Cheap pool suggestions

[Devon]

I have been looking at putting a pool in the garden of my place in the Charente Maritime. I have permission for a 8m x 4m in ground pool.  

My problem is, it seems like an awful lot of time and expense for something that will be used 8 weeks of the year at best. I have been looking at various options and it seems to me an 8m x 4m above ground pool lowered halfway into the ground with 2m wide decking built around the top, plus a pool dome would create an attractive pool for around 5k.

I could also dismantle the whole lot and put it away for the winter months.

I have never owned or maintained a swimming pool before, anyone have any suggestions for a better way of owning a 'cheap' pool?

[Polly]

There is no such thing as a cheap pool. Start from that assumption and the real costs won't seem so bad!

I can't quite see how you are going to dismantle a partially in-ground pool with decking.

[Devon]

[quote user="Polly"]There is no such thing as a cheap pool. Start from that assumption and the real costs won't seem so bad!

I can't quite see how you are going to dismantle a partially in-ground pool with decking.
[/quote]

 

Above ground pool package kit around £3k

Plastic pool dome £1200-£1500

Decking material £500-ish

Decking put together in panels so it can be dismantled in panels

IMHO that should make for a 'cheap' pool:  I am interested in which bit I have got wrong [:)]

[Théière]

I agree with Polly.

If you have a dome (Abris) then why would you want to put yourself and your family through the agony of dismantle and assembly every year plus the cost of the water to fill it and the environmental issues with doing it. Better to leave it up and on that basis buy a decent pool that will give you 10 years of good service. Yes they don't come cheap and yes we are all mad for the amount of use they get, but life is for living [:)]

[Devon]

A day for me to assemble the pool in spring and a day for me to dismantle the pool in autumn  is hardly 'agony'. Plus I wouldn't have the wear and tear or maintainance to worry about: or how the pool was coping in minus tempetures mid winter, whilst I am in the UK

 

I have talked to a couple of people who have owned pools in the UK and the impression I get is dismantling a  rigid kit form pool would be less hassle than winterising a built in pool.

 

That's why I am interested in comments from pool owners in France.

[Théière]

[quote user="Devon"]

[quote user="Polly"]There is no such thing as a cheap pool. Start from that assumption and the real costs won't seem so bad!

I can't quite see how you are going to dismantle a partially in-ground pool with decking.
[/quote]

 

Above ground pool package kit around £3k Excavation for concrete base and re-inforced concrete base including removal of spoil 1500-2000 euros depending on site.

Plastic pool dome £1200-£1500 Wow, that's cheap, worried about quality at that price, would not conform for security (important)

Decking material £500-ish You are wide of the mark on that one unless its very small decked area which IMO would be a mistake. and the support structure which will allow you to remove the decked panels.

Decking put together in panels so it can be dismantled in panels Possible alarm 300 euros or fence for security 2500 euros.

IMHO that should make for a 'cheap' pool:  I am interested in which bit I have got wrong [:)] Cost of water each year to fill, based on water plus the waste water charge could be 2 or 3 times the water charge.

[/quote]

[Théière]

[:)][quote user="Devon"]

A day for me to assemble the pool in spring and a day for me to dismantle the pool in autumn  is hardly 'agony'. Plus I wouldn't have the wear and tear or maintainance to worry about: or how the pool was coping in minus tempetures mid winter, whilst I am in the UK There is I would think more chance of damaging the liner whilst assembling or dismatling than at any other time. It would take you more than a day to assemble and fill an 8m x 4m pool. And draining takes time also.

 

I have talked to a couple of people who have owned pools in the UK and the impression I get is dismantling a  rigid kit form pool would be less hassle than winterising a built in pool. Winterising a built in pool is straight forward enough once you know what to do. I would be able to winterise my pool and be out for lunch before you had got half the water out [:)]

 

That's why I am interested in comments from pool owners in France.

[/quote]

[Baz]

A reliable and safe pool is going to cost money to build and maintain. If you are only going to get 8 weeks a year, then it may be worth considering having a heat exchanger to extend the annual usage and justify the outlay. Any purpose built pool that is going to be dismantled yearly will surely lead to many more problems and expenses. A permanent well constructed pool should give years of service if correctly winterised and the water purity is maintained within the prescribed parameters.

Baz

[Clair]

Pool safety legislation does not apply to above-ground pools, however if the pool is partly sunken, there is a possibility it could be considered as an in-ground pool.

[Devon]

[quote user="Théière"][quote user="Devon"]

[quote user="Polly"]There is no such thing as a cheap pool. Start from that assumption and the real costs won't seem so bad!

I can't quite see how you are going to dismantle a partially in-ground pool with decking.
[/quote]

 

Above ground pool package kit around £3k Excavation for concrete base and re-inforced concrete base including removal of spoil 1500-2000 euros depending on site.

Plastic pool dome £1200-£1500 Wow, that's cheap, worried about quality at that price, would not conform for security (important)

Decking material £500-ish You are wide of the mark on that one unless its very small decked area which IMO would be a mistake. and the support structure which will allow you to remove the decked panels.

Decking put together in panels so it can be dismantled in panels Possible alarm 300 euros or fence for security 2500 euros.

IMHO that should make for a 'cheap' pool:  I am interested in which bit I have got wrong [:)] Cost of water each year to fill, based on water plus the waste water charge could be 2 or 3 times the water charge.

[/quote][/quote]

 

Thank's so far to everyone who has replied.

The prices I have quoted for a rigid above ground pool and dome are from a quick google search and the products appear to be a reasonable quality, supplied by large, established businesses. The decking: 24m pool perimeter x 2m wide = 100 decking boards @ £6 each =£600. I am a builder and have an digger on site, the spoil from any excavations can be lost on site. My costings were a bit 'back of a fag packet' and allowing for an alarm and materials for concrete to sit the pool on would bring the costs to £6k, not £5k as I originally posted.

That said, I take the point that if you are gong to have a pool, have a good one, so I might bite the bullet and go the whole hog  and build an  in ground pool with a decent cover and heating: Looks like I better start doing some overtime [:D]