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lidboymk2
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Hi, We are building a house in The Aude and are at the moment getting quotes for swimming pools. We have a quote from a firm that make stainless steel pools. We believe that they are suitable for our steep land as they are self supporting. Please can any one tell me if they have any experience of stainless pools. Merci
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Hello lid boy mark two,

Some friends of mine who live 20 mins south of Carcassonne are considering the same thing. They've been in touch with a firm in Tarbes. If you'd like to, you can pm me and I'll pass on your contact details. Perhaps you can get together.

 

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These pool would be rather expensive it would seem to me.

Is there a reason for example that you would choose this option rather

than a Liner pool - I would have thought that the later would offer you

more pool for your money.

If you want some specific help on your choices then by means contact me by PM.

Andrew

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  • 2 months later...

Sorry to drag this up to the top again, but I'm in a similar position to the OP, and am hoping that Pool Guy is about, as he is such a mine of information on the subject.

We would like a pool with an electric roller shutter and an automatic dosing system, not the cheapest option, but for us the most user friendly.

We've had several quotes for a swimming pool, and all but one are for the standard concrete type pool.  The cheapest (just) is for a pool using a metal skin (for want of a better description, they excavate the hole, erect a metal liner, then backfill against the metal and add an internal pool-liner). 

Mr Cat is worried that these metal type pools are not as long lived as concrete/resin ones, and I don't know enough about pools to form an opinion.  Does anyone have any experience of these?

 

 

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I had one of these pools installed in England 17years ago and although I moved out of the house 10 years ago it is still fine with no problems, it to had a concrete base.Which made my mind up to have the same type installed in France, which I have done, it suited my budget and looks splendid.
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[quote user="Poolguy"]These pool would be rather expensive it would seem to me.

Is there a reason for example that you would choose this option rather than a Liner pool - I would have thought that the later would offer you more pool for your money.

If you want some specific help on your choices then by means contact me by PM.

Andrew

[/quote]

Do they not have "Gunite pools" in France?  The 3 pools I have are all made from this material and are very servicable (maybe they are peculiar to the states, I wouldnt know! Each is freeform with spas and one has saline sanitized (free chlorine)this one is by far the nicest pool to swim in and I certainly would recommend this system over the regular chlorine pool)

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Thanks for the replies.  I thought myself that perhaps these type of pools hadn't been around long enough to be able to demonstrate longevity, but 17 years sounds pretty good.

After much discussion, research and debate, I think my list of must haves is now

Steel/liner type pool

Roman steps

Chlorine sanitised with automatic dosing system (have heard of too many problems to do with corrosion of the plates for salt type pools).

Cartridge type filter (not sand, as I understand there are environmental implications with the run-off water when they require cleaning).

Electric roller shutter (as this addresses safety, summer and winter covers, as well as ease of use, and I'm not keen on abris).

 

 

 

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Sorry Cathy, my post was not very clear,I meant the steel liner sort with a concrete base, not the ones you were talking about, I was agreeing with the previous poster, should have put the quote in,if you want a picture of my new one I can post one,it has a roman end.
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Cathy this is a security cover,which conforms to all the regs, I really hated it when I first started to use it, for a start off the company gave me no idea of how heavy it would be, it took 4 men just to carry it rolled up to its final position.I am often in France on my own and wondered how I was going to cope, you can get an automatic winder, but I could not run to that, as the cover is very expensive to start with.The fact I leave the pool for many months, I needed to be sure, I was making all attempts for it to be secure.In England I had a fence round mine and I must say, I think I prefer it, but I think the new security fencing makes it look like colditz in a domestic situation and I did not want to spoil the view of the garden.However I did get used to it, but I am still not convinced it will not eventually break the coping edge as it is quite aggressive as it  rolls out,it is quick with two people,it is certainly not for putting back on whilst you make a cup of tea,it is out of the question,so a pool alarm is needed as well for the moments when you leave it.It was wonderful for keeping the heat in at night though.I can imagine you are having trouble making all kinds of decisions and you cannot afford to make the wrong one.You have to step up a million notches on the responsbility front when you become a pool owner, I am so strict, I will not allow any children in the garden,even with the pool cover on ,without an adult,I am really paranoid,  I am lucky there are no little ones in our hamlet and if there was I would be tempted to have a fence as well.If you want to know any financial details please do not hesitate to pm me,I  do not think I am allowed to say the company name on here, I was very pleased with them , but a little dissapointed they did not ring me up after to see if all was well when I had spent a fair amount of money with them, the installer left and I never heard from them again, but still no complaints with them,just a week late, which you cannot moan about at all.I hope this is of some help, incidently put underwater lighting on your list,it was an extra 500 euros, but the pool looks so inviting on a hot barmy evening, you just have to get in.If  you want a picture of the pool let me know,I dont want bore everybody.

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Thanks Vervaile, it was a steel lined pool with a concrete base that I had in mind, so your information was helpful.

One of the reasons we would like an electric roller shutter is that they are very easy to use, you just push a button and on (or off) it goes.  When open they float on the top of the water in the pool, rather than fitting on top like a lid.  They are perhaps not the most attractive thing in the world (looking rather like an electric window shutter).  They are strong enough for an adult to walk on. 

I have a company in mind already, they have a very good reputation, and most of their work is as a result of word-of-mouth recommendations.

I hadn't thought about pool lights at all, more decisions [8-)]

 

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Yes Hi Cat

I'm here .... somewhat rested and ready for service in 2007.... HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone

I have sent you a PM Cat... I can certinly help you with the wish list you ask.

If you can send me your contact details I would be happy to help with the preparation of this project.

