the simplest, Laid Block. As with this method there is no need for specialist equipment or experience with re-bar construction in the use of Shotcrete or Shutter & Pour. 

 

 

 

 

Building a Garden Pool Free Technical advice with all Equipment Sales

Starting off with the basics, Bestway and Intex above ground swimming pools are the two big names in this type of garden installation. They both produce decent quality frames and liners. With the growth in domestic pool popularity many other quite reasonable brands have popped up over the last couple of years.

Like many UK households a garden pool taken down at the end of summer and garage stored over the winter is a great cost effective way to enjoy a home swimming pool. Simple preparation of the ground ensuring no roots or the odd tent peg left over from last year’s garden camp can pop the liner and you are away. It is worth covering the ground with a thick ground sheet, larger than the footprint of the pool liner and frame so both sit on top will help stop weeds and give a bit more protection to the frame and liner.

Heating:-

If you intend to have pool heating it is worth placing foam insulation slabs on the groundsheet and then the liner on top. When the pool is closed at the end of summer they can be simply lifted and stored with the pool over winter. You will be surprised how much heat will be retained. We suggest a minimum of 50mm thickness, it is normally rigid enough for its reuse over a good number of season. Once laid as long as the base is well drained can be covered with thin 3 ply wood sheeting. Again the foam and ply sheets need to be wide enough to sit the liner and frame on top maintaining the same height and strength when filled with water.

The Correct Equipment:-

As for the standard pump and filter equipment normally supplied with Bestway and Intex and smaller pool types, they are just not man-enough to cope with anything but light use. In addition many of their pipe fittings are their own proprietary types and will not take the standard fittings of the pool industry.

All is not lost – To build a garden pool we have pipe fittings that will convert the liner feed & return connections and skimmers into standard swimming pool types. They will also take larger capacity flexi pipes if required. We carry from stock replacement swimming pool pumps and filter units to suit every pool type that outperform the units originally supplied with the pool.

Garden framed pools for filtration and pump combinations expect to pay:-

Water volume up to 12m³ maximum, our compact FSU units is more than man enough for the job. From around £200

Water volumes 12m³ and upwards for unheated pools our FSP combos are outstanding value. From around £370. There are side mount versions in this range.

For the above with heat pumps or heat exchanger central heating our fiberglass filter vessel models are the FSF and from around £399 and the side mount options FSB ranges.

Of course buying the same pump and filter individually can offer more flexible positioning options and come in a little cheaper but a small amount of extra piping is required for the in-between connection.

With standard swimming pool connections on your pool (normally 1.5inch BSP) you will not be restricted to buying a specific manufacturers pool equipment that can be expensive for the low performance it offers. You are then able to buy standard swimming pool equipment for heating and water sanitation which because of volume sales pound for pound offers much greater value for money and performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emaux Genuine Parts. A Complete Range.

To maintain performance, efficiency and system integrity for all service and repairs use Emaux Genuine Parts.

For your yearly maintenance routines, winterisation and re-commissioning we advise the use of genuine seals and a high pressure assembly grease, Geocell Trade Mate is our suggested to to product. Maintaining system integrity prolongs equipment life span and reduces breakdown instances.

Critical genuine replacement parts such as water bearings will maintain system performance and prolong equipment life.

The Emaux company is one of the worlds largest OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) of Swimming pool equipment. Many household names in the swimming pool industry buy from this company and badge with their own trade brand. Their range and cutting edge technology covers pools from the small domestic garden pool, high end domestic and commercial outdoor and indoor installations to Olympic pools and water parks.

As Pool Experts we carry one of the largest Worlds standing stocks not only spare parts but finished equipment from Pumps, filters and water sanitation equipment. Your order will not wait for some agent ordering from their supplier but shipped normally within 24 working hours for next day delivery from our Bolton warehouse.

Swimming pool salt chlorinator

How it works – the Dumb Down Version

Crystal clear water starts with standard salt and a swimming pool salt chlorinator. Salt being introduced to around 4000 parts per million (4000 ppm). Most domestic systems work around this value. Some do differ. This being around the concentration of a human tear drop. At this level just about has a taste. This concentration is around 10% of seawater values.

A swimming pool salt chlorinator works by the process of electrolysis. The pool water with its salt load being pumped around the pool system in the normal cycle of filtration. Thus passing through the electrolytic cell. This splits apart the salt (sodium chloride) into sodium and chlorine gas. The gas dissolves into the pool water to sanitise the pool. This result is the same as adding chemical chlorine to the water. The sodium and gas recombine back into salt over a few hours. The next time around gets split during the process of circulation and the whole process begins again without additional salt.

Super efficient as most chlorination systems do not require any additional pumping power. They normally use the flow of water during the normal filtration times. Salt does not evaporate and the only loss is by the cleaning and backwash routine. Splashing and wet bodies exiting the pool. This minimal loss can be compensated for by adding 4kg of salt per cubic meter of fresh water required in any top up.

Some additional plus points are reduced stingy eyes compared to chemical chlorine. Is a much nicer product on the skin with greater ph balance. Therefore has not the feeling of full blown sea water but does offer the pleasant skin affect.

Some Tech Bits

The salt cell (Electrolysis Cell) in domestic use, are mainly manufactured from Titanium alloys. They work by applying a very low DC voltage to the plates of the cell. Around the power of a 12v car battery. The salt is then split as it passes between the cell plates one negative and one positive. If a buildup of scale is present on the cell plates the voltage is simply reversed. The scale dissolving back into the pool water. This is normally an automatic process controlled by a timer within the cell control box.