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For many summer residents, the pool is a dream. But, as practice shows, it is quite possible to manage on your own and with small means. Sometimes, quite small. But the pool in the country is useful for both children and adults: water perfectly relieves fatigue and nervous tension.
Swimming pool for a summer residence: types and features
All designs of pools can be divided into two large groups: stationary and temporary. Stationary structures include all structures partially or completely dug into the ground, which cannot be moved without destruction. The bowls of such pools are made of monolithic concrete, brick, sometimes concrete blocks are used in construction. They may use a polymer liner (plastic bowl) or provide waterproofing with film or coating waterproofing materials.
Temporary pools are mainly inflatable and frame pools. They differ in that they are installed in the spring, and in the fall, they fold and hide.
What is the best pool for a summer residence? If you are still not sure whether you need such an “attraction” on the site or not, buy the cheapest and fastest mounted: inflatable. It holds water due to the inflated ring. The disadvantage of such a pool is not the greatest depth: 1,2 meters along with the sides is its limit.
But, if you are for the kids, then you can’t imagine better, and adults can “hang” on the wall, relax after “rest” in the country. Depending on the quality and intensity of use, it can last from a couple of years to four or five.
A little more expensive and a little more difficult to install a frame pool. It already has a frame in the form of pipes, on which a special film in the form of a bowl is hung. The depth of such a pool is up to 1,8 m.
Stationary pools – this is for those who decide that he needs a pool in the country. The device and maintenance is not cheap. First, a foundation pit is dug, then a monolithic slab is poured, and the walls are erected at the second stage. Measures are needed to waterproof the walls from the outside – so that underground and melt water does not penetrate into the bowl. Next is wall insulation. If this is not done, it will be problematic to heat the water. After that, a set of measures for waterproofing the walls inside the bowl begins, and then finishing work.
But the finished bowl is not the whole stationary pool. It is necessary to clean the water: leaves, dust and debris pour into it, bacteria and algae multiply. To put the water in order, you need a pump, a filter system, chemicals, and also means for “scooping out” leaves and sediment from the bottom. Part of the equipment is also needed to maintain a temporary pool, but since the volumes are smaller, you can often get by with manual cleaning or replacing water, or you can use improvised means. And if there is at least 5-6 tons of water in a stationary pool (this is a small bowl 2 * 3 with a depth of 1,4 meters), then even manually cleaning out such a volume is problematic.
Installation of a frame pool in the country
Regardless of whether you are going to install an inflatable or frame pool, you need to prepare a platform for it. These pools can be buried a little in the ground, or they can be placed on a prepared site. It doesn’t matter. It is important that the surface is even and the lawn is not the best way out, even if it is even. The grass under the bottom is beginning to decompose, and the view of the site, after the pool has been removed, is very pathetic.
An Esprit Big pool with a diameter of 450 cm and a wall height of 130 cm was installed at the dacha. It was decided to bury it almost half way. So what did they do. We started with the preparation of the pit:
- We remove the substratum of the soil in the area, which is larger than the pool in all directions by 40-50 cm. This indentation is minimal. The instructions say 1 meter. If possible, do more.
- The depth of the pit for the pool “on the surface” is about 20 cm, for a recessed one, add the desired depth to which you plan to dig. In this case, the pit was dug to a depth of 80 cm. The bottom was leveled, stones and roots were removed.
- A layer of sand was poured into the pit and compacted. The compacted layer should be 10-15 cm. If the soil drains water well, the sand is leveled with a rake, then watered. The pit can be filled completely. When the water leaves the sand will be leveled. If the water leaves badly (as in our case), we take a tamper and trample the sand with it. In any case, the surface must be leveled and tamped so that no footprints remain.
This is a prepared pit with a layer of geotextile - To prevent the bottom from going “waves”, you can lay a layer of geotextile. This is such a non-woven material (black in the photo). It will not allow roots to germinate, and also serves as a barrier to bugs / worms that can make holes in the film.
On such a base, you can put a frame or inflatable pool. This design of the pool has a metal frame wall and support posts that are attached from the outside. It is desirable to insulate the part of the walls buried in the ground. A heater is also needed at the bottom: so that the water heats up faster and does not cool down.
First, at the bottom we lay out a U-shaped profile in a ring. Then we take out the metal side, lower it into the pit (it’s hard for one person to cope), unwind it, get into the unfolded profile with the lower edge, connect it. The operation is simple, everything is clear: in the right place they linked the sheet into a ring.
