It takes about a year from leafing through the brochures and the pictures online to the first dive into a new swimming pool.
So during a hot August if you start planning now, you can also have the pool of your dreams in your garden ready for next year’s heatwave.
The easiest way to install a pool quickly is just to buy an above-ground pool and set it up. They are not too expensive to buy, but the downside is that, if you buy a cheap one, it is not going to last without constant maintenance.
More to the point, if you are supplying the pool for gite or holiday home guests to use, then it needs to be of good quality to stand up to the wear and tear. That’s where an in-ground pool wins.
Unfortunately, it is not just a case of scooping out a hole – there are rules and regulations and, always, hiccups such as an electricity cable or water main running across your property – right where you want to put the pool.
The choice is extensive: above-ground or built into the ground, in a kit or built by professionals – it is all easily available.
Above-ground pools (hors sol) are simplicity themselves – you do not need a lot of space, they can be sited where you have room and there are generally (unless the pools are massive) no forms to fill in with the council. They come in a kit that you can build yourself or pay someone else to do.
Flexible pools are like a giant rubberised bin-liner with inflatable edges that keep the water from sloshing out; in effect, they are supported by the weight of water.
Frame pools have a stainless steel or wood framework supporting the “bin-liner”. Rigid pools have a fibreglass or synthetic resin pool supported by a wood or concrete framework.
All these pools need to sit on the ground for support from the solid surface – if you remember that one litre of water weighs one kilogram and a pool three metres by three metres and a metre deep can contain 9,000 litres – that is 9,000kg or nine tonnes.
They can cost from €700 to €15,000 depending on the quality of the materials and have the advantage of being transportable, ideal for small spaces and easy to install.
A possible advantage – if you are looking at eventually going for a long-term option – is that they are cheap enough to use until you are ready for something bigger. They are a must-have if you just want a pool to use for a few weeks during the summer.
In-ground pools (enterrées) are where your own imagination – and the depth of your pockets – comes into play.
You can go for practicality or aesthetics, sport or leisure, large or small. They range from prefabricated kit pools made from fibreglass, polymer, stainless steel or aluminium, through larger-format panel pools, again made from polymer, steel, aluminium and covered with sprayed concrete and liner or pre-shaped concrete, up to made-to-measure pools that can be make from reinforced concrete or breeze blocks fitted with tiles or a plasticised liner.
Kit pools (monocoques) can cost between €10,000 to €30,000 and are built in the factory, so there are obvious restrictions on the size of the pool for transport.
They come in many shapes, but it is vital that the ground is well prepared because the plastic pool has no support other than the ground you lay it on. If you have a lagoon pool with projections and indents, these have to be supported by the underlying ground or they will give way under the weight of the water.
Panel pools and concrete pools have an almost infinite variety of forms and are highly recommended if they are going to see a lot of hard use.
They can be built in many shapes; one of the modern fashions is for the so-called mirror pool, where the water is level with the ground and overflows into flat drainboards alongside the pool. This is the effect that is also used in infinity pools: you don’t see the edge of the pool, just the surrounding landscape that is level with your eyes from the pool. Luxury.
This is not a DIY project unless you are really skilled, and picking a builder with experience is vital to get round typical problems, such as building on sloping ground. Good work should come with a good guarantee – expect 10 years and it should include the structure, watertightness and the pipes.
However, an experienced contractor can give tips on innovative and cheap ways to keep your pool in the best condition.
You can now, for instance, create a naturally filtered pool using no fuel, no renewable energy and does not demand a continuing fresh water supply. In effect, you build an extra “water garden” using several basins filled with plants to clean the water going into your pool.
A small waterfall oxygenates the water and heating comes from built-in shallow areas where the sun warms the water naturally.
Nowadays there is more demand for hot tubs or spa pools, where the bubbling water relaxes and refreshes you, but care needs to be taken to keep the water clean and free of germs. Hot tubs have been implicated in the spread of legionella-type bugs . This means the filtration and purification system needs to be top notch and kept in good working order.
Safety
THE dangers of swimming pools are obvious for any parent but regulations were toughened up by the government last year after a number of avoidable deaths.
MPs said around half of pools lacked a security system and even if owners had installed one they were not making sure they it worked properly. Owners were, for instance, switching alarms off during stormy weather.
The new regulations are not retrospective – owners who already have an alarm that meets the 2003 guidelines will not need to make changes – however, the government has not increased the number of inspectors.
In all, four forms of security are permitted – an alarm, fencing, pool cover, or a shelter. Most pool owners opt for an immersed alarm that is capable of detecting the fall of a child into the pool – although a cover has the advantage of keeping the water cleaner and warmer.
Technical regulations say the alarm must operate 24 hours, seven days a week; it must be capable of detecting the fall of a child of 6kg; it must be child tamper proof; it must be immune to atmospheric conditions, and it must include a signalling system that clearly shows it is operating satisfactorily.
Do you need permission?
YOU DO not normally need planning permission for an in-ground pool but you will need to submit a building works notification, called a déclaration préalable, for pools of between 10m2 and 100m2.
If the pool is more than 100m2 you must submit a planning application; similarly you need to submit an application if a pool, no matter the size, is installed under a permanent cover higher than 1.8 metres.
Installing an indoor pool, or a pool under an existing building, normally requires no consent, but check with the mairie.
You can also get the déclaration préalable from the mairie and while it is simple enough to fill in it needs to have other documents with it, notably a plan of the land and a graphic or photographic representation of the pool in its surroundings.
Be wary of stepping on a neighbour’s toes as planning laws require a minimum gap of three metres. In some areas it may be more.
