Are You Considering Installing A Pool In Your Home?

What are your options?

Who wouldn’t want to have a pool installed in their home that they can enjoy during the summer? But installing a pool is a not an easy process. There re many options available when it comes to pool: the type of pool, type of heating, pumping, filtering systems and type of chemicals used to keep the water clean. In addition, you would have to consider any safety devices that are needed to prevent accidents and also the landscaping surrounding the pool.

When it comes to pool types, there are two major types of pool: in-ground pools and above-ground pools.  In-ground pools come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and differ in the materials used for their structure and liners. Similarly, there are different options available for the walls of above-ground pools. The pool wall structure of in-ground pools may be made of poured concrete, gunite (A concrete mixture that is sprayed from a special gun over steel reinforcements), plastic, steel, or fibreglass.

Above-ground pool walls are typically made out of vinyl lined steel or plastic. Poured concrete pools were once very popular, however due to the labour intensive installation requirements, gunite pools have become the concrete pool of choice.

Typically, the life expectancies of vinyl liners range from 10-20 years and they come in so many different shapes and sizes. Vinyl liners pools maybe installed above ground or in-ground and are more popular for residential use due to their relative ease of installation and low cost. For hot tubs, however, fibreglass used more often. Nonetheless, pools can be constructed using a moulded fibreglass shell in a hole in the ground or using fibreglass panels that are assembled on- site over a concert base.

In addition to pool types and shapes, one would also have to consider the landscape condition in which the pool is expected to be installed.  The most ideal soil conditions are undistributed loam ( i.e. equal mixture of san, silt and clay).  A soils’ engineer can determine the type of soil on the property by taking and analyzing core samples. If the soil is expansive clay or sand or if wet soil conditions are present, special considerations will have to be taken into account during excavation and pool wall support installation.

Environmental Effect:

In general, pools are harmful for the environment and create potential safety issues. Some of these environmentally unfriendly factors are: electricity used to run the pump, energy required to het the water, significant almond of water use to fill the pool, and the chemicals used to keep the water clean. However, it is unreasonable to advice people against installing a pool in their home.

One must do their research and seek professional advice before choosing and installing a pool in their home.