Month: June 2017

Just how straightforward the beautiful Niveko one-piece pool is to install was recently demonstrated in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire when Paul Mortimer decided to add an impressive pool hall extension to his house. Within weeks of being ordered, the pool was installed and the extension was duly completed.

“The first thing that attracted me to a one-piece pool was cost,” says Paul. “We had been quoted over £125,000 to have a concrete pool installed, which took the pool out of our reach. I then started to look at what was available as an alternative to concrete. The first pools I came across when searching online were fibreglass one-piece pools but I was put off by the possibility of osmosis.

“I contacted AG Budget Pools & Spas of Stourport-on-Severn who were extremely helpful in pointing me in the right direction and they suggested a Niveko one-piece pool might be suitable for me. After some online research I thought this would be the ideal solution. I particularly liked how the pool cover retracts underwater into the rear wall. What confirmed my decision was the Niveko’s construction which seemed very sound indeed.”

Paul placed an order for a 8 x 3.7 x 1.5 m blue shell Niveko complete with light blue steps with Badu Jet Primavera counter current unit and PVC white slatted cover in pit solution.

Paul says: “The Niveko pool arrived on the back of a lorry which was positioned outside the house. The pool was lifted from the lorry sideways and craned onto the front lawn where it was laid flat. It was craned over the house where a pre-dug hole was waiting to receive it. This was quite an accomplishment because being an indoor pool, three walls of the extension were already erected and the pool had to be manoeuvred through the open roof. Luckily there was no wind that day!

“Naturally, the fact that we didn’t have to wait for the pool to be constructed was a huge plus for choosing a one-piece pool. It was the quickest possible method of installing a premium quality pool within the fabric of the house.

“Aside from a couple of issues with the instructions for the installation, which I hasten to add were all dealt with swiftly and quickly resolved, I am very pleased with the pool indeed. Bearing in mind I have no experience of fitting a pool whatsoever, I think it’s gone as well as it possibly could have done. The end result is I have a stunning pool with a high quality finish and it all came within budget.”

AG Budget Pools & Spas are equally delighted with the installation and being in the business for over 25 years, there’s not much that they don’t know about pools. Vanessa, who sold the pool to Paul, says: “As a company we are very impressed with the Niveko and the training we have received from Certikin has been first class.”

NIVEKO ONE PIECE POOLS – the low down:

Niveko offer unrivalled contemporary design in one piece pools. Skimmer pools, overflow / deck level and infinity edges are all available.

All the pools can be supplied with a slatted automatic cover to help minimise heat loss and associated running costs. Incorporating an in-roller motor, it can be operated with a key switch or remote control.

Pre-plumbed, the pools have 30mm of insulation.

Completely custom built – almost any shape or size is an option. Access is rarely a barrier to install as pools can be joined sectionally on site by Niveko’s install team.

Niveko Pools are available in the UK through Certikin International Ltd

 

Newton Abbot pool specialists, Westcountry Leisure, struck gold at the British Pool & Hot Tub Awards 2017, hosted by BISHTA and SPATA, with this magnificent pool in Devon. Built on the side of the cliff overlooking a bay in the Salcombe estuary, the pool is fully loaded with Certikin and Calorex equipment.

Brief: The client, a keen swimmer, wanted a pool for all year round use with a deep swimming lane plus a shallow end for his children. The large linear pool had to sit within the confines of the area to the back of the house and embrace its mature and natural surroundings – namely, the extensive gardens, the breath-taking sea view and the seagull-nesting cliffs.

Installation: Using a terrace where a large ornamental pond was sited, the pool is an impressive 22m in length to compliment the surrounding architectural features. The 5m wide pool (with 1.5m shallow and 2.2m deep end) required planning permission as it is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the house is Grade II listed. The owners were keen to ensure the project did not have any detrimental impact on the existing building. Westcountry Leisure put together drawings and a specification to satisfy the local authority, who duly granted permission.

Once the pool had been excavated to the required depths, a structural engineer inspected it and, due to failure of the compaction tests, further excavation was required.

MD of Westcountry Leisure, Mark Gilpin says: “Our initial survey was based upon a surface inspection of the site and even though we carried out two trial holes before commencement, the extra works didn’t become apparent until the majority of the dig had been carried out. It was certainly a challenging job and not one for those with a fear of heights! The proximity of the 20m drop over the cliff, just 6m away on one side, and the foundations of the two wings of the historical building within 2m on the other, required extensive shoring and stabilization of the dig.”

Logistics: Access to the site was completely restricted on three sides with only a small, single vehicular access possible between the trees. To improve access, Westcountry removed the existing retaining wall between the upper and lower terrace to enable the shuttered concrete pool to be constructed. The reinforced concrete, stone-faced retaining wall was reinstated on top where the depth of the dig was over 3.5m.

All excavated material was removed from site and a further 300 tons of material then returned to backfill the pool. As the work was carried out mid-winter, Westcountry constructed a temporary scaffold roof to aid the finishing works.

Details: The existing York stone terrace was carefully removed prior to excavation for recycling, to help the pool blend in. The stones, some of which weighed over 500 kg each, were cleaned, sorted, re-cut and re-laid as coping stones, pit lids for the Roldeck automatic cover chamber and cappings for the new stone-faced retaining wall that was flush with the pool wall.

The inside of the pool is lined with slate-lookalike porcelain tiles, 1200 mm x 600 mm, to blend in with the environment as the local planning officer wanted to avoid a bright blue tiled pool.

Result: Owner, Deborah Weinreich says: “We are delighted with the pool and the work of Mark Gilpin and the architect Ed Barker (South West Studio). Bearing in mind it was winter we were fortunate to be blessed with reasonable weather. We were less fortunate with historic pipe work that was discovered and needed to be re-routed. It also took a great deal more digging to find hard surface to build the pool on, so it had to be filled with aggregates before pool construction could start. In all it took 24 weeks to complete but it was well worth it.”

Westcountry’s Mark adds: “It was the most technically challenging project we have undertaken, especially as we had to work with such restricted access. The provision of extensive retaining walls and additional safety to the pool cover all added to the complexity of the job. We are delighted to win a SPATA Gold award and gain valuable industry recognition for our efforts.”