Pool guide 2021- Create summer memories around the pool
Hi Anna & Henrik, can we talk about your pool! How much do you regret building it?
Anna: Hahaha, every hot summer day we regret the pool...
Henrik: We actually made the decision to build a pool on a warm summer evening in 2019 when we realized how wonderful it actually is to vacation at home. Traveling with toddlers can be fantastic, but a holiday isn't always a holiday when you're away with the kids. There is something special about being at home on holiday and with a pool, not only the children stay happy but also the whole neighbourhood.
The deep steps act as a perfect ledge for small children and even adults who are classed as bathtubs.
"After living in a Pinterest folder for a few months, I finally found what I was looking for."
What are you most satisfied with?
Henrik: The best decision was probably to start the process on time. We already ordered it at Christmas 2019 to be able to start construction in March 2020. The goal was to have a pool ready by May 2020 to avoid fighting for contractors with everyone else who comes up with the idea of building a pool when spring comes.
How did you arrive at the design of the pool?
Anna: After living in a Pinterest folder for a few months and scouring the internet for the perfect pool, I finally found a supplier that could offer it all. On the list of requirements was, deep steps so you can sit along the entire short side, maintenance-free material, overflow (the water flows over the edge into an invisible lateral drain), gray-blue color so the pool fits the Swedish landscape, a pool that can be filled with water in the winter so you don't have to waste too much of the resources and fill new every year, and last but not least a technology room that is underground so you don't have to see it.
Anna and Henrik wanted the pool to blend in with the Swedish nature, the water therefore had to not be too tropical in color but more like the pool at the hotel Djupvik on Gotland.
Step by step - build a pool
Step 1. The boring bureaucracy - usually you don't need a building permit for a pool, hooray. There is no restriction on how close the pool itself can be to the plot boundary either, but it is always good to talk to neighbors before a building is built, of course. However, what may require a building permit is if you have planks or fences around. Always check before you start whether your particular pool requires a building permit.
Step 2. Check ground conditions. Do you need to blast, what about the groundwater level, are there other things that can make construction difficult? A big cost when building a pool can be the ground work, so check it thoroughly.
Step 3. What function do you want (besides the obvious one, being able to bathe). Do you want a ladder or to be able to access the pool via a staircase? How much maintenance do you want with the pool? Where should the technology room be located? Heating? Cleaning the pool? And what will it cost?
Step 4. The slightly more fun part, deciding which pool you want. It is not always the standard models and the big giants that are the cheapest, so also check the companies where you can create your own pool with your own design.
Step 5. How will you cover the pool when it is not in use? Should the cover also keep the heat? Should you be able to bathe when the cover is on? Some questions to think about before making a decision.
Briefly about different types of frames for swimming pools.
Plate - manufactured from stainless or galvanized steel.
Fiberglass/PP plastic - Pool frame made of fiberglass reinforced polyester with internal gel coat.
Insulator block - The pool frame is built from lightweight cellular plastic blocks that are stacked like building blocks.
The brick - Brick pool is built up like a house foundation, layer by layer.
Concrete - A reinforced concrete pool frame that is cast in place.
Wood- The wooden frame is made of pressure-treated wood.
Facts about Anna & Henrik's pool
Manufacturer: Niveko Evolution
Supplier & contractor: Steninge
Type: Overflow (flows over all edges so you get water at ground level and don't have to clean the pool of leaves and things that fall down - everything just flows over the edge).
Size: 3 x 10 meters (150 cm deep).
Steps down into the pool: 3 meters wide and each step 60 cm deep so you can sit comfortably on the stairs.
Colour: light anthracite
Pool robot: Cyclone Pro 4400
Material / frame: Polystone composite (stone & plastic) with concrete cast around the entire pool.
Bottom plate: Concrete
Technology room: Delivered with the pool, all electricity and all technology is contracted at the factory and you just lower it underground and have a hatch down to the technology room.
Purification: Pahlén MiniMaster which doses automatically and detects if the system needs more chlorine, etc.
Lighting: Mounted in the pool from the factory and is integrated and controlled with an app.
Heating: Gullberg & Janssons V30 heat pump
Pool deck: Aqvisdeck - a rolling patio deck with insulation that keeps the heat in the pool.