Next, we take the EPS and lay it out on the bottom of the pool, cutting off the edges, trying to keep the gaps to a minimum. After laying out the polystyrene, the joints and edges were sprinkled with sand (according to the instructions). Why was Styrofoam chosen over the much cheaper Styrofoam? The foam plastic will flatten under the mass of water, and the effect of such a heater will be zero. XPS can withstand heavy loads, although it is expensive.
Next, we put an insert from the film inside, more or less straighten it and temporarily attach it to the sides with adhesive tape. Then we begin to swim))) Pour a little water on the bottom – 10-15 centimeters, straighten the folds at the bottom, trying to make everything even. Then gradually adding water. We level the film on the walls.
Note – it is better to work on a sunny warm day, and not only because the “floater” is cold. In the sun, the film softens, it is easier to straighten it. We worked without the sun – there were folds, although this did not affect the pleasure of bathing.
After water procedures, stiffening ribs were installed from the outside by installing fixing strips along the upper edge of the pool. Then we started to insulate the walls. In the photo above, the laying of one layer has begun, but in general they laid two – 3 cm each. Thicker plates are difficult to bend, while thin ones are easy. Therefore, the installation of polystyrene did not take much time.
Having installed the insulation, they began to fill the pit. Since we have clay, we used native soil: so that water does not leak under the walls. They filled up a small layer, rammed, and so on to the top. One point: the bowl should be filled with water.
The instructions have a recommendation – to make external supporting walls. In this case, they were not. The staircase is half buried, as it is designed for full height, but here 65 cm turned out to be buried. It was to this depth that they dug from the outside. The only thing left to do is to install the equipment.
On the recommendation, the filter and pump that came with the kit were installed. After connecting, it turned out that a little was leaking at the junction. After partial draining of water and drying, the place is smeared with a sealant (neutral silicone moisture resistant). The problem is gone.
That’s it. Pool in the country is ready for use.
The model was chosen frost-resistant, so as not to put everything down for the winter. The bowl is covered with wooden shields.
The recommended technique for installing a frame pool is shown in the video.
Prefabricated frame pool
If something is dangerous to leave on the site, you can buy another design. This is just a system of racks and a film insert hung on it. Such a pool looks like in the photo below, it is never buried, but is installed from above.
Although in the photo he is just standing on the lawn, this “feat” is not worth repeating. In addition to turning the lawn into a muddy mess, the soil draws out all the heat. The swimming season with this installation is extremely short. Moreover, even in the heat of the morning, the water is cold, children can swim only from lunch. In general, it is better to make insulated flooring under the pool. Its device does not take much time and money, but using the pool is much more convenient.
The beginning is the same as described: a foundation pit is being dug. Its depth is about 20-25 cm. First, crushed stone is poured into the pit with a layer of 10 cm, it is well rammed. Lay out the geotest. It will not allow sand and gravel to mix. On top of it is sand, which is also rammed. You can already install a pool on the sand, but this is also not the best option. sand drags around the country house, and cats also like to walk in it …. Therefore, it is better to lay at least home-made concrete slabs, paving slabs on top, sprinkle with pebbles, as in the photo.
You can also knock down a shield from wooden boards, but the boards must be sanded and treated with antibacterial impregnation. You can use WPC – wood-polymer composite. They definitely do not rot and are not afraid of water-frost. On such a basis, you can put a pool. But even in this case (except for a wooden platform), it will be difficult to warm up the water.
Requires insulation. This is at least 10 cm of EPS, laid under the bottom and covered with geotextile – as a temporary option. For a permanent insulated platform, a deeper pit is required: increase the depth by 15 cm. The sequence of layers is as follows: crushed stone, geotextile, sand – 10 cm, XPS – 10 cm, geotextile, sand – 5 cm, paving slabs or slabs.
Inflatable pool in the country
Inflatable pools are placed on the same basis. Only they are installed quite simply: take the pump and start pumping the ring. When it is filled with air, water begins to be poured inside. The ring gradually floats up, raising the edges of the pool. When the entire wall is leveled, we can assume that the pool is installed.
