A Luxury Pool for $ 10,000 – Part 1

This article on swimming pool construction is based on the methods used in the construction of some 40 swimming pools over a period of 5 years in south-western France. The history of swimming pool construction is worth taking a look at because it affects the thinking of many pool construction professionals even today.

I’m only concerned with the best quality pool type in this article. There are a plethora of products on the pool market all over the world that are, in my opinion, a complete waste of money. Yes, this includes fiberglass frame pools and panel pools with metal parts; in fact, anything that deteriorates when buried underground in the presence of water. This is a basic principle of all professional civil engineers. The first swimming pools were lined with tiles, and many still are today. In the writer’s opinion, a pool tile finish is not the best option, as PVC liners are better than tile in many ways because;

– Tiled pools are very expensive: they can be several times the cost of a PVC-lined pool

– Tiled pools often leak and leaks are very difficult to trace

– PVC lined pools rarely leak and when they do, the leak is easy to trace with electronic instruments that use the insulating properties of the liners.

– Leaky tiled pools are very expensive to repair because the tiles often need to be removed and replaced.

– Tiled pools are vulnerable to incorrect chemical balance of pool water.

– Calcium deposits are much more difficult to clean from tiles and cleaning wears down the surface of the tiles causing premature aging.

– Tiled pools take much longer to build

– Tiled pools need a much heavier and more expensive structure.

It is the last point that is very important and is not appreciated by many, including many pool installation professionals. A pool to be tiled should be a very rigid concrete box that is buried in the ground. If it’s not rigid, the tile and the waterproof membrane under it will flex, crack, and then leak.

The floor below the box supports the heavy reinforced concrete slab that forms the bottom of the box. The necessary stiffness is given by the thickness of this pool floor slab and it also acts as a foundation for the pool walls that are rigidly connected to the floor slab by the steel reinforcement.

In other words, the slab must be there to provide the necessary stiffness to ensure that the liner and waterproof membrane do not leak. In a pool with a PVC liner, this stiffness is not necessary because the liner will provide the waterproofing and the small differential movements between the walls and the floor of the pool will not result in leaks or any other detrimental effects.

So how does all of this help you achieve your goal of building a luxury pool for $ 10,000? It helps because it explains the theory behind the construction concept outlined in my second article on this topic How to Build a DIY Luxury Pool for $ 10,000 – Part 2.