Ever Wanted a Swimming Pool in Your Back Garden?

The post Ever Wanted a Swimming Pool in Your Back Garden? appeared first on Miss Smarty Plants.

With summer fast approaching a great way to relax, exercise, and socialize is to consider building your very own swimming pool in your garden; however, it can be a tricky endeavor that requires some careful consideration.

No doubt, at this time of year you’ll be thinking about getting your garden in shape and the thought of having such major work done in your back garden is prohibitive; indeed, it’s much nicer to focus on planting colourful combinations than bringing in diggers to excavate a massive hole in the middle of your lawn.

Then there’s the trade-off to consider, as the pool is likely to take a huge chunk of your garden lawn out of the equation, yet the importance of your lawn is essential to the social ordinance of your garden; it’s where you’re likely to host barbecues and garden parties, play hide and seek, and all sorts of other fun summertime activities that might now be supplanted by swimming in the pool.

If you’re set on having a pool in your garden in time for the summer, here are eight simple steps to turning your dream into a reality.

1. DESIGN

Design the pool that you wish to build.  The first factor is size, which will most likely be constrained by the size of your yard.  The next factor to consider is depth.  If you are having children use the pool then it is recommended to keep it under 1.2 metres.  What colour do you want the pool to be?  What type of lighting would you like?  What shape would you like the pool to be?  Generally speaking, the more complex the design the higher the cost.

2. GET PERMISSION

In order to build a swimming pool you might need to gain planning permission.  Bear in mind that, in some areas, additional taxes must be paid on pools, and if the pool isn’t registered, it could be viewed as tax evasion.

3. EXCAVATE THE AREA

You can either employ a contractor to take care of everything or hire construction equipment yourself, as essentially, all you are doing at this stage is digging a big hole.  It is, however, important to have been granted permission before beginning to dig, as there may be hidden wires or pipes that you don’t know about.

4. CONSIDER THE MATERIAL TO USE

There are three main options to choose from when it comes to picking out a material; concrete, fiberglass, or vinyl.

5. GRADE THE GROUND AND FRAME THE WALLS

The next step is to even out the ground, as this will make building the walls and laying the floor much easier.  With the hole dug out, and the land now flat, the walls can be built with wood and metal rebar.

6. PLUMBING & ELECTRICITY

You’ll want to get an experienced plumber to take care of this specialist task, as the supply and filtration system must meet the code for your area.  It’s important to hire a plumber experienced in swimming pools, as an inexperienced plumber can ruin your pool, and cause a lot of unnecessary expense down the line.  

You’ll want to hire an electrician to install the lights, as bad wiring plus water is not a good combination; it’s advisable that you find out how to prevent electrocution in a swimming pool before going any further.

7. POUR THE FLOOR, BUILD THE WALLS AND TILE

If you’re using cement as your material of choice, your next step is to pour the floor.  With the floor in place you can build the walls, and once the walls are built, all that’s left is to tile them… but remember to add a moisture barrier to stop the water from leaching out.

8. FILL THE POOL

The last, and most rewarding step, is of course to fill the pool with fresh water that is treated with an agent such as chlorine or salt to keep the water healthy.  

Now that you have a step-by-step guide to building your pool, it might be worth considering how to protect your modesty whilst swimming particularly if your garden is overlooked.  Installing privacy panels in the form of wooden trellises with creeping plants is a great solution for this.  Another consideration prior to using your pool is to consider getting a company such as ABC Pest Control in to ensure the area around the pool is free of pests and safe for your family to use.

Presuming you’re now set on the idea of installing this pool, let’s take a look at the best way to keep yourself entertained whilst in the pool and two of the most effective swimming strokes to get you swimming fit for summer.

In terms of entertainment, swimming doesn’t have to be as monotonous as it once was due to the invention of waterproof MP3 players.  While pools are great when you have your family splashing about, swimming laps on your own, can be a pretty boring way to exercise.  Today, however you can take your tunes in the pool with you which is a pretty revolutionary concept.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

BACKSTROKE

This stroke is a great starting off stroke, as it allows you to breathe normally throughout and is particularly buoyant.  The backstroke can improve your posture by extending your back and shoulder muscles, and is good to counteract the focus on chest contraction in the breaststroke – which could cause people to hunch over a little if overdone.  In fact, doing backstroke can be a great way to manage back pain.

You’ll want your body to be as flat as possible with your hips up rather than sunken down into the water; the main challenge is that you’ll be looking up at the ceiling the whole time meaning you’ll need to identify markers that let you know your coming up to the wall.

FREESTYLE

This stroke is also known as front crawl.  It’s good for stretching your whole body and you’ll get a particularly good upper body workout in your shoulders, back and arms in addition to your major leg muscles.

This stroke requires you to be on your stomach in the water, you’ll pull your body forward with your arms in an alternate fashion, one at a time, pulling deep through the water whilst your legs kick ferociously in a flutter kick style to propel your body forward.

This contributed post may contain affiliated links. 

The post Ever Wanted a Swimming Pool in Your Back Garden? appeared first on Miss Smarty Plants.

from Miss Smarty Plants https://ift.tt/2HmavZD