Planning Your Dream Outdoor Swimming Pool

outdoor_pool

I don’t believe anybody who tries to tell me that they wouldn’t like to have their own swimming pool. Okay if you’re living in Scandinavia or something you might have a fair point but if your climate experiences even just a few weeks of warm weather every year you will certainly enjoy having one. Being able to just sit out poolside on a beautiful sunny day can really help you while away the tribulations of life and they can be a great way of socialising with your friends. You will have one of the best ways of keeping fit within your home too when you have your own pool. So as I’ve already said a lot of us would like to have our own outdoor pool but realistically how do you go about it? Even if you won’t be doing the work yourself and will use contractors to do it for you there are many things you need to do before you even get to this point as well it being a benefit to get yourself clued up so you don’t get misinformed or even stuck with botched work.

Budget & Finance

wallet

Now clearly a sunken outdoor swimming pool is not like buying the daily necessities. It will need to be carefully planned out financially before you get beyond the dream of installing a pool in your back yard. You will need to approach a swimming pool contractor and get quotations. This will then help you to decide on design and size elements. Try to get various quotes to see all of the options available to you and don’t just go with the first thing the contractor suggests. Having acquired a price range to work around you need to plan how to raise the funds to have the pool installed. Speak to the bank and acquire a loan or take funds out of other assets. Explore all the options and be realistic. You don’t want to be squeezing yourself too tight to the point where the whole project becomes a financial burden.

Plan & Design

swimming_pool

Once you are sure you have the funding to go about installing your dream pool outside your house it comes to the time of planning out exactly what you want and from this the final cost. Generally speaking, outdoor pools will be lined with concrete, fibreglass or vinyl. The costs differ quite greatly but then the quality can also. If possible, see real life examples or showrooms to understand exactly what you will be buying rather than depending on a brochure or contractor’s recommendation. Check whether pricing comes with equipment included such as the circulation system or whether you need to add this on top. You will need to explore the local regulations regarding outdoor swimming pools at this point such as who to contact about planning and whether you need to install safety features such as protective fencing. Again be realistic but remember it’s not going to be a cheap outlay either way so don’t skimp on building a pool that you end up thinking is too small.

Speak to Planning & Choose a Site

excavatorsOnce you have drawn up blueprints of everything and budgeted accordingly you will need to get planning permission to commence the work. Failure to do so could lead to serious implications so be sure to check you do everything necessary. You may have to make alterations at this point to fulfil the requirements so bear this in mind. Once you have gained permission to build the last thing that you need to do is confirm the actual site with the pool contractors. You will want to find a spot which sits well with your surroundings and maximises the sunlight but you also need to consider the ground itself. The pool builders will have to excavate the ground and if it is full of hard rocks it could be difficult work. The builders will either provide their own equipment or hire an earthmoving company for most jobs but in some conditions such as rocky ground it might actually need blasting out with dynamite. Take this into account and re-budget accordingly. However, once you’re happy with the site you can sit back let the contractors do their job and await the day when you are poolside relaxing outside your own dream outdoor pool.