Just as a note... It's interesting that you mention the environmental

aspect of back washing  Sand filters. This is primarily a problem

where Salt chlorinators are involved. As the prime difficulty is the

introduction of Salt to the fresh water environment. If you use

Exemplar Filtrations Meduims such as Zeolite and low level Direct

Injection of chlorine and pH balance, then you have all of the

convenience of a Traditional filter with none of the problems or bother

of a cartouche. I would be happy to show you what I mean by this and

also there are a number of Forum regulars who have this system and

could give you their experience.

As for the AFNOR electric cover I regularly recommend this solution to

the pool pool security question as the most effective choice, all

things considered.

Andrew

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Hi Cat, we have a liner pool with an auto chlorinator/PH system and a floating security cover. And apart from a few teething problems with the basic water chemistry the auto system should now be working correctly and simply. The cover is a floating type and is operated by my 24v cordless drill. We opted for that because it saved us about 1000€ in the cost and we still have the option of going electrifical, solar or mains. I installed it with no problems apart from the fact that it came with spare blades which were not mentioned in the instructions, to long for the pool, so they were removed and we now have 4 spares?

It takes 4 minutes from the time that I go to my workshop for the drill to the time that we can use the pool, so with the drill beside the cover when the pool is in use it is a very short time if you want to put the cover on to go for your cuppa!

Sand filters? We got rid of our sand and filled the filter with Zelbright. Google it under zeolite (I think). It's good and the back wash goes onto our garden and 'nuffin ain't died yet'. The web site  http://www.zelbrite.com/ should give a good introduction. Our water looks 'polished'.

Just satisfied customers, ask Poolguy!

P.S. As a matter of interest salt pools use chlorine too!

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Hi Jonzjob, I've just got back from a site meeting with the company that I think we will use for our pool.  I asked about Zelbright, and they agree that it's the way to go for us.  I had quite fancied the idea of a cartridge filter unit that sits in its own enclosed container in the pool, but now realise that it's not possible if we have a roller shutter.  I've looked at the website you posted, and it's very interesting, thanks.

Will have to wait to see what the DDE have to say about the filter when the application is filed, some people in my area have been told that they would need to install a second fosse specifically to deal with the run-off water from back-washing.

Last week I though a pool was a pool was a pool, then Mr Cat handed the paperwork and final decision to me (and rightly so, as it's me that's footing the bill).  It's a steep learning curve isn't it.

 

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Well Cathy, a pool is a pool is a pool. And as far as a steep learning curve is concerned, not really steep, more like verticle..[:-))].. I invested in a good book and it has become my bible. It's called "The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual" by an American called Terry Tamminen. I borrowed a mate's copy and then got my own and I have rad it! All 680 pages... I got mine from Amazon.

I had not realised that there was so much in the water chemistry and Terry T describes himself as a water technition and I now know why. When I need to check the total alkilinity and went to the local pool shops here they just look at me as if I had climbed from under a log. They didn't know it existed and that was in about 5 different places!

I don't know about the seperate fosse. Ours is for our use only. I also only know what I have read about cartridge fitlers, but I do know that the Zelbright is good and doesn't need as much backwashing as sand.

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Zelbright is brillliant. I had a cartridge filter that needed cleaning at least twice a week. We then got hit by lightning which killed our pump, so I decided to upgrade everything. got all the gear from poolguy, he even delivered the zelbright himself, and he lives a couple hundred miles from me.

we now have water that is so clear if it wasn't for the ripples you'd think it was empty. backwashing every 2 or 3 weeks if that.

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Hi Mike ( Happy New Year to your and yours)

Yes I am gald that you are pleased with the up grade, but its not just the zeolite which as made you pool as clear as you describe,( I am sure you pass the 20 cent test)  if you recall we upgraded your system to circulate the water through the filter every 3 hours as it was I recall about 5 hours as standard. Its important to note that its the combination which gives you such a good result; to the contrary, too little zeolite in a filter which is too small and with too little flow rate will not get the same result. That last component is sanatization and that is best handled by a computer and Liquid chlorine/pH . Its 'Poolguy's Pure Water Principle' and its the only way to get to the specification of clean water which I consider (and many agree) acceptable.

I hope that everyone who is considering a pool in 2007 and those who already own a pool will spend a little time to learn a little of these ideas as it can save a lot of cost and heartache to at least have the information on which to make an informed decision. Pools are not easy, or trouble free, they need a lot of understanding and a bit of management to be continuously useable and safe for everyone to use.

Andrew

 

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
This is a message for Cathy and anyone that is interested,Cathy you spoke of the electric roller shutter style cover,my O.H. is a ceramic tiler and a friend of his has had to go back to a pool that he had tiled, because one of these covers had gone back so far into the well they had to dig the pool up to retrieve it,the cost to the owner was huge, I do not know anything about these style of covers, but it may be a question you would like to raise with your supplier, perhaps the latest ones have protection on them, this one obviously did not.
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I can't really imagine how one would need to 'dig up the pool' to retreive a floating security cover.

They are not part of the pool usually, unless the pool is modern and

there is a seperate 'coffin' built onto the back of the pool to

accommodate the roller. But still, if its come off the roller in the

coffin then its a matter of wrestling it back again which is a hard,

unpleaseant but not a major job.

In general these covers are the best form of security there is in my

opinion. They perform 5 functions in one piece of equipment:

1. AFNOR approved security

2. Retain the heat in the water

3, Stop evaporation

4. Keep rubbish out of the pool

5. No need for summer or winter covers

They can be made to house above the margelles or immersed in the water

at one end of the pool and can be fitted to new or existing pools.

Good Job.

Andrew

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