Plastic pool: do-it-yourself installation
The easiest way to make a stationary outdoor pool in the country is from a plastic or composite (fiberglass) liner: a finished cast bowl. This is one of the easiest ways to make a stationary pool in the country or near the house. A pit is being dug under it, in which it is installed. One of the installation options is in the photo report.
The size of the selected plastic bowl is 183*415*140 cm. The simplest shape was chosen for easier installation. It all started in the marking of the site for the pit. The bowl was turned upside down, circled the contours, added 5 cm to the boards (installation in a wooden frame was planned). So they nailed the pegs, pulled the twine, and began to dig.
It was decided to leave part of the side outside, because the depth of the pit is 1 meter. A layer of sand about 15 cm was poured at the bottom, everything was filled with water to compact the substrate.
While the water is leaving, the sand dries up, shields are knocked down from a board 2,5 cm thick according to the size of the pit. A bar 50 * 50 mm was used as a frame, it was also put on top of the shields. The upper edge of the plastic bowl was attached to this beam.
All boards are treated with an antiseptic for direct contact with the ground. The manufacturer promises 10 years without rot …
When they assembled and fixed all the walls, they inserted the bowl inside. The bottom lay down tightly, the height was calculated correctly.
Along the perimeter of the pool there should be a side of reinforced concrete. To more tightly connect the bowl with concrete, corners are installed around the perimeter. They are fastened to the beam and the edge of the bowl through, with stainless bolts and nuts.
So that during operation the plastic does not “walk”, we grab the edges with a clamp.
Reinforcement is attached to the installed corners. We used 15 mm, put 4 bars: two at the top and two at the bottom. Knitted with special wire.
Formwork is installed around the perimeter. First, sand was poured under the reinforcement, therefore, external shields were installed. From the inside, the boards are upholstered with a dense film to make it easier to remove the formwork. Mortgages are also installed: overflow pipes. They will be brought out of the pool and will protect the bowl from overflowing.
Before pouring concrete, they began to fill the bowl with water. This is necessary so that the concrete does not crush it. At the same time, the gaps remaining between the walls of the bowl and the plank frame were sprinkled with sand. So it turns out that the bowl is fixed in the best position. When it was almost full, concrete was poured into the formwork, treated with a vibrator to increase strength and uniformity.
The formwork was removed four days later. The side turned out to be 40 cm wide and the same in height. Next, we begin to prepare the base for finishing the adjacent territory.
Since the site is slightly sloping, on the one hand it was necessary to remove the soil. Sand was poured and rammed along the perimeter. Roofing material is rolled out on the leveled surface.
Another layer of sand was poured on it, in which paving slabs were laid. The cracks between the tiles are also filled with sand.
To prevent leaves from falling into the pool, debris and other pollution, a polycarbonate greenhouse was bought, assembled and installed as a shelter for the pool. It turned out that it is very comfortable: warm and light.
Only you need to fasten it firmly, a strong wind moved it. I had to correct. The pool at the dacha is also operated in winter, but only after the bath – an ice hole is cut down)). For the winter, empty bottles with a twisted cap are thrown into the water. When water freezes, they serve as a damper, taking most of the load from the ice onto themselves.
And until late autumn we swim just like that, we just installed a water heating system to make it more or less comfortable.
If you need an express version of the pool at minimal cost, you can get by with a thick film. For example, an old banner. The fabric used for them is dense, and you can buy an old one at an agency for mere pennies. If you need a pool in the garden – this is exactly the material: the costs are minimal.
So, armed with a banner, we dig a pit, which is much smaller than the canvas.
We put a film in a dug pit, straighten it. For the sample, a small pit was dug: in case you don’t like it. Since the banners, still old, laid two. The second one also tried to straighten.
To prevent the edges of the film from being blown out by the wind, they were pressed down with bricks and a hose was thrown in to draw water.
While the water was collecting, a little earth was poured around the “bowl” under the film, forming the sides. They were covered with bricks.
We left the “pool” to bask in the sun. Three hours later, tests were carried out. Liked the result. It was decided to expand the “swimming” part.
This, of course, is not a super option, but you can refresh yourself. Time for “construction” took 2 hours. The main thing is to dig a pit. And the rest is a matter of several tens of minutes. In the photo below, the same idea, implemented on a larger scale. The film was bought for pools and soldered two pieces – to get a more voluminous “sea”.
By the way, here are a few country pools made from improvised materials: a bucket from an excavator and a huge